


Never Ever Land

by dragonbabezee



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2017-12-30 01:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 64
Words: 547,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1012183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonbabezee/pseuds/dragonbabezee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was a submission for the We're Just Saiyan Community's Disney themed Bulma/Vegeta challenge, which grew into a multi-chapter epic.  You should be able to guess the inspiration from the name alone, but if not, it won't take long for you to work it out.</p>
<p>A young Bulma embarks on an unexpected adventure with Goku, Krillin and a certain orphaned Prince. Not really as kid-friendly as a Disney film, hence the M rating for language, themes and hopefully some blood, guts and sexual content!  Teens, Tweens and Saiyans set off together in a mess of crossed purposes.  This one starts off light...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Storytime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This is a submission for Mallie-3 and maymayB's Disney themed Bulma/Vegeta challenge. It won't remain as fluffy and light as it starts out. Already in the first two chapters we have some adult discussion and coarse language, so even though it plays with a Disney classic...it ain't.
> 
> It's set in an AU early in Dragonball, and as I can't be bothered doing my research, the exact time when events begin shall remain a mystery and probably contrary to cannon, just like in a real DragonballZ movie!
> 
> If you can't guess the Disney inspiration by the end of the second chapter I'm doing something wrong!
> 
> Also, the gracious Adli has accepted the challenge of beta-ing this story, so if you find yoursef thinking 'Why, this is a highly grammatically correct and typo-free work!' you can thank her. She has profiles on both AO3 and fanfiction.net, and some stories of her own, so go check them out!
> 
> I have the story posted on fanfiction.net as well. If you'd like to PM me and you have an account there, my username is the same as it is here - dragonbabezee

'When Goku gets back with the ice cream it's your turn to tell a ghost story,' said Krillin.

'Okay, okay!' snapped Bulma. She and Krillin were putting the finishing touches on the fort they were building in the old nursery. It was next door to her bedroom, and made for a more creepy venue for ghost stories as it had only one casement window instead of the floor to ceiling windows in her own room. She'd been watching a high school movie recently which featured a sleep over, and she realised she'd never had a sleep over or been asked to one. Unfortunately she also had no girlfriends, and her guests of choice were making the evening seem more like a baby-sitting job than the giggly tell-all party she'd watched on the TV. The boys had missed the point, and her sleepover was becoming a juvenile indoor camping trip. She supposed that's what she got for hanging out with twelve year old boys instead of sixteen year old girls like herself. She sighed. At least Yamcha might make it over later. There might be some giggles in it for her then.

Krillin was lining their sheet tent with pillows and sleeping bags for the night ahead while Bulma rigged it with 'spooky' lighting consisting of an old lava lamp that she had cracked open and added red food colouring to the water that surrounded the green wax blobs.

Suddenly the back of her neck tingled, as if she were being watched. Quickly she turned and looked under the edge of their sheet fortress to see if she could catch the phantom presence, and when she found no-one yet again, she shuddered and turned away. This had been happening more and more lately. Sometimes she would wake in the night thinking someone stood over her, but there was no-one ever there. Perhaps stranger than this creepy sensation were her dreams of late...In her dreams there was the same presence, dark and indistinct, brooding at her side while she faced down terrifying enemies and flew through astounding nightscapes. Sometimes she woke with an indescribable longing. This was the other reason she'd decided on a sleepover while her parents were out for the night. She was just a teensy bit afraid to sleep alone in the house. She had started to wonder if maybe she was going a little bit crazy, but those dreams...they were so compelling that they might just be worth a little bit of crazy.

'Hey, Bulma,' said Goku, crawling inside the tent, 'I found the ice cream, but I kind of ate it all in the kitchen.'

'Oh, Goku!'

'But I found other supplies! Will this do?' He was dragging a laundry basket loaded with everything unhealthy that could be found in her parent's kitchen. She helped herself to a cupcake while the boys dug in to the chips and sodas.

'Now, ghost story time!' said Krillin, chip crumbs falling from his mouth onto the blanket.

Bulma sighed, and licked the frosting off the top of her cupcake. She couldn't think of any ghost stories off the top of her head. They weren't really her thing. Maybe she'd have to make something up as she went along?

'How about a non-ghost story?' she said.

'Is it scary?' ask Krillin, hopefully.

'Is there fighting?' asked Goku, even more hopefully.

'Sure there is,' she said. 'It's about a Princess-'

'Oh, no, really, Bulma?' interrupted Krillin. 'A fairy story? Do I look five years old?'

'It's not a fairy story!' she replied tartly, dropping the feisty fairy sidekick character from the line up in her head. 'But there is a Prince.' Something shifted in her subconscious. A connection was made. The brooding presence in her dreams came to life - a man with a title, and an anger, but not much else yet. Not even a face at this point.

'Is it a kissy kissy romance?' Krillin said.

'What's that?' said Goku.

'What's what?' Krillin quizzed him. 'Kissy kissy or romance?'

'Yeah, that!' said Goku.

Bulma rolled her eyes. 'Maybe you'll get lucky and some girl will show you some day! So yes, _maybe_ they'll be some kissing and romance and stuff.'

'Hmm,' said Krillin, not as displeased with the idea as she thought he might have been.

'But fighting!' complained Goku. 'You said there'd be fighting! Do the Prince and Princess fight each other?'

'No! Or...' She smiled wickedly, her imagination sparked. 'Yes, but not how _you_ mean. They also fight pirates.'

'Pirates...' said Krillin. 'Kind of last decade, don't you think?'

'No,' said Bulma. 'They're _space_ pirates!'

* * *

'Once upon a time, there lived a Princess, who, well, actually, she wasn't really a princess. But she was very beautiful and charming, as well as extremely clever – gifted you might say - and everybody loved her. She wasn't vain at all though. Her name was-'

'Mary Sue.'

'Shut up, Krillin! No, her name was...'

'I bet it was Bulma.'

'I wasn't going to call her that! But if you insist! Her name was Bulma.'

'I knew it.'

'Anyway, the princess liked adventure, and she was very brave.'

'Bwah ha ha!'

'And the Prince from a far away land, um, in space, heard about her and thought that she might be able to help him.'

'Let me guess, the Prince was tall, dark and handsome, and his name was Yamcha!'

'No! No it's not. I'm not sure what his name is...'

'But he's tall?'

'No.'

'Dark?'

_'Yes!'_

'And handsome?'

'I...I don't know.'

'Bald?'

'No! As if! He wasn't called Krillin either. Anyway, the Prince was poor, and didn't have anything to pay the Princess for her help (and she was very rich), but he wanted to see if the stories about her kindness and wisdom were true. So he started watching the Princess from afar.'

'Creepy. And what did the Stalker Prince need her help with?'

'Well, hmm...the princess was the only one clever enough in a thousand years to figure out how to use a set of legendary magical gems that grant wishes.'

'Dragonballs?'

'No, not Dragonballs!'

'If you mean Dragonballs just say Dragonballs, Bulma.'

'Quiet, Krillin! Who's telling this story, huh? The magical gems are really difficult to find, and they must be gathered together before their magic can be used.'

'Like Dragonballs!'

'All right, I guess so. And the Prince wanted to use the Dragonballs – I mean gems - to defeat the evil space pirates led by the very, very, extra-specially evil Captain...Ice-cream.'

'Why didn't he just fight the Captain?'

'Because, Goku, Captain Ice-cream was the most powerful and sinister pirate in the galaxy, and he and his crew piloted their ship from planet to planet, looting and burning, and killing and torturing, and always on the lookout for the Prince, who is a thorn in his side. Even though he is much more powerful than the Prince, he is scared of him too because...because...er...'

'He has a pure heart?'

'No, I don't think it's that, Goku.'

'Because he's sworn revenge?'

'Yes, Krillin's right. Because the Prince has sworn revenge on Captain Ice-cream for destroying his home planet and his family. But there's a prophecy too...The Prince is a lost Prince...With no home and no family.'

'Gosh, the Prince must be sad.'

'Yeah, Goku, he's very sad...'

'So why did the Prince need the Dragonballs? I mean "magic gems?"'

'Well the Prince wanted...he was...he needed...him and his um, merry men...'

'Merry men? Bulma, your story sucks! I know one that's actually scary, about three teenagers who go looking in a forest for a ghost witch.'

'A ghost witch? Yeah, Krillin, sounds _really_ scary. I'm shaking in my sleeping bag already.'

* * *

Yamcha was a lot later than he thought he'd be. He still wasn't used to the city, and he and Puar had gotten lost on the way in. Luckily everyone and their dog knew where Capsule Corp was, although at this time of night most of the people he'd asked directions of were drunk. As he lifted the mat to get the key Bulma had left out for him he was suddenly illuminated by headlights and heard the sound of tyres on gravel coming up the drive. As Mr and Mrs Briefs got out of their car and greeted him he kissed goodbye to his plan to spend the last of the night cosied up with Bulma, making it to third base.

'Yamcha, dear! I didn't know you were coming over tonight!' trilled Mrs Briefs, her tone holding just a tiny note of accusation.

'Yes, I thought it was just the two young boys Bulma was having over,' said Dr Briefs, whose tone held none. He encapsulated the car and then smiled absently at Yamcha.

'Oh yeah, Mrs Briefs. I wasn't sure I was going to make it, and then I got lost in the city on the way here. I...I didn't think you guys were coming home tonight.'

They ambled up the front steps, Dr Briefs flicking through his keys. 'Well, the conference was really not all I hoped it would be; I decided not to stay for the second day.'

'And the hotel was so pokey!' added Mrs Briefs. 'We decided to head home after the evening entertainment.'

As they entered the house Yamcha dithered on the porch.

'Are you coming in, boy?' asked Dr Briefs, turning to close the door.

'I'm sure the others are all asleep, but I can't turn you away at this hour. I'll make up a room for you, shall I?' smiled Mrs Briefs.

'That would be very kind!' chirped Puar from his shoulder.

'Thank you!' said Yamcha, his frustrated sexual yearnings making it a little hard to smile genuinely. Well at least he'd have a comfortable bed and a legendary Mrs Briefs breakfast out of this.

They headed upstairs and Mrs Briefs quietly checked Bulma's room as they passed.

'Oh! They're not even in here!' she gasped. 'I wonder where on earth they are?'

'It's a very big house dear, I'm sure they're somewhere,' said Dr Briefs, already heading down the hall to their room.

Mrs Briefs looked a little worried, and Yamcha was of the same mind as her. He'd be much happier knowing that Bulma and the others were safely inside the house before he went to sleep.

'I think...' he said, wandering down the hall to the next door, 'that they might be in here.'

'In the nursery?' She frowned and opened the door. 'Oh, you are so right!' she whispered. He stuck his own head round the door jamb to see a makeshift tent of sheets and chairs and floor lamps in the middle of the room, lit from within by an eerie red glow. Under the edge of a sheet could be seen the sleeping faces of Goku, Bulma and Krillin.

'Isn't that adorable?' she gushed.

'Sure,' said Yamcha, feeling betrayed that they hadn't waited up for him.

'How did you know where they were?' she asked, curiously as she closed the door again.

'I don't know,' he answered. 'Just a feeling.' He didn't know how, but these 'feelings' had been growing more acute lately. Since he had started training he was starting to know where certain people were without looking. Especially Goku, Krillin and Bulma.

Mrs Briefs led him further down the hall to the next room and helped him make up the bed.

'See you in the morning, dear.'

As soon as Mrs Briefs was back in her own bedroom she turned to her husband who was taking his shoes off. He had been preoccupied all evening, even more absent than usual. He'd had a rather unpleasing experience at the conference. He had given a presentation before dinner, but during dinner, when visiting the bathroom he'd been in a stall when two loud-mouths had entered to use the urinal. He didn't recognise their voices, but they spoke of him and another man, Alexi Borg knowingly. Alexi Borg was the CEO of a smaller competitor to Capsule Corp, Zapp Industries, and Capsule Corp was in the process of acquiring the company. Borg would soon be joining Capsule Corp's board of directors.

'What did you think of Briefs' presentation?' asked a reedy voice.

'Typical loony talk again! The fool's inventions are revolutionary, but I think he hardly knows he lives on the same planet as the rest of us.'

The other man grunted. 'I wonder how Alexi is going to fare on the board of directors under Briefs?'

'The other way round, surely?' snorted the other man. 'I wouldn't be surprised if Briefs is working for Alexi in a year's time. The eccentric bumbler won't know what hit him!' And then the two of them had laughed. Dr Briefs's ego, usually well buried and protected by his comfortable distance from the world had been stung by the revelation he was thought to be a fool. It had been his main reason for wishing to leave the conference early. He was still troubled by the incident when his wife forced another discomfort on his mind.

'I'm worried about that boy Yamcha,' she said frankly as she closed the door.

Dr Briefs looked up, surprised by the serious tone of her voice. 'I thought you liked Yamcha?'

'Oh, I do! He's lovely, and so handsome! But he and Bulma are moving so fast! I know she's nearly seventeen and he's not yet eighteen...and in some ways Bulma is mature for her age, but she's still a child in others, whereas he's a young man who's lived away from home for years! A young man who turned up tonight while we weren't here.'

He looked at her, sensing something unpleasant was on its way. He'd prefer not to think of such things.

'Bulma is a very sensible girl. I'm sure she won't do anything she doesn't want to.'

'I'm not sure it's the things she doesn't want to do we should be worried about.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that I was a girl her age once! And there wasn't many places I wouldn't go if a handsome young man like Yamcha had asked me to go there with him, if you understand my meaning.'

Dr Briefs blushed. 'She's clever enough to make her own decisions.'

'No, dear, she isn't.'

'Well what do you suggest we do about it?'

'In the morning I'll have a little chat to Bulma. And you're going to have a talk to Yamcha. Lay down some ground rules.'

'I'm not sure that's necessary,' he said, as he climbed into his pyjamas.

Mrs Briefs flounced across the bedroom, shedding her evening dress as she went. 'I think you'll see the necessity too late if Bulma can't help you work on your little projects because she's too busy looking after a baby.'

'A baby!' he spluttered.

'Or even if she's just too heartbroken to concentrate on your doo-dacky inventions with you,' she added, but she was right to impress upon him the fact that leaving Bulma and Yamcha to their own devices might eat into his time he got to spend teaching and working with his daughter. His offspring's young, brilliant mind was a primary source of joy to him, and there was no-one he enjoyed working with more.

'Perhaps I'll say something,' he conceded.

'Good!' said his wife, shimmying out of her undergarments. 'I know we've given Bulma a free reign, but I think she might need some boundaries to work with here. Or that boy is going to think he can come and go as he pleases and make a fool out of us.'

Dr Briefs felt a rare spark of anger at the thought. He might be a bit absent, and truthfully quite a bit eccentric, but he would not be made a fool of!

* * *

Mrs Briefs lay in bed for an hour without sleeping. For some reason she couldn't shake a niggling feeling of unease. Maybe she'd had one too many glasses of wine after dinner, but the sense that all was not well would not let her sleep.

She'd been worrying about her little girl lately. It wasn't like her to worry at all about her daughter, who seemed so capable and confident at such an early age that she felt no qualms about letting Bulma go on these extended camping trips she so loved, and liked to call 'adventures'. The friends she had made were all exemplary, even Yamcha, but the access he had to Bulma made her nervous now.

The things that Bulma had told her lately, about a feeling of being stalked, about a shadowy figure in her dreams that watched her while she slept - they alarmed Mrs Briefs. If Bulma was exhibiting the first signs of mental or emotional disturbance, she wanted to be the one that Bulma turned to for help, not the shoulder of a randy boyfriend. Her little girl was vulnerable right now.

Eventually she got up to find some aspirin for her headache, and as she passed Yamcha's room heard movement inside. Was he still up? She waited outside in the corridor for a little while, wondering if Bulma was inside with him, or if Yamcha was about to sneak out to get Bulma from the nursery.

Tip-toeing, she made her way to the nursery herself, but the three kids were all asleep still, with the breeze from the open casement window ruffling the sheet wall of their den. She settled down in the rocking chair, pulling her dressing gown snugly around her, thinking to wait a little while just in case the boy tried something...

She awoke to confusion and commotion.

'Who the hell are you? Get the hell out!'

She leapt to her feet as a tremendous crack sounded, and the air was filled with the sounds of Bulma, Goku and Krillin's screams and curses. Yamcha stood by the window that he'd just slammed and the sheet tent was destroyed, in tangles around the other three.

'Yamcha, what was it?' cried Bulma as she struggled out of her sleeping bag.

He was at her side in a second, wrapping his arms around her. 'Something was in here, Bulma! I sensed it in here!'

'What?' gasped Bulma and Mrs Briefs in unison. Everyone else turned to Mrs Briefs, noticing her for the first time. At that moment though the nursery door burst open and Dr Briefs barrelled into the room.

'What the devil is going on?' he said, but then his eyes alighted on Yamcha and Bulma in the middle of the room, arms round each other and she only in her nightgown.

'There was something in here,' said Yamcha. 'I scared it away.'

'What was in here?'

'I'm not sure. I sensed it-'

'Sensed it? Poppycock!'

'I saw it moving, but I didn't get a good look – it was already making for the window when I opened the door.'

'I was here the whole time, though,' said Mrs Briefs. 'I didn't hear anyone come in. And how would they get out?'

'Through the window,' said Yamcha, going back to the window and opening it again to look out.

'But we're three stories up!' objected Mrs Briefs. 'They'd have broken their necks leaping from this high!'

She and Dr Briefs both looked down out of the window, but there was no sign that anyone or anything had fallen from it.

Dr Briefs turned back, and with uncharacteristic anger asked Yamcha, 'How did they get away then boy? Fly?'

'I - I don't know...' stammered Yamcha.

'I might seem absent minded and eccentric to you, son, but I'll not be made a fool of in my own house! The only thing to sneak into this room is you!'

'Dad!' gasped Bulma, 'What are you saying?'

'Yamcha doesn't lie!' squeaked Puar defensively. She was clinging to Yamcha's shoulder again, shaking from the stress of standing up to Dr Briefs's accusation of her best friend.

'Did you see anything?' Mrs Briefs asked the cat.

Puar shook her head regretfully.

'That's because there was nothing to see!' said Dr Briefs. 'I've heard enough boy – I know you think you can get away with almost anything in this house, but you'll find out tonight that this is not true. It's time you left.'

'No! Dad! What are you saying?' screeched Bulma. 'You can't throw my boyfriend out!'

'Yes, I can!'

Yamcha was glaring at the scientist. 'Don't worry, Bulma, I'm going.'

'No! It's the middle of the night! Where are you going to go?'

'She's right, dear, it's the middle of the night,' said Mrs Briefs urgently. She didn't know where this unexpected flare of temper in her husband had come from, and was worried that it might be because of her words earlier. 'Let him stay in the pool house at least. In the morning we'll figure out what's happened here.'

'Fine,' said the doctor. 'Now get going young man.'

Yamcha cast worried eyes over Bulma. To Goku and Krillin he said 'You'd better not sleep so deeply that you don't notice that thing come back.' To Puar, who perched on his shoulder, he whispered quietly 'Stay here with her. Find me at once if it comes back.' Puar nodded and detached herself from him, floating to the floor behind his back, unnoticed by everyone else.

'I can't believe it!' muttered Bulma, as Yamcha and her father headed for the door. Goku and Krillin stood looking at their feet, made anxious and embarrassed by witnessing this family drama. 'Mom, why would Dad do that? That was so unfair! Yamcha was just looking out for me!'

Mrs Briefs didn't honestly know why her husband had overreacted. 'Don't worry, we'll sort it out in the morning.' She saw the tears of anger in her daughter's eyes and took her by the hand, leading her to the door that connected the nursery directly to Bulma's bedroom. Puar floated discreetly behind. 'I'll be back to help you boys tidy up,' Mrs Briefs told Goku and Krillin.

In Bulma's room she perched her daughter on the edge of the bed and watched her troubled face.

'It was very bad of Yamcha to scare you like that,' she said to Bulma. 'Are you worried about your phantom again?'

Bulma looked confused. 'No. I think whatever it is doesn't want to hurt me.'

'Bulma, there was nothing there! Yamcha was mistaken, or playing a trick on you!'

Bulma finally focused on her. 'You're right, Mom, how could there have been anything there?'

Mrs Briefs breathed a tiny bit easier, but she could see that she was going to spend a good portion of tomorrow looking up the numbers of some good child psychologists.

Bulma climbed into bed while Puar hid from Mrs Briefs amongst the soft toys along Bulma's headboard.

'I can't believe that Dad would blow up like that though! You'd think he doesn't trust me or Yamcha anymore.'

Mrs Briefs took a fortifying deep breath. Fine. They would have this conversation now.

'Well...maybe he's worried that you might get yourself in deeper with Yamcha than is wise,' she suggested.

The muted city lights coming in the French doors were not quite enough to show Bulma's blush at these words. 'And how deep would that be?'

'You know what I mean, Bulma. You're too young to have a serious boyfriend.'

'What? Do you think he's going to break my heart and leave me ruined?' she said scathingly.

'Perhaps. Though I find it more likely that _you_ will break _his_ heart and leave _him_ ruined, my fickle daughter.' The boy adored Bulma.

'Then what's the problem?' Bulma pouted, crossing her arms.

'It would be best not to lead him _all_ the way down the garden path before leaving him there, dear. And sex confuses things. You think you love him now, but if he's not right for you it might take you a lot longer to figure it out if you're sleeping together. And then breaking up will be a lot harder, believe me. Wait a year or two, then decide if he's really for you.'

'Well, relax, Mom, because we're not "sleeping together".'

'Good.'

' _Yet,_ ' Bulma muttered.

'Sorry dear, what was that?'

'Nothing, _Mother_.'

Returning to the nursery Mrs Briefs saw that the boys had already cleared up the mess and lay side by side in their sleeping bags.

'You didn't see anything did you, boys?'

They both shook their heads.

She was about to leave when she saw something lying on the floor under the window. It was the shape of a long salami, and furry. What was it? A breeze stopper for the window? A stuffed toy snake? The light was too dim to make it out. With a sigh she lifted the lid of Bulma's old toy box and threw it in. Then she turned and locked the casement window...just in case.

* * *

Outside the pool house Yamcha kept vigil, watching the windows of the nursery and Bulma's bedroom. He knew he'd not been mistaken. Something had been in the nursery, sniffing around the others. The problem was, though, that the night was warm and he was just so damn tired...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Chapter 2. The Stalker Prince, awaits you at the click of a button...


	2. The Stalker Prince

Bulma woke again a little while later. A breeze was stirring her hair from the open French door. As she lay there wondering why her mother had opened it she heard movement in the room and froze. The tingle of that dark presence was back, only now...someone really was there!  
  
She could hear them quietly opening and rummaging her dresser drawers. Her heart began beating so loudly in her ears that she was sure whoever it was would be able to hear it. Ever so slowly she raised her head and turned it to look down the length of the room.  
  
'Please be Mom! Please be Mom!' she prayed silently.  
  
It was not.  
  
A lithe figure in dark clothes and some kind of white, shiny chestplate, was dipping through her underwear draw.  
  
She thought her heart stopped for a second, and then, even though she had been very quiet, the figure turned and leapt at her clear across the room, landing on all fours astride her before she'd finished opening her mouth to scream. A hand clamped down hard over her mouth.  
  
'Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!' was all that came out.  
  
'Silence!' hissed his voice, for it was a man, or at least a male. The weight of his knees either side of her on the bedclothes effectively pinned her arms to her sides, but her legs were free to kick about, and she kneed him hard in the backside over and over, her earlier assertion that her phantom meant her no harm seeming ludicrous. The figure didn't even flinch, but lowered himself so that his face was just a few inches from her.  
  
'Stop that,' he said. His voice was low and soft but full of menace. Bulma could see dark eyes gleaming at her from under black brows that were pulled down into a V of fury. There was a strange white device clamped over one of his ears, from which a coloured transparent screen wrapped to cover his eye on that side, like half a pair of sunglasses. It was hard to make out much else by the city lights, other than his high brow and deep widow's peak. He pulled back his lips from his teeth - sharp looking things - and it wasn't a smile but an animalistic snarl. She felt like a mouse caught between the paws of a particularly cruel cat. Her legs stopped their assault all by themselves as the instinct to play dead took over.  
  
'Now,' he said, 'where is it?'  
  
He took his hand from her mouth so that she could answer but she just continued to stare at him, hardly breathing. She hadn't the slightest clue what he was talking about and she was too scared to tell him so.  
  
Suddenly an avalanche of soft toys fell upon their heads and the intruder reared up on his knees in surprise.  
  
'You leave her alone!' squeaked a tiny voice, and Bulma saw her rescuer float into view – a trembling Puar who defiantly looked him straight in the eye.  
  
'What the hell is that?' he gaped at the little creature. Bulma likewise stared at the cat, having no idea she'd been hiding in her room, and though she was grateful for an ally, she was pretty sure Puar was not going to be her saviour in this case. She struggled to sit up and worm away from the man, but he felt her moving under him and pushed her back down on to the mattress with just one hand on her breastbone. It felt like a lead weight there, and she whimpered in fright as she struggled to go on breathing.  
  
'I'm her friend, and I'm telling you to let her go!' shouted Puar in her little voice.  
  
'Or what?' he scoffed.  
  
'Or I'll...I'll raise the alarm!'  
  
The poor cat had hardly gotten these words out before a white-gloved fist shot out and grasped her round the neck and most of her body.  
  
'You'll do no such thing,' he said, and squeezed.  
  
'Eeep!'  
  
Bulma was galvanised into action by Puar's mewl of pain. Though she couldn't get up, the man's groin was only inches from her face. Her arms may be trapped, but her fists weren't the only weapon she had available. She head-butted him in the balls, and then scrambled around trying to find something soft to crush with her teeth.  
  
The man gasped, his legs tightening around her as he instinctively tried to close his legs against the assault, and fell forwards, sprawling onto top of her painfully, Her scream was muffled in his thighs.  
  
'I'm too young to be smothered to death in some guy's crotch!' Bulma wailed internally.  
  
Suddenly a hand wormed its way between her face and his pants, and clamped back down on her face. The weight lifted off her, and when she could see again, the man was floating above her at arm's length, one hand over her mouth and the other pressing poor Puar into the pillow next to her.  
  
'A flying man?' she wanted to shout, but couldn't. While she'd gotten used to Puar's unexplained ability to float around, she didn't think people were capable of levitation.  
  
'Tricky bitch,' he said, with a mean chuckle. It seemed like she'd barely managed to hurt him. 'Now tell me where my tail is.'  
  
He removed his hand from her mouth.  
  
'Who the hell are y-'  
  
He clamped his hand back down on her mouth. 'My tail!' he reminded her, and lifted his hand again.  
  
'You won't get away with thi-'  
  
The hand came down again and he snarled at her.  
  
'The dog that cut off my tail is in the garden, asleep on sentry duty, two children sleep in the room next door, and two weak-as-fuck adults are asleep down the hall. I don't want any witnesses, so either you can quietly answer my questions, or you can wake the household and I will happily kill them all when we are done. Your choice.'  
  
Bulma's heart pounded in her chest. When he took his hand off her mouth this time she took a moment to still her panic before she whispered 'What about me and Puar? Will you kill us when you're done?'  
  
'Not if you prove useful,' he replied, showing his teeth again. This, she supposed, was meant to be a smile this time, albeit a nasty one.  
  
'If we help you find your tail, will you leave us alone?' asked Puar.  
  
'Maybe,' he said. 'Let's find out.'  
  
Trembling, Bulma dragged herself up and away from where he hovered over her. She turned on the bedside lamp and saw her intruder properly for the first time. He wasn't as old as she had thought he might be from the voice. In fact she'd guess he was not much older than herself. He didn't look very tall or large. His hair was a strange crown of black spikes that rose from a deep widow's peak straight from his head, defying the laws of physics as blithely as the boy himself. It was unusual, but not as striking as his face. It was boyish but feral. Bulma might have thought him cute if it hadn't been for the circumstances and the look of cunning ferocity his features were stamped with. He glared at her from under thick black brows, and his eyes as dark and wild as a wolverine's.  
  
He was wearing a blue suit with white boots and gloves, and a plastic-looking set of body armour in white and gold. As she watched he rocked back in the air and crossed his arms and legs, floating like a genie two feet above her bed. He still clutched Puar in his fist with as little thought as if she was one of the toys she had hid amongst earlier.  
  
From behind him hung a short furry thing that dripped a spot of blood on her bedsheets as she watched. In fact, there were little drips of blood all over the bed and the carpet.  
  
'You really do have a tail!'  
  
'Half a tail! Where is the other half? That lumbering Earthling got lucky and slammed the window on it as I left.'  
  
'I don't know where it is, but if you stop squeezing Puar so hard, I'll help you find it.'  
  
The boy let go of Puar but caught her by the tail again as soon as she made to speed away over his shoulder.  
  
'You'll go nowhere and make no sound unless I tell you,' he said. He floated away from the bed and alighted on the floor, towing Puar along like a balloon on a string. Puar turned her anguished face to Bulma as if to say 'I'm sorry!'  
  
Bulma slid off the bed, shaking. 'Did you look under the window?' she said.  
  
The response she got was a growl. 'Do I look like an imbecile?'  
  
Bulma looked around the room. How would a severed tail have moved by itself? And then she realised that of course it couldn't have. Krillin, Goku or her mother must have moved it. She crept along the carpet to the open door that led to the nursery, wondering if she dared try and wake the boys to try and overpower this creature before he killed either her or Puar. Would they be up to the task of taking down a flying boy? As she was wondering this the boy silently came alongside her and lay a hand across the back of her neck in overt threat. He grinned nastily.  
  
'Just try it,' he whispered.  
  
Shivers of terror ran down her back from that contact as she began to look in earnest for the tail. It was not under the window of course, though she now noticed the smear of blood on the bottom edge of the window that had been overlooked during the confusion after Yamcha had chased this boy away.  
  
Goku and Krillin lay snoring in their sleeping bags, the laundry basket that had held the snacks was now full of the sheets from the packed down tent. She poked through it but found no tail. Then she checked the small rubbish pail under the old crib, but that was totally empty. If her mother had picked it up, would she have known what it was? Probably not. She'd have thought it was a toy probably. Bulma knew at once where it would be. She crossed the room to the toy box, which was disguised as a chair, with an upholstered seat for a lid and a high back behind it. Reaching her hand into the dark space she encountered several furry things, but only one of which left a wet smear across her hand. Shuddering she picked it up and held it out to the boy.  
  
'There, that wasn't so hard to find, was it?' she whispered.  
  
He didn't answer, but snatched the tail back away from her, letting go of Puar. Puar leapt to Bulma's shoulder and hung on to her in terror. Pushing Bulma in front of him by her neck he moved them back to her room to where the light coming in the tall windows and the bedside lamp showed the sad thing in his hand. He let go of Bulma too, focusing entirely on his tail, stretching behind himself to grasp and inspect the other end of it, gasping and grimacing as he did so. Bulma could see now that there was a fine bead of sweat on the boy's upper lip and his hands shook.  
  
'Fuck, fuck!' he was muttering. 'I'll be the fucking laughing stock!'  
  
The whole sight was rather pathetic. Bulma would have found it almost funny if she hadn't been so scared.  
  
'Does that hurt?' she asked.  
  
'What do you think?' he snapped.  
  
'There's some anaesthetic and other stuff in my father's lab downstairs,' she said.  
  
'A Saiyan warrior is not troubled by such a piffling amount of pain,' he said, but Bulma recognised this as bravado. He stalked away to the other end of the room and opened her underwear draw again, coming back to the light with a handful of socks and stockings. Next he sat and attempted to bind the severed tail to the stump with a pair of stockings. He gasped and grunted with pain the whole time, and Bulma began to feel a little sorry for him. She didn't know why, not at after the way he'd threatened her and Puar. He was a savage, no doubt, but he was a boy, in pain, and he was obviously woefully ignorant about how to deal with such an injury. Not that she was an expert, but she'd read some books, knew some theory and watched some reality TV hospital dramas. Her father had recently been working on some non-surgical medical solutions for traumatic injuries, and she felt it her daughterly duty to take an interest.  
  
When he'd lashed the two ends together he stood up slowly. Predictably the makeshift bandage failed and the tail tumbled to the ground again.  
  
'No!' hissed the boy, snatching it back up. 'No, I can't lose my tail! I'm the Prince of All Saiyans; how can I command my men without a tail?'  
  
A Prince? A fairly unlikely prince! And yet, not so much unlike the dream that inspired her story. He was certainly dark. She wondered if, under the terrifying aggression, he was sad too.  
  
He slumped to the floor, pressing his face into the mattress in despair, his shoulders shaking. His desperation began to move Bulma.  
  
'Hey, boy, don't cry,' she said.  
  
He swung his head towards her and snarled 'I am NOT crying you moronic girl! I'm coming to terms with living the rest of my life as half a man!'  
  
'Hey buddy, don't call me moronic! Do you have any idea who you are speaking to?' She glared at him and surprisingly he looked mildly abashed. 'I was about to offer to help you, but if you don't want your tail reattached, by all means, go on being insulting and psychotically aggressive!'  
  
He regarded her with a look of mingled hope and suspicion. 'You would heal me?'  
  
'Maybe. If you asked nice.'  
  
'Heal me now, female!' he barked at her. 'Do it and I'll spare your life!'  
  
She gaped at him. 'Try again! That wasn't "nice". Some manners you have for a prince!'  
  
'Bulma!' objected Puar in her ear. 'Don't antagonise him!'  
  
The boy stood up and advanced on Bulma, She stepped away from him until her back was against the wall and he leaned right into her personal space. The look he was giving her could have peeled the paint off the walls.  
  
'Heal me now, please, female,' he hissed softly, his breath tickling across her lips, the sarcasm and the threat in his tone unmistakeable.  
  
'That's better,' she squeaked, deciding that good manners were not worth risking her life over.  
  
She led him down through the dark house and out the back door to her father's underground labs. One of the workrooms was a medical research lab, which also had some other supplies for actually treating injuries. Accidents did happen, especially in a work environment where every second day something never before seen in the world was invented and experimented with.  
  
She had him sit down on the steel-top workbench in the middle of the lab with his feet on a chair. She pulled over a bright task lamp and went through the medical supplies in the drawers and the fridge, returning to the Prince with armloads of vials, syringes, bandages, saline solution, scissors and forceps. Then she went into the cooler chest where her father's experimental solutions were. Puar shivered on her shoulder and whispered to her, 'See if you can knock him out, Bulma.'  
  
The Prince looked extremely uncomfortable perched on the bench and bleeding slowly onto it. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and watched her every move suspiciously. He reminded her of a wild animal, trapped and wounded and untrusting of humans. Now she could see him more clearly in the brighter light she saw that his irises really were almost as black as his pupils. The only other person she knew with eyes that dark was Goku. And come to think of it, the only other person she knew with a tail was Goku too.  
  
Bulma selected an oral sedative spray and stood in front of him holding it up.  
  
'Now open your mouth and say "ah".'  
  
'Girl, if I suspect you are poisoning me, you will be dead before I am.'  
  
'Ha! Well if you don't want me to fix you, then forget it. Go without a tail, see if I care.'  
  
He scowled at her, breathing harder and harder as he stared at her as he struggled between his need for help and his distrust. 'Why are you helping me?' he asked.  
  
'You threatened my life remember?'  
  
'You were going to offer anyway.'  
  
Bulma bit her lip. Why the heck was she helping him? She shrugged. 'You said you were a prince, right? Maybe I'm doing it in the hopes that you'll reward me handsomely.'  
  
He snorted. 'Then you shall be disappointed,' he said, turning his face away. 'I have very few things left to me, and none of them are up for grabs. You are rich…' His eyes wandered around the lab. 'The people here don't live like this from what I've seen. Your family is wealthy and important. What kind of reward would you want for?'  
  
'Well maybe I'm not doing it for a reward then.'  
  
'Then why?' his voice was rough and demanding, but he spoke quietly.  
  
Bulma looked him in the eye and saw an alien soul in there; someone quite unlike anyone she'd ever met before. It was cold and sharp and confused. She just had a feeling...if this was the man in her dreams, then he couldn't be totally evil.  
  
She countered his question with her own. 'What were you doing in the nursery?'  
  
His eyes focused on her and anger rippled across his features. 'None of your damn business!'  
  
'You were intruding in my house, buddy, I think it's my business!'  
  
His lip lifted in a snarl, and before she realised he was moving he had snatched the little bottle of sedative from her.  
  
'Are you going to heal me or not, Girl? What is this stuff?'  
  
'It's for pain, and it'll help constrict capillaries to slow bleeding,' she said, which was true, but she didn't mention that it also had a euphoria-inducing side effect, was highly sedating, and that it didn't take much to send a person into a doped slumber. 'Spray a few squirts into your mouth and swallow. In a minute I'll inject you with a local anaesthetic in your tail and start to reattach it.'  
  
Keeping his eyes on her he did as she said, taking three decent sprays and then licking his lips as his mouth went numb. Bulma had to fight to keep her face straight. In a way it was as cruel and as funny as giving whisky to a dog. He tried to maintain his glare, but this stuff was fast acting, and it rapidly became an intoxicated squint.  
  
Bulma walked around the bench behind him to give him the anaesthetic as she said. She rather expected though that he would topple over asleep at any moment, but he didn't. 'Damn,' she thought to herself, 'he must be able to tolerate more that a normal person.' Her plan had been to wait till he was dozing and then send Puar for the others, but it looked like this might not work.  
  
Tentatively she picked up his tail, and he jumped despite the sedative and looked over his shoulder at her with a low growl.  
  
'I'm sorry if it's hurting, but I'm going to have to touch it if I'm going to fix it,' she said. She filled a syringe from a vial of local and prepared to inject him. 'Okay, this might hurt a little. M-maybe you should have another squirt of painkiller to prepare?' she told him hopefully.  
  
'No!' he said. 'I think I've had enough of that.'  
  
She grasped his tail again. It had rather soft fur over a whip-like cord of muscle and bone. He jerked again slightly at her touch, and she tried to sooth him as she angled the needle through the fur and skin, stroking it like she was petting a small animal. The boy's growl rumbled on and on - a very strange sound to come from a person. It was more like a stressed-out dog. She injected him again, nearer to the base of the tail and then smoothed over the site with her hand.  
  
'There there,' she said. 'The worst is over.'  
  
He reached back and grabbed her wrist painfully hard, almost over balancing in the process. 'Stop that!' he shouted. Bulma froze and stared into his unfocused eyes. 'As you are an ignorant Earthling, I will give you the benefit of the doubt.' His words were beginning to be slurred, nor was he making much sense. She wondered if maybe he would succumb to the sedative after all.  
  
'Doubt about what?'  
  
'You have no idea how grossly inappropriate it is that you should touch me so.' He turned back to face the opposite wall, muttering, 'Not even a Saiyan!'  
  
'You mean stroke your tail?'  
  
He grunted in reply.  
  
She backed off and tested the severed end of the tail for sensitivity, prodding it carefully. When he didn't react she picked it up and began to clean both ends with sterile gauze and saline solution. There was some crushed bone either side. She decided that rather than mend that bone she would remove the crushed vertebrae and pull the two either sides of it together to meet each other. Maybe she should take him to a hospital, but something told her he would not go. As she worked she felt a bit calmer. It was rather like tinkering on a project, and figuring things out and fixing stuff was her favourite hobby.  
  
'Saiyan?' she asked eventually. 'You said you were the Prince of Saiyans. What's a Saiyan?'  
  
'Me! I am. And my people.'  
  
'Do you all have tails there?'  
  
'We do.' He sighed and lowered his head till he could rest his face in his hands, elbows propped on his knees. Would he lose his balance and topple over?  
  
'I wonder if my friend Goku is from there? He's an orphan who never knew his parents, and he has a tail too.'  
  
'What? A tail like this?'  
  
'Eyes like yours too, and spiky black hair.'  
  
'Kakarott!' he said, laughing out the word, low and sleepy. When he spoke like that Bulma began to imagine what this boy would be like without the aggression. She battled the urge to stroke his back like a big dog.  
  
'What's a Kakarott?'  
  
'Where is your friend?' he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She looked at Puar, whose tense face only showed confusion. Puar shrugged.  
  
'He's upstairs in the nursery,' she replied, hoping this was an innocuous thing to tell the prince.  
  
He laughed, slow and low. 'He is one of mine, yes! Imagine him being here with you, girl. Two birds with one stone.'  
  
'What?' she said, stopping in the act of spraying an experimental bone glue over the joins she wanted to knit together. It would dissolve over the course of weeks, but in the meantime it would hold the tail together while the tissues healed around it. 'Am I a bird in this metaphor?'  
  
'You're a bird,' he slurred, quite far gone now. 'Bulma-bird.'  
  
She gasped. 'You know my name!'  
  
'I heard of you,' he said. 'Came to see...if it was true.'  
  
A tingle of alarm, or maybe it was excitement shivered down Bulma's spine. 'Have you been watching me? For the last couple of weeks?'  
  
He snorted. 'Yes, but you are all too slow and stupid to catch me!'  
  
'Even in my room at night?'  
  
'Especially then.'  
  
Puar and Bulma both gasped.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'I heard a story,' he told her. 'About a princess with magic gems. I want a wish.'  
  
So he had heard her story earlier? It didn't make any sense! She decided to ask him another question, and it seemed silly, but so was a flying boy, so she may as well ask it. If she wasn't crazy about the phantom presence...  
  
'Have you been visiting me in my dreams?' she asked. Puar gasped in surprise at the question, but the prince laughed.  
  
'Ha! Idiot Bulma-bird. How would I do that?' And then he repeated 'Bulma-bird, Bulma-bird,' several times as if rolling the phrase around his tongue for fun. 'Bimla bud, Bumla bid...'  
  
'My name is Bulma Briefs, not Bulma-bird!' she said, beginning to be bolder in the face of his inebriation.  
  
'Whatever, Girl.'  
  
She huffed, reaching for the severed ends of his nerves with her forceps. She would glue them together with another of her father's inventions - a conductive polymer meant just for this purpose.  
  
'Maybe I'll just call you Boy then, huh?'  
  
'No!' he objected. 'Prince Vegeta!'  
  
'Well Prince Vegeta, of Saiya Land, tell me again why you are here.'  
  
'It's not Saiya Land, it's Planet Vegeta.'  
  
Bulma burst out laughing. 'What an ego! A planet named after you! If you want me to believe you are an alien you'll have to come up with a more convincing back story than that!'  
  
'I am Prince Vegeta of Planet Vegeta, Prince of all the Saiyans!' he shouted back, reviving somewhat from the sedative.  
  
'All right, whatever you say buddy,' she said, beginning the same process with the severed muscle. This surgery stuff was easy! She decided she would ask her father if she could be more involved in this medical research project. 'How many people do you rule on your imaginary planet?'  
  
'Ah...four. Five if you count Kakarott. Six if you count me.'  
  
'That's not many for a planet.'  
  
'The rest are all dead. Destroyed with the planet when I was a child.'  
  
Bulma stopped what she was doing for a second. Obviously he was just quoting her own story back to her. A prince with no home indeed!  
  
'I thought you knew,' he went on. 'I heard you telling the other two earlier. How did you know?'  
  
She pulled his shoulder round so that she could see his face. He looked at her, still woozy, but tension was returning to his face.  
  
'Are you shitting me?' she said.  
  
He growled and reached an unsteady hand for her throat. 'You have poisoned me, witch! Plied me with truth serums.'  
  
'No, I didn't!' she backed away. 'It was just painkiller! You must be more susceptible because...you're an alien.' He was actually less susceptible, perhaps because he was an alien. Really, an ALIEN? Now she considered it, perhaps it was not so far fetched. He didn't look like any other human, except Goku who, it turned out, might not be human either!  
  
He continued to glower at her until he seemed to lose the energy and the focus. 'Is my tail fixed yet?'  
  
'Getting there.'  
  
She cut away some of the fur around each side and began trying to join the ends of the major blood vessels - slippery work. There was a spray bottle of hormone to promote regrowth also and she used this liberally.  
  
'You are weak, but clever,' he said, almost to himself. 'You could be useful. My men would not have known how to reattach a tail.'  
  
'What about your women then?'  
  
'There are no women. They are all young male warriors like myself. Except Nappa, he's old.'  
  
'What?' Bulma was horrified. 'Not even your mother?'  
  
'I never knew my mother,' he said simply.  
  
No wonder he was a savage! If he was raised by boys with no mother, and by the sound of it, no father, of course he was feral. She felt sorrier for him than ever.  
  
'You poor thing! Are you an orphan?'  
  
'Bulma!' whispered Puar. 'He's not a poor thing! We're the poor things!'  
  
'Listen to your daemon,' drawled Vegeta. 'I am an orphan, but I am not an object for your pity.'  
  
Bulma humphed, reserving judgement. How would he know? 'Is it not sad that there are no Saiyan females?'  
  
'It is. I'd give all my men for one woman.'  
  
This sounded hopeful. And just a little bit romantic. Bulma was fairly pleased by this sentiment. After all, despite her great brains, beauty and cunning, her male friends, even her boyfriend were often disparaging about her being 'only a girl.' It looked like this Prince Vegeta had his priorities around the right way.  
  
'I guess you'd give any amount of spoons when all you need is a fork,' she said, and then giggled at her unintentional near-pun.  
  
'Even before my planet was destroyed, my race prized females highly. Not only were many of them strong warrior, they bore out young.'  
  
She stitched the skin closed with her neatest embroidery stitch, dosed the join with antiseptic powder and wrapped it tightly with gauze. Then she made a splint out of pencils and surgical tape, and covered the whole thing with a bandage.  
  
'There,' she said. 'That's going to take weeks to heal, I suspect. And you'll have to go easy on it.'  
  
He swung his head around, a look of fierce joy on his face. 'It is done?' He tried to look over his shoulder at it and lost his balance, ending up falling face down with his upper body over the benchtop. He levitated into the air and lashed the mended tail about, crashing it through a shelf of glassware.  
  
'What did I just say?' shouted Bulma, jumping clear. 'It should probably be in a sling.'  
  
'No sling!' he said, grinning gleefully. 'Of course, such an injury would not keep me down!'  
  
'And what did I do?' she complained. 'Nothing, I suppose?'  
  
'You did your part.'  
  
'Huh! No thank you either, I guess!'  
  
He dropped to the floor, staggering on landing from the sedative still in his system, and stalked around the bench to Bulma, keeping his eyes trained on her the whole way. His gaze was intense and his expression triumphant as he rounded on her.  
  
'Oh shit, you've done it now!' said Puar.  
  
Bulma turned and ran down and around the far end of the bench, trying to make it back to the door before he caught her, but he merely leapt clear over the bench and landed in front of her. She crashed right into him and he clung to her as she knocked him off balance. His sly grin was at odds with his actions though. 'Come with me,' he said. His delight was almost charming.  
  
'Why?' she asked, trying to pull out of his grasp. He was so strong though that he didn't even appear to notice her struggle. 'I think I might want to stay here actually.'  
  
'Come back with me to my men. Tell them the story you told tonight! About the magic gems you can find! Tell us how the story ends!'  
  
'Uh oh, he's gone to crazy town,' whispered Puar right in her ear.  
  
'You want a bedtime story?' she asked incredulous.  
  
'No. I want the wish,' he said and finally she realised that he was talking about the Dragonballs. Somehow he had found out about her connection to them and come stalking her. He saw her fright and chuckled.  
  
'I will not harm you if you return with me,' he said.  
  
'Right,' she replied. 'There's nothing like the promise of non-violence to get my enthusiasm up.'  
  
'I might harm you if you don't.'  
  
'Oh, such a winning argument!'  
  
'I had heard you had a taste for adventure, Princess, but I guess I heard wrong! My men will be very disappointed when I tell them what a clever, useful, pretty female didn't want to meet them.'  
  
'You think I'm pretty?'  
  
'No, but that's what I'll tell my men.' He laughed at her insulted face, and turned towards the door, pulling her one-handed behind him. She tried not moving, but he just dragged her bare feet across the tiles. 'Your friend Kakarott will be coming with me anyway,' he said. 'You may as well come willingly.'  
  
'Why should I want to help you?' she said as he dragged her up the stairs.  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
'You threatened to kill me on more than one occasion tonight!' she went on, as they crossed the lawn to the house. 'There's no reason on this green Earth for me to go anywhere with you!'  
  
He pulled her round and pinned her against the wall with one arm, his back to the crescent moon and the city lights, throwing his face into shadow.  
  
'This green Earth is the reason you should,' he finally replied. 'I thought you knew about the space pirate - only his name is not Captain Ice Cream but Lord Frieza. He is hunting us down, and may already know we are here on this planet. When he finds this fat candy land of untapped resource you can kiss your planet and your species goodbye too!'  
  
'What?' Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Had this stranger really brought such a threat on his coat tails? She didn't want what he said to be true.  
  
'No-one is that strong!' she said. 'No-one can destroy a planet!'  
  
'Can't they?' he laughed. 'Maybe in your world of weaklings this is true, but even I can destroy a planet! And Frieza is many times more powerful than I.'  
  
'How can we believe you?' demanded Puar.  
  
He appeared to notice Puar again for the first time in a while, and struggled to focus on her little cat-features. Then he reached out and grabbed her again, bringing the squealing cat to his nose and sniffing her as if trying to judge if she was edible. Then he looked back at Bulma, Puar disregarded in his fist, and grinned again.  
  
'The question is, can you afford to not believe me?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: What do ya think?


	3. Fly, Maggots, Fly!

They made it back to the nursery a little less discretely than they left. Vegeta was clumsy and spoke too loudly as he followed her through the house, bumping into doorframes and swearing.

'Let's see what kind of third-class cretin you're harbouring,' he said as they entered the nursery.

'Goku!' whispered Bulma urgently to the sleeping boy. Vegeta strode over and whipped the sleeping bag clear off of him. Goku started in his sleep, and mumbled sleepily before Vegeta griped him by the back of his gi and lifted him into the air, arse-up and tail on full display.

'Huh?' said Goku.

'He's a Saiyan all right,' said Vegeta in satisfied tones. 'A weakling and a failure by the looks of it, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take him even so.'

'Hey!' said Goku, coming awake properly and kicking about. 'Who are you calling a weakling?'

'You, Kakarott,' replied Vegeta, dropping the younger boy back to the floor. Goku landed nimbly on his fingers and toes.

'Hey, now you're calling me a Kakarott!' said Goku testily, getting up. This awoke Krillin, who peered up crankily at Bulma.

'Am I going to get any decent sleep tonight?' he said, and then turned his head towards Vegeta. 'Who the heck is that?' he yelped.

Vegeta, glanced over at Krillin, giving him only a contemptuous sneer in reply.

'He's that guy I was telling you about earlier,' said Bulma, not liking the way Vegeta was looking at Krillin as he scrambled to his feet.

'What guy?'

'The Prince!'

'The _Stalker_ Prince? Bulma, I thought that was only a story you made up!'

'So did I, Krillin!'

'Am I still dreaming? That doesn't make any sense!'

'Bulma, what's going on?' said Goku.

Bulma looked at Vegeta, unsure of what to do or say.

'His name is Vegeta. Vegeta, this is Krillin and Goku.'

Vegeta pointed at Goku, his hand weaving in the air slightly. 'Whatever he thinks his name is, his name is Kakarott.' Then he pointed at Krillin, ' _He_ is a witness.'

'No!' cried Bulma and Puar at once, remembering what Vegeta said he would do to witnesses.

'No, we should take him with us!' said Bulma. 'He can help you! He's a martial artist, nearly as strong as Goku!'

'Nearly?' protested Krillin.

'Huh,' said Vegeta, unconvinced. He reached up to the contraption that covered his ear and eye and pressed a button. Bulma could see a faint overlay of illuminated characters scroll in the corner, before with a beep they slowed and flashed. Then he repeated the process and looked pissed off at what he saw.

'You _are_ nearly as strong as Kakarott, I'll give you that,' he said to Krillin, 'but you, Kakarott, are a pathetic specimen of a Saiyan, even for a child your age!'

'I don't like the way you're calling me all these names I don't understand!' said Goku starting to get angry. 'I think you should leave, or I'll fight you!'

'A Saiyan is what you are. Your name is Kakarott. I am your Prince!' he told Goku slowly. Then he turned to Bulma. 'I hardly know whether it is worth taking him - he is weak _and_ stupid.'

'He's my friend. And he never loses a battle!' she told him.

'Very well. Perhaps we could use someone who is _lucky_. Come, we are leaving now before the old ones or the long haired fighter awake.'

'What?' they all cried.

'What are you talking about?' demanded Krillin.

'The girl and Kakarott are coming with me to help me defeat my enemy.'

'What about me?' asked Puar from Vegeta's hand.

Vegeta started and then looked down at the nearly-forgotten cat in his hand. 'You too, daemon.'

Krillin and Goku both stared open mouthed, looking between Bulma and Vegeta.

'Captain Ice Cream is real too?' asked Goku.

'Yes,' said Bulma. 'And if we don't help Vegeta he might destroy the Earth like he destroyed Vegeta's planet.'

'Ha!' muttered Vegeta, 'Captain Ice Cream! I'll have to call him that to his face.'

Goku and Krillin ignored him though, reeling at what Bulma had told them.

'He destroyed a whole planet? Why?'

'I don't know Krillin. But Vegeta says that he may be following him here, and when he gets here he'll see what a prize target the Earth is.'

'What does that mean?' asked Goku.

'The planet will be sold to resource strip miners or developers,' drawled Vegeta. 'The Earthlings either will be eradicated or enslaved.'

'We can't let that happen!' said Goku. Krillin turned a ghostly shade and gulped.

'Why is he coming here?' he asked. Vegeta ignored him. Krillin looked back and forth between Bulma and Goku before lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders. 'I don't trust this guy, but I can't stand by and let the Earth be destroyed! I'm going with you.'

'I don't need another useless mouth to feed,' Vegeta said, raising his palm to Krillin. Bulma didn't know what he was planning to do, but was sure it wasn't good.

'No!' she said, stepping forward, and then, after a moment of steeling her nerves, stepping in front of Krillin. 'I need him,' she said, trying to come up with a reason for Vegeta to keep Krillin alive. 'He's my Dragonball assistant.' She hoped that Vegeta didn't notice the puzzled 'huh?' that Krillin let slip.

Vegeta growled and then relented. 'Fine. If you can keep up, maggot, you can come. If you screw up or slow us down, I'll blast you to the Next Dimension myself. And we're leaving _now_ ,' said Vegeta, walking to the window, unlocking and opening it with his free hand. He turned and looked back at the rest, expectantly.

The other three stared back at him blankly.

'You want us to jump out the window?' said Krillin. He lifted an eyebrow at Bulma. 'Is this guy drunk?' he whispered. Bulma laughed apologetically, just in case Vegeta had heard.

'It's a long way to the ground,' said Goku, and then his face hardened with determination, 'but okay!'

'No, Goku,' cried Bulma, 'you'll splatter!'

Vegeta hissed in frustration. 'Don't tell me you can't fly?! Imbeciles! Even with your low power levels you should be able to _fly!_ '

'Well, that does it,' said Krillin. 'He's either drunk or mad, and we don't need to listen to anything he says.'

'Even this tiny, weak creature can fly,' said Vegeta, brandishing Puar. 'Why can you not?'

'But that's Puar,' said Goku. 'People can't fly!'

Vegeta rose a foot into the air. 'Can't they?'

Krillin looked like he might faint. 'You _were_ here before, weren't you? And you flew out the window, just like Yamcha said!'

'How did you do that?' said Goku. Vegeta ignored Krillin's observation and answered Goku's question.

'Chi, life force, energy – are you familiar with it?'

The two boys nodded.

'Can you manipulate it?'

The two boys took identical stances of concentration, growling with effort as they powered up, holding their hands close together in front of their chests and centring their Chi between their palms until they had glowing balls of energy. Bulma watched their almost magical display and attempted to ape it, growling and frowning and wondering what they hell it was they did that got this light show happening. She had no idea what she was doing, but she wanted to fly.

'Pathetic,' said Vegeta. He looked over at Bulma. 'What the hell are _you_ doing?'

'Um, trying to manipulate my chi?'

'Well, it's not working. You look more like you're experiencing acute constipation.' He reached up and tapped the contraption on his face again, and the characters whirled away until they settled on a single digit. 'What?' said Vegeta, and then he began laughing. 'I thought that the elite of this planet might be stronger than the Earthling average, but I was sadly mistaken. I'll have to carry _you_ , princess.'

Bulma blushed with chagrin. Why did the boys get to fly, while she had to be _carried_? It wasn't fair!

'Now, take that energy you have gathered and distribute it under your feet, your hands and any other part of you that is horizontal to the ground. Then use it to lift yourself into the air.'

Krillin and Goku exchanged glances and then teased their concentrated chi back out under their hands. It became faint and then invisible as they lost their control and it slipped away. With much frowning and grunting they ended up standing like starfish, still firmly on the ground.

'Hey,' said Goku, his arms bouncing slightly. 'I think my hands are floating!'

Vegeta only growled.

Bulma felt like the dunce, and was mindful that she was still only wearing her nightshirt and that the great part of her potential usefulness lay in her resources, of which she had none to hand. At the very least she needed the dragonball radar.

'I need to go get some stuff if we're going to go dragonball hunting,' she said. She made for the door.

'Where are you going?' said the jumpy Prince.

'Don't worry!' she told him. 'I want to save the world, and I don't want to wake anyone! I'll only be a couple of minutes and then I'll be back.'

'Then hurry,' he barked.

In her room with the door closed she threw on some shorts, a t-shirt, a hooded jacket and sneakers. Then she grabbed the small backpack of capsules she kept well-stocked for any adventures that might crop up. She checked that the dragon radar was still inside the front pocket, and then turned and ran all the way back down to the med lab. There she gathered up more medical supplies and some more of her father's experimental solutions, including the sedative and capsulated them. Something told her that they would be needed. At the very least, Vegeta's dressings would have to be changed at some point.

She was about to leave when she began to feel bad that she was stealing her father's work with no explanation, not to mention that when her parents woke up, she and her friends would be gone. They never usually worried, but she needed to give them some reason for her disappearance. Quickly, she grabbed a notepad out of a draw and scrawled a note for her parents to find, leaving it in the centre of the steel topped bench. It wasn't ideal, but saving the world was a special case, and if she woke them up to tell them, not only would they probably make a fuss, the doped-up, feral prince might kill them. As she was leaving the lab she spied the emergency capsules her father kept down here in case of some apocalyptic event, and she remembered Vegeta's complaint about having 'another useless mouth to feed'. Well, he wouldn't be able to complain if they brought their own supplies, would he? She grabbed some handfuls of food and drink capsules and stuffed them in a biological sample carry satchel.

Back upstairs in the corridor she collided with Vegeta, who slapped a hand around her wrist and dragged her back into the nursery.

'What took you so long? I was about to hunt you down.'

'You should have made a break for it, Bulma!' said Puar.

'How do you control your daemon?' asked Vegeta. 'I will destroy it if it won't work for me.'

'What's a daemon?' said Bulma.

Vegeta looked pissed off, but asked his own question, rather than answer hers. 'If it's not a daemon, what is it?'

'I'm a cat, and I have a voice and mind of my own!' protested Puar.

'She's my friend. Just do what he says, Puar, I don't want you to get hurt!'

'Oh, Bulma!' she sobbed in despair. 'What makes you think he won't kill us even so!'

Vegeta said nothing, but gave a less than reassuring snort.

The boys had graduated to levitating. Goku rose up unsteadily as she watched, bumping his head on the ceiling, gasping with surprise and then dropping nearly all the way to the ground. Krillin was hovering uncertainly, attempting to lie himself flat on a cushion of chi. Vegeta shook his head.

'The girl is back. We leave now.'

'What, already?' said Goku.

Vegeta grabbed Goku by the head and threw him out the window. Goku's cry of shock disappeared with the boy, and Bulma ran to the window, ready to scream, but Goku bobbed back into view, spread-eagle in the air.

'That wasn't so bad,' he said, and Bulma breathed in relief, turning furious eyes on Vegeta. Vegeta made a move towards her and she stepped away from him.

'I don't think so, buddy!' she said, rummaging through her backpack. 'I'm not being carried by you all the way to who-knows-where.' She found the capsule she was looking for and pressed the release button, throwing it out the window. With a pop, a hoverbike materialised, floating obediently in the air outside.

Vegeta grunted in surprise, but then tried to look nonchalant when she raised a smug eyebrow at him.

'Your tech is somewhat advanced,' he said, and then jumped out the window himself, waiting for her in the air while Goku practised aerial manoeuvrings around him. Bulma climbed onto the window sill and then steeled herself to leap the five feet or so to the saddle of the bike. As she settled herself in and coasted the bike away from the building, only Krillin remained in the window.

'I'm not ready to fly!' squealed Krillin.

'What did I say to you?' said Vegeta, an unforgiving glint in his eye.

'That if I couldn't keep up…you'd blast me?'

'Your choice, squirt!' said Vegeta, holding up his hand towards Krillin.

'No, wait!' cried Bulma, but Krillin leapt to the window sill and out, falling straight down between the house and the bike.

* * *

Yamcha jumped, awakened from a deep sleep in the flowerbed by the sound of Krillin and Bulma's screams. He saw Krillin falling to the ground, and he leapt to his feet in horror, but the next moment as Krillin _swooped_. The boy was flying! He rubbed his eyes. Was he still dreaming? He looked up at the sound of an engine revving and saw Bulma perched on a hoverbike, and Goku was flying too! And another figure – a man or a boy, moving through the air like he was born to it.

For a second he was struck dumb listening to Krillin's nervous laughter and Goku and Bulma's cheers. And then the stranger spoke, his voice deep and harsh in the balmy summer night.

'Now, go! Eastwards, straight over the city. And get a move on, I don't want to still be flying at dawn!'

Bulma gunned the engine on the bike, masking Yamcha's yell as he stumbled out of the flowerbed onto the lawn.

'Bulma! Wait!'

She didn't hear. She and the boys flew on, followed by the man.

'WAIT!' he screamed, but she still didn't hear. The man did though. He slowed and turned, his dark features sweeping the garden. The guy, that presence; it was without a doubt the intruder from earlier, and a prickling, instinctual sense told Yamcha to hide. He ducked back into the flowerbeds, and then ran down the side of the pool house, bent low in the shadows, closer to where the man hung in the air. Without warning a beam of light shot out of the finger of the stranger and hit the flowerbed where Yamcha had just been. It exploded in a shower of soil and petals, and the shockwave knocked Yamcha to the ground and winded him.

Then he heard a sound that would haunt him to the end of his days. A cruel chuckle, delighting in the destruction and his attempted murder. The figure flew on.

'Yamcha!' came Puar's faint cry. 'I'm sorry!'

Yamcha picked himself up and raced across the Capsule Compound, but it was no use – the stranger and his friends were gone.

He turned tail and ran back to the house and battered on the front door, yelling at the top of his lungs.

'Wake up! Open up! Dr Briefs! Mrs Briefs!'

After a minute he still couldn't hear any movement from inside, so he raced around the side of the house. He had no idea which window might be Bulma's parents' room, so he ran back and forwards around the back of the house screaming for them to wake up.

This tactic paid off when a balcony door opened up and Dr Briefs stepped out.

'Yamcha! Why are you making this racket? I never picked you for a troublemaker before tonight, but if I have to call the police, I will!'

'No, Dr Briefs!' he shouted back up at him, aggrieved. 'Bulma and the boys, they're gone!'

'What?'

Mrs Briefs joined her husband on the balcony, wrapping her dressing gown around her.

'Yeah, that stranger came back, and they've gone off with him!'

'This again?'

'Dr Briefs, it's the truth. Someone was there, and he came back and took them!'

'And then why didn't you stop them?'

'Because they were flying, Dr Briefs!' he said in despair, knowing even as he said it how mad he sounded. Mrs Briefs gasped and looked at her husband, clearly thinking that Yamcha's chain had slipped a gear.

'My daughter sprouted wings and flew, did she?' said the doctor.

'No,' said Yamcha, 'Bulma was on a hoverbike. But the stranger and Krillin and Goku were _flying!_ I don't know where they've gone, but I'm scared that they're all in danger. I don't know why they've gone with him, they didn't hear me yelling after them, but the guy, he…he tried to kill me by blowing up some of the garden.'

'Oh my word, Yamcha!' said Mrs Briefs, 'How can this be true?'

'I know I sound mental, but please, check her room!'

They both hurried away, and when Mrs Briefs returned she was crying. 'Yamcha, you're right, they're gone! You'd better come in. Trunks has gone down to open the front door for you!'

Upstairs, back inside the nursery again they had the lights on. The sleeping bags were tossed carelessly on the floor, and more worryingly, little drops of blood were scattered around the carpet. There was a smear of blood on the frame of the window. Yamcha's heart was in his mouth, and Mrs Briefs was on the verge of hysterical tears. Suddenly and bizarrely, Bulma's parents were now looking to him for a clue as to what to do next.

'I'm very sorry I doubted you, boy,' said Dr Briefs. 'Very sorry indeed!'

Yamcha was too scared and angry to acknowledge the apology. He followed the trail of blood spots through the door into Bulma's room. The blood trail crossed the room several times, with a generous scattering on the floor next to the bed and on the crisp white bed coverings.

'No!' cried Mrs Briefs, staggering in shock into her husband.

Yamcha felt a little faint himself, but he said 'We don't know that this is her blood, Mrs Briefs. I only saw her from a distance, but she didn't look seriously injured.'

He looked around the room. The wardrobe was open, as were some of her draws. Her underwear was on display, and there was a handful of socks and stockings scattered next to the bedside lamp. Some were stained with blood.

'Someone was injured,' said Yamcha. 'And they tried to staunch the blood with these socks and stuff.'

He followed one trail to the other door from Bulma's room, out into the corridor. The Briefs followed on his heels as he went from blood spot to blood spot, down through the house, out through the kitchen and the back door, across the neatly clipped lawn to the entrance of the underground lab. Dr Briefs entered the access code.

'Bulma must have come down here,' he said shakily. 'Only she would know how to get in. Maybe they were heading to the med lab.'

The blood trail confirmed his guess. He flicked on the overhead lights on a disturbing scene. Smashed glassware covered the bench and floor on one side of the lab from a shelf that had been swiped bare. The central bench had a decent splattering of blood on it, surrounded by bloodied gauze, suture needles, tweezers and forceps, and a kidney tray holding bloodied bone fragments.

'Oh my god,' said Mrs Briefs, seeing this.

'This couldn't be Bulma's injury dear,' said Dr Briefs, as much to convince himself as her. 'Neither of the boys would attempt complex first aid like this, and she couldn't have possibly managed to do it on herself.'

'Are you sure about that?' said Yamcha.

The doctor kept his mouth shut as he looked around the fridges and lockers of the lab. Whatever he saw made his face go icy.

'No, I'm not sure,' he said. 'Half my research has gone missing. Perhaps we are dealing with a very violent case of industrial espionage and kidnapping.'

'A note!' cried Mrs Briefs.

They all converged upon it. It was Bulma's writing.

_Dad,_

_Goku, Krillin and me have gone to help a prince stop a space pirate from destroying the world. I don't know how long we'll be. Tell mum not to worry too much._

_Sorry, I had to borrow some of your stuff. I'll try and make it up to you when I get back. At least we know that it works well!_

_Love you_

_Bulma._

The silence that followed the reading of this letter was finally broken by Mrs Briefs's sob. Her hands were gripping the bench so tight that her knuckles were showing white.

'Her phantom was real!' she said, and then she crumpled. Yamcha caught her before she hit the ground, passed out from shock.


	4. Straight On Till Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: It's still early days in this fic, but I hope you are all digging it already.

They had left the city and its outlying suburbs far behind.

As Vegeta flew on towards the lightening horizon he began to be filled with a growing discomfort. His head hurt in a way that made him reluctant to swing his head around, his stomach felt queasy, his tail was beginning to throb painfully, and each movement sent a fiery lance of pain right up his spine. Worst of all was realising that he'd not been in full control of himself these last couple of hours. He felt rather like he'd been out drinking all night, and now he was coming to his senses amidst his hangover.

He draped his tail loosely around his leg to minimise its movement, then braced himself to look over his shoulder at the source of the annoyingly loud buzzing. The girl was trailing him on that machine. He groaned and turned away again. His memories of the night were foggy. The last thing he remembered clearly was accidentally waking the girl and forcing her to help him find his tail. It had been a dumb move, but he'd been desperate. He dimly remembered a serum spray, minor surgery to reattach his tail, and being very happy. A little more clearly he remembered yelling at some brats and then their escape through the window. Kakarott, that was right. A fortuitous find. And the girl was indeed the princess he had heard of. He'd overhead her story, confirming as much.

He had brought Kakarott along with him, but he was not sure now if his decision to bring the girl was sound. It hadn't been his original intention. He'd been hoping that during his surveillance of her he would be able to uncover the secret to finding and using the mystical gems, but to his frustration, so far he'd found nothing of consequence. The girl lived an inane life of indulgence and talked in her sleep. The most useful thing he had discovered was that she was some sort of scientific protégé. Apparently she also possessed the craftiness to drug him, and the fact that he'd been compromised disturbed him. He'd already been contemplating a change of tactic, probably involving a discrete kidnapping and interrogation, but instead he'd allowed himself to be injured, then winged it and ended up in this messy palaver with no clear memory of what he'd done or exposed. He couldn't even properly remember what he had said to her. Well, if she was no use to them and he'd said too much, at least she would be at hand to dispose of, and not be a witness for Frieza to scoop up. In the meantime the girl would have to be watched, as perhaps she was not as harmless as she seemed.

Something squirmed in his hand and he looked across to the creature he still grasped.

'Are you a daemon?' he asked it plainly.

'No. I don't even know what that is,' it said glumly.

'It's a thrall,' he told it. The creature still looked back dumbly. 'It's a being with no free will, whose purpose is to serve its master with whatever skills or knowledge it possess. Some races use them. Some races make good daemons.'

'I'm a cat,' it said, and Vegeta thought he detected a note of derision in its voice.

'I've seen many things called "cats" on various planets. None of them was sentient. Are you sure you're not a creation of that girl or her kind?'

'Yes, I'm sure! I was born in a village of cats, and we can all talk and fly.'

'If you're not a daemon, what use are you?' He squeezed the cat harder to let it know that useless equalled dead. The cat choked and then suddenly disappeared, replaced by a snake. Vegeta was so shocked the he flung it away from himself. The snake fell through the air and he watched it go, wondering what manner of dark science this was, when the snake exploded outwards in a flurry of feathers. It was now a hawk, which wheeled around below him and began beating its wings frantically to get away. Vegeta was breathing hard, not knowing what he was dealing with, but one thing was sure – that creature was making a beeline back the way they had come and it knew everything that had happened this night, which was more than Vegeta did.

He grimaced with pain as he dropped downwards and then turned over in the air, putting on a brutal burst of speed, catching up with the hawk within a handful of seconds. He snatched it in mid flight, and it gave a keening cry of despair before turning back into the cat. The girl slowed and turned the buzzing craft around to see what was happening. Kakarott was still far behind. Who was that other figure with Kakarott? Oh, the assistant. He had almost forgotten.

He turned, groaning again, to take his place in the lead, his grip on the cat firmer than ever. The damn thing transformed again, nearly slipping his grasp again as it grew enormously into an orange beast with black stripes and killer teeth and claws. It turned on Vegeta, curling up in the air to rake into him with its rear legs, roaring as it did so. Vegeta gasped in shock as his body armour saved him from the unexpected mauling, but he didn't let the beast have another go. He gave it a sharp blow across to the side of the head and it went limp, popping back to its usual form with a yelp.

'Well,' said Vegeta, 'that _does_ seem very useful. What other services do you perform for your mistress?'

'Bulma isn't my mistress,' the cat said miserably. 'I was looking out for her because she's Yamcha's girl, and he asked me to.'

'And who is Yamcha?'

'My best friend – the one who you tried to kill earlier!'

' _Tried_ to kill?' said Vegeta, slowing in the air. Shit! He'd meant to destroy the sentry in the bushes. How long would it take to get back there and finish him off?

'No!' said the cat, reading his intention. 'He's not a witness; you don't need to kill him! He barely saw you, and from a distance. He has nothing to tell!'

Vegeta frowned and tried to review his fuzzy memory. He supposed it was right, and he really didn't want to waste time going back. Blast the girl and her serums!

'So what other tricks did you do for your master? Be truthful now – useful or not, I'll kill you without a second thought if I find you've lied.'

'No other tricks! I give him advice and company because he's my friend!'

Vegeta brought the cat to his face and looked into its frightened black eyes. 'It sounds to me like you _are_ a daemon. Well, you're my daemon now. My "friend" now.'

The cat struggled weakly and gave a cry.

'None of that,' commanded Vegeta. 'Obey me, aid me, and you'll come to no harm. Escape, and I'll kill the girl then come back for you and your old master. Do we have a deal?'

The cat began weeping and went limp in his hand again. 'Deal,' it said brokenly.

'Then my first order is; shut up. I detest the sound of self-pity.'

The daemon obeyed. Pleased, Vegeta looked away into the lightening horizon, where the dark shadow of a forest could be seen growing closer. It was probably only another half hour before dawn. He yawned. If Nappa was still in bed when he got back he was going to kick him out of the bedroom and shut him out with the rest of the rabble while he got some sleep.

'My name is Puar,' said the little voice.

Vegeta gave the cat a sneer. 'Poo-arr?' he repeated, rolling the silly name around his tongue. 'I will called you Daemon. You will call me Master or Prince Vegeta.'

The cat's miserable face turned hostile. Vegeta chuckled at its offence and flew on.

* * *

Tarble was bored. Yet again he was stuck on the early morning sentry duty. Nappa swore he was just following the roster, but for some reason Tarble seemed to be rostered to the crappiest shift more often than not. Tarble suspected that Nappa was full of shit.

The pine tree he had spent the last four hours perched in was uncomfortable and he was sticky with sap. When Prince Vegeta had sought him out on Planet Tech-Tech, revealed his Saiyan heritage and told him to come away with them to avenge their people, it had sounded tremendously exciting. Tarble had been overjoyed to join people who looked like him, whom he had a natural place with instead of being the tall, funny-looking freak all the time like he was amongst the Tech-Techies. At eleven years old he had already been stronger than the strongest Tech-Techie. When he'd been a young child he had transformed under every full moon and killed thousands of Tech-Techies until the gentle people figured out what triggered his monstrous transformation. Since then he'd spent every thirteenth day, the full moon of planet Tech-Tech's lunar cycle, in confinement under observation. The other twelve days of the month he'd tried to do every good deed he was allowed, but it didn't matter. He would always be just the strange, dangerous alien to most Tech-Techies.

He'd grown up on the charity of curious friends and strangers. The idea of having true kin was irresistible. But every day since he'd climbed on board the Saiyan's space ship, there hadn't been a single one that he hadn't regretted it.

He sighed. A year on, his place amongst his "people" was as the runt of the pack. The freakishly weak and soft. It was too late to turn back now. He would just have to try and live up to his birthright. The Tech-Techies had called him violent and overly-physical in his approach to everything. They had no concept of violence compared to the older Saiyans.

His post was near the top of a hill. Below him on one side the forest fell away into a deep valley. At the bottom of the valley, tucked away out of sight in a clearing was their ship. He made another revolution around the trunk of the tree, his weight shaking the trunk and branches this high up, and this time he saw something through the infrared binoculars. Some tiny dots. Tarble felt his stomach immediately drop. Two dots coming this way? Sentry duty was bad enough when nothing happened!

Nervously he fingered the radio com unit. The others wouldn't thank him for waking them if it was just some flying dinosaurs like last time. But they might thank him if he killed the flying dinosaurs…Nappa and the others were never likely to turn their noses up at fresh meat.

'Oh no,' he whispered as the specks came closer. He could sense that one of them was Vegeta. That was one thing that he was good at that the other Saiyans were useless at. For all their power and control of Chi they couldn't sense it worth a damn, and instead relied upon their scouters. The Tech-Techies were weak, but even the children were trained to use their sense of Chi.

What or who could possibly be coming back with Vegeta?

If Vegeta was being pursued he should raise the others. But if it was something innocuous he didn't want to get on the bad side of Nappa again. He still had the bruises from last time. He needed a second opinion.

He raised the com unit to his lips. He didn't have a scouter like the older Saiyans because he'd never been in the Planet Trade Organisation Army. They weren't using the communicators on the scouters anyway. Vegeta said that the tech sharks on Frieza's planet recorded everything transmitted over the scouters, and in that way Frieza might track them down. These old-fashioned hand held units they had found on the ship, and that was what he'd been given to use on sentry duty.

'Hey, is someone awake?' Please not Nappa, please not Nappa! he prayed silently. 'Hey! I have a situation out here.'

'What is it Tarble?' came Raditz's irritated reply. His voice sounded sleepy.

'Vegeta is on his way back, but there's someone with him!'

'Who?'

'I can't tell from this far away.'

'Is it friend or foe?'

'I don't know!'

'Well, is Vegeta flying alongside them or is he coming in fast and ahead of them?'

'Um, not sure. Maybe the second. Raditz, maybe you should come up here and make the call.'

'No, Tarble, you gutless little shit! I'm on the crapper. _You_ make the call!'

'Oh no, they're much closer now!'

'Make the call, Tarble.'

'I think he's being chased!'

Raditz must've taken the radio away from his mouth to yell out through the ship. 'WAKE UP, VEGETA'S ON HIS WAY BACK WITH COMPANY AND TARBLE'S HAVING A MELTDOWN!'

Tarble choked at Raditz's chosen phrasing but then his anxiety climbed higher as he could see Vegeta and the stranger even without the binoculars now. Vegeta was in front, and the other person was not flying under their own power, but was on the back of some mechanical beast. Was it weaponised?

'Raditz, please get out here! I think Vegeta's in trouble!'

He could hear shouts and movement on the other end. 'All right,' said Raditz, 'we're coming. But I better not have pinched a loaf for a false alarm, is all I'm saying.'

Tarble decided to fly back towards the ship so that Vegeta and whoever it was wouldn't overtake him, but as he flew low over the trees he realised that he was flying away from battle. If the enemy was powerful enough to have Vegeta on the run, Tarble didn't stand a chance and he knew it, but the pursuer probably hadn't noticed him. The others were always having him on about how meek and cowardly he was. The fact that he'd never (consciously) killed anything more sentient than a cow was a black mark against his name according to Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa. Vegeta had killed his first person when he was four, or some ridiculous age. Tarble couldn't run from his first real opportunity to live up to his birthright by defending his Prince. The others weren't going to get here in time to be any use – Tarble was Vegeta's only back-up.

He took a position hidden behind another trunk and gathered his energy. He would attack the threat under the element of surprise. It might be the last thing he ever did, but if it worked his standing amongst his fellow Saiyans could only rise.

Vegeta flew overhead, and then the person on the noisy craft. They hadn't noticed him, and when the intruder's back was to him and they were bearing down on the ship he fired his Chi blast.

* * *

Vegeta swooped low to land with great relief on the mossy ground in front of the spaceship's closed hatch. It was a common saucer design, of which there were many variations throughout the galaxy. This one stood on six sturdy, insectile legs, was about two and a half storeys high at its apex, and was the size of a medium sized house. Three space pods were docked to the side of it like lifeboats, and the top was a clear, shallow dome that gave the cockpit and command level a view in every direction except down.

He touched down and belted his gloved fist against the metal skin of the craft, making it ring in a rather unsubtle request for the occupants to open up. Just as he did so though a prickling feeling at the back of his neck made him swing his head around just in time to see a bolt of energy slam into the girl on the hovering contraption. She screamed and Vegeta cursed, sure he was seeing his last two weeks effort and his hope of destroying Freiza being wiped out before his eyes. The craft exploded, but the girl was thrown free, plummeting through the air. Vegeta let go of the cat and tried to get under her, but he was too far away. Luckily her fall was broken by a tree branch. She hit it head first and then fell limply the rest of the way to the ground, where Vegeta managed to catch her before she landed.

He looked at the body in his arms dumbly as he heard the hatch open and his men come tumbling out in a babble of confusion. The cat rushed over with a tiny cry of, 'Oh no, Bulma!'

'Prince Vegeta, what is it? Are you all right, sir?' he heard Nappa above all the others.

The girl's hair was darkening with blood and he could feel it running down his forearm. He could feel no pulse of life in her. Such a frail creature couldn't survive such trauma. She didn't move.

'Crap. She's dead,' he said softly.

The daemon sighed and fell to the ground, passed out cold.

'Who did this?' said Vegeta, looked back the other way and upwards to see where the blast had come from. Tarble floated into view. His nervous face sagged into horror when he saw the girl in Vegeta's arms.

'I - I thought you were being attacked!' Tarble said.

Vegeta placed the girl on the ground in front of the others and turned back to Tarble. 'And you thought you'd save me? _You!_ You're a weakling _and_ an idiot, and now she's dead!' He released his temper in one powerful blow to Tarble's nose, and the boy was knocked back against the tree that the girl had hit, knocking it loose from the ground. Vegeta watched him for a second, clutching his face and rolling onto his knees to deal with the blood that was dripping from both nostrils. At least the runt didn't cower like he used to. He took his punishment like a man these days.

'Fucking Tarble,' said Nappa. 'The prince brings us a gift and you go and kill it! Nice one.'

Vegeta turned away, feeling unaccountably depressed. His glove was wet with her blood. He'd killed many, many people, but having one killed in front of him that he wanted to remain alive was a new experience. What would they do now? Would the assistant be able to find and use these _dragonballs_ alone?

'Brolly,' he said to the youngest Saiyan. 'Get rid of the body.'

Brolly nodded in his usual subdued manner and leaned over the girl. He was a month younger than Tarble, but he was about a foot and a half taller. No doubt he was going to be a giant like Raditz when he was done growing. His eyes were invariably gentle and distant looking. Sometimes Vegeta thought it made him look wise beyond his years, and sometimes he just looked like a simple-minded dolt. One could almost forget he was there, but he could be relied upon, except for those few times that Brolly lost that far-away look. Then he could be very unreliable and very difficult to ignore indeed.

As Brolly lifted the girl she made a little noise like a moan.

'Sir,' said Brolly calmly. 'She's not dead.'

Vegeta wheeled around and pressed a hand over her heart. It was still beating, though it was softer than he would expect, more like a bird's than a Saiyan's; no wonder he'd missed it before.

'Hmm,' he said. 'Looks like she is not as delicate as I thought.' He sighed in great relief, although now they would have to deal with an injured girl. He swiftly ran his hands over her limbs and torso looking for more injuries. He couldn't help noticing how soft she was. There wasn't a lot to her, not like a soldier. He felt something rather amiss in the front of her shoulder.

'She has a broken collarbone and that blow to the head. I suppose she'll probably live. Take her inside.'

'Thank goodness,' said Tarble, his voice distorted as he gripped his bleeding nose.

'Shut up,' snarled Vegeta. 'It's only due to your incompetence that she's still alive. If you'd actually hit your target instead of the machine she'd have been blown to bits.'

Tarble's face twisted up bitterly. 'I am sorry, Your Highness,' he said, but Vegeta turned his back on him without acknowledging the apology.

As Brolly moved to take her inside Nappa spoke up. 'Why wait for her to heal? Why don't we just kill this one anyway and go get an undamaged girl?'

'What?' said Vegeta, rounding on the big, bald man. 'Did I not say that no-one was to pick up any waifs and strays for entertainment?'

'Isn't that what you've just done? I thought you'd changed your mind.'

'You thought that just because I've brought a female back that she was for you?' His disgust was so evident that Nappa took a half step back and went on the defensive. Raditz looked disappointed too, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

'Well, for all of us, but if she's just for you, th-that is your prerogative, my Prince,' said Nappa. As Vegeta still glared at him Nappa went on talking. 'In fact I would be pleased for you. I was wondering when the day would come when you'd wake up the pleasures of keeping a female handy.'

'She's not for anyone!' snapped Vegeta. 'This is the Princess the old Namekian talked about! She came with me to help us, if you can believe it, so keep your dick in your pants!'

Had she really said that? That she would help them? No doubt he had made some threats to her along the way, but she had been following him instead of being carried kicking and screaming. She was a willing volunteer, so that willingness was probably worth preserving for as long as possible. Letting Nappa rape her would probably end that willingness pretty fast.

'You are neither of you to touch her,' he told Nappa and Raditz, looking between the both of them. 'There will be dire consequences if she complains you have forced yourselves upon her.' Tarble joined him at his elbow looking horrified at the warning he was hearing. He was the only one of the company who was shorter than Vegeta, but instead of being glad to have someone he didn't have to look up to when he ordered them around, somehow it just made him despise Tarble more.

'I'd never do something like that, Prince Vegeta!' he said.

'I know you wouldn't, you useless little squirt. Now go tell Brolly what I said!'

'Wait, Vegeta,' said Tarble, offering up a bundle of blue and brown fur. 'What's this?'

'Mine,' said Vegeta, and snatched up the unconscious daemon. Man, his head and his tail were hurting something chronic. He'd see the girl settled and then get right to bed.

'Oh, by the way,' he said to Raditz before he forgot, 'I found your brother.'

'Kakarott?' said Raditz, suddenly perking up. 'Where is he?'

'Following. Or at least he was.' Vegeta realised that he hadn't kept track of the boy. Had he lost him? It would be rather hard to find him again if so. He sent a flare of chi high up into the early morning sky and exploded it in a pretty display of crackling white energy. If the kid were within a dozen miles he wouldn't be able to miss that.

'If he turns up, don't expect much.' And then he pushed between Raditz and Nappa to make his way up the ramp into the ship.

* * *

'Look, Goku!' said Krillin, staring ahead at the sudden firework-like display on the horizon. 'You think that's where they are?'

'I think so,' said Goku. 'It feels like it anyway.'

They flew onwards, both of them nearly slipping out of the sky at times as their concentration failed. Goku's eyes kept sliding shut.

'Urh, Krillin, I'm so tired.'

'Me too, Goku. Flying is exhausting. That Vegeta guy didn't exactly take it slow for us beginners!'

'He seems pretty mean,' said Goku.

'Do you think he's really an alien?'

Goku frowned and lashed his tail around in the air. He'd never met another human with a tail. At first he'd thought that it was weird that all the people he met had no tails, but then he'd come to realise that _he_ was the weird one.

'I don't know,' he said, 'but he says I am what he is…a Sayun? So if he is an alien, so am I.'

Krillin regarded his friend nervously. 'You know, that kind of makes sense, given everything I know about you. Who else could eat as much food as you do and not grow to the size of a whale? And the tails you both have are kind of a give-away.'

Goku's frown deepened. He felt very uneasy about all this. He'd never thought much about where he'd come from or who his parents might be. He was Grandpa Gohan's grandson, and that had been good enough for him. He wasn't going to forget that and do what some stranger told him to just because they were both 'Sayuns', whatever that was.

They were flying over forest now, going even slower to look down and around for where Bulma and the prince might be.

'Do we even know what we're looking for?' said Krillin. 'How careless was that guy for getting so far ahead of us? It's like he hardly cares if we show up at all.'

But when they saw the ship nestled in the heart of a valley they knew they had found what they were looking for.

'It's a flying saucer, Goku!' said Krillin looking at his friend with wide eyes. 'Congratulations; you're an alien.'


	5. Welcome Aboard!

Vegeta went straight to the bedroom and stopped dead in the doorway. Brolly was standing in front of the bed with the girl still in his arms.

'I was going to put her on the bed,' he said in response to Vegeta's scowl, 'but then I thought she would get blood on the pillows.'

Vegeta pursed his lips in annoyance. He wanted to sleep desperately and the only working bedroom would now be acting as some kind of infirmary. He didn't suppose they could put her in the main living area – she would be underfoot. Where else was there? The bathroom floor? He considered it, but then discarded the thought, as leaving someone with a broken collarbone to rest on the bathroom tiles didn't seem an acceptable thing to do to someone who was "helping" them.

He tossed the daemon on the bed and then went back out into the narrow corridor and rifled the linen cupboard for anything clean. Returning with a tight woven blanket and another sheet he put these on one side of the bed, still half folded to soak up the blood. 'Put her on there.'

Vegeta pulled the little backpack and satchel off her. She groaned again as Brolly laid her down, her eyelids fluttering open and then closed again. The daemon was coming round too, looking about with confusion and then crawling to Bulma across the pillow. 'Bulma!' cried the little thing, 'You're not dead!'

'Ow!' she whimpered. 'Where am I?'

'Aboard my ship,' Vegeta said.

She opened her unfocused eyes. 'Are we on a cruise?'

'No. You have a head injury.'

Grimacing, she raised her hand to touch the side of her head and immediately froze, gasping in pain.

'You have a broken collarbone too.'

She started crying.

Vegeta gritted his teeth. 'Stop that.'

'It hurts!'

The daemon growled at Vegeta in an amusingly feeble display of anger. 'Don't move, Bulma,' it said, glaring at Vegeta. 'We'll take care of you. Won't we?'

Vegeta cursed again that the regeneration tank they had stolen didn't work. If it did he could have just thrown her in and not had to listen to the grating sound of the girl's pitiful crying. 'Brolly, go get Nappa. He's got the most experience with field injuries.'

As soon as Brolly left the room he asked her 'Did you bring any of that serum? What you gave me earlier?'

She frowned at him, taking ages to remember. 'The painkiller? Yes. In my backpack. In one of the capsules on the top.'

He dove into it but saw nothing but small pill-shaped metal canisters. Had he…had he really seen her produce a craft from a tiny thing like this?

'This?' he quizzed. 'This is a capsule?'

'Yes,' said the daemon. 'That's an A class capsule. Press the button on top and throw it on the floor.'

He did so, and with a popping explosion a pile of medical-looking supplies appeared next to him. It was an almost magical display of technology. Sifting through the supplies he found a few similar looking bottles. He showed the girl and the daemon one after another until the furry thing said 'That one.' The girl took it from his hand, giving herself a single squirt under her tongue and then closing her eyes with relief.

'One squirt?' said Vegeta. 'You gave me three!'

She only groaned, already halfway back to unconsciousness.

'You lying little bitch! You _were_ trying to drug me!'

She opened an eye a crack, looking confused before it rolled back in her head again.

'Leave her alone, she's concussed!' said the daemon.

Vegeta's anger had no suitable outlet though when the person who caused it was passed out. When Nappa walked in, Vegeta snapped at him.

'What took you so long?'

'Sorry, Your Highness, Kakarott and some bald headed little Earthling tyke just turned up. We weren't expecting the Earthling – should we kill him?'

Vegeta had almost forgotten. 'No. He's her assistant or some bullshit story. Leave him for now.'

'Sure, boss. I'll go tell Raditz and be back.'

* * *

The boys didn't enjoy their reception very much.

Approaching the gangway to the ship they'd immediately been greeted by a very tall, very strong looking man who was lounging at the top of the ramp. He had black eyes and spiky black hair that grew from a deep widow's peak like Vegeta's, down his back to spill over the floor behind him.

'Kakarott,' he said, grinning in anticipation. He was young, maybe only early or mid twenties, though this still seemed old to Goku and Krillin, and there was something about his hawkish smile that gave Krillin the heebie-jeebies.

'Hey, you're calling me Kakarott too,' complained Goku, 'but my name is Goku.'

'No, your name's Kakarott. Can't you even remember your own name? Man, what happened to you?' In his hand he was holding a device like the prince wore, and he placed it on his ear and pressed the little button on the side. When it beeped he made a sound of scorn. 'Vegeta wasn't kidding when he told me not to get my hopes up about you! I can't believe someone as ordinary as you would be my brother.'

'Brother?' cried the boys at once.

The noise seemed to attract other occupants of the craft. Another boy came to the lip of the entrance ramp and stared down at them. He looked slightly younger than themselves, judging by his lack of size, and he stood with his arms crossed, radiating attitude until he was suddenly pushed aside by a burly giant of a man. The new comer was bald, but had a dark goatee and heavy eyebrows. He bent to see below the edge of the saucer to look at them.

'So that's Bardock's other kid, huh?' he said. 'Raditz, what's his power level?'

'Seventy, can you believe it!'

The big man laughed, an ugly sound. 'Hey, Tarble,' he said, turning to the boy. 'Looks like you're not the most puny of us anymore!'

The one called Tarble looked dismayed at the giant's words, but then he hardened his gaze and glared at Goku.

Goku was insulted. 'Puny! Who are you calling puny? I've beat bullies bigger than you before.'

The two men laughed. 'Well, you seem keen enough to have me beat the crap out of you, but we'll get to that later,' said the bald man. Then he turned to the other who finally got to his feet. 'He's got some Saiyan spirit at least.'

The long-haired one was not as tall as the bald one, and though he was well muscled and broad-chested, he was not nearly as built as the other, but when he bent to walk down the ramp to approach the boys, he still towered over them. Krillin had to look up to even see the guy's crotch – looking him in the face gave him a crick in the neck.

'My name is Raditz,' he said, crossing his arms over his chest in the stance that appeared to be a favourite amongst these aliens. 'Third in command. That's Nappa, Prince Vegeta's second, and the other one is Tarble,' he said. 'Brolly is around somewhere.'

'Well, nice to meet you, I think,' said Goku doubtfully. 'But my name's Goku, not Kakarott.'

'My name is Krillin.' Suddenly three pairs of dark alien eyes regarded him predatorily and Krillin had the horrible feeling that it didn't matter what his name was.

'Yes, and what are _you_ doing here? Are you some kind of tag along?' said Raditz.

'He's no Saiyan, that's for sure,' said Nappa. 'I think we might have a little problem here.'

'I-I'm no problem,' said Krillin.

Another boy turned up at the top of the ramp, taller than Tarble, and older looking. 'Nappa, Vegeta wants you.'

Nappa grunted and headed back up the ramp inside the ship while the boy called Brolly came down the ramp to see the strangers. Unlike the others, his gaze was not icy sharp. His eyes were dull and his features placid. 'Who are they?'

'My brother Kakarott, and some dead meat,' said Raditz.

'We're going to kill him?'

'What, no!' said Krillin. Goku came to alert, growling and puffing his tail up at these words. Krillin took a few hasty steps away from Raditz, but before either of them could react further, Raditz lashed his big arm out faster than a snake, grabbed Krillin roughly by the front of his pyjamas and hauled him up in the air so that they were face to face.

'We want no witnesses to our little visit to Earth. Can't be too careful where Frieza is concerned,' he said, raising his other hand and beginning to charge it with crackling chi. 'Nothing personal.'

Krillin shrieked and kicked back at Raditz while raising his arms and wriggling out of his pyjama top. As he fell to the ground Goku launched himself at Raditz with a cry, head butting him in the stomach. Raditz staggered back a step and then laughed as both boys came at him at once, fighting mad, and he held them off with ease.

'Look at this one,' he said as he knocked Krillin head over heels. 'A little Earthling warrior!'

'Raditz!'

Raditz hurriedly knocked Goku to the ground and turned to Nappa, who had reappeared in the entranceway.

'What?'

'Vegeta says that Earthling kid is not to be killed. Look after them while I go take care of the girl.'

'Bulma!' said Krillin, clutching his head as Nappa disappeared back inside. 'Where is she?'

Goku was still eyeing Raditz angrily.

'Is that her name?' said Raditz.

The one called Tarble came down the ramp and spoke. 'She was accidentally injured when she turned up. I'm sorry. Vegeta said she was going to be okay though.'

Raditz's dropped his smile. 'No thanks to you, Tarble.'

Krillin grabbed his pyjama shirt and got to his feet, glaring at Raditz.

'No hard feelings,' said the man, spreading his hands in a gesture of good will made disingenuous by his shameless grin. 'Like I said, it was nothing personal, just orders.' He clamped eyed on Goku again. 'Don't look so offended, little brother.'

'You're no brother of mine!' said Goku. 'Now take us to Bulma!'

* * *

The girl roared through clenched teeth as Nappa manoeuvred her broken collarbone to bind her shoulder. She took another squirt of the painkiller to her mouth between sobs and within a few moments was sagging back into unconsciousness.

'Bulma!' mewled the cat.

'Hurry up, Nappa,' Vegeta said, holding the girl upright by her good shoulder while Nappa wound the bandage over and around her shoulder and back. 'Finish it while she's still out.'

The two new boys stood at the back of the room, distressed at what they were seeing. Brolly and Tarble were poking their curious heads in the door also.

'How did she get hurt?' asked Kakarott.

'A misunderstanding on the part of our sentry,' Vegeta said, not looking up from her pale face. He was more worried about the head wound than the shoulder. It had stopped bleeding pretty much now, and was going sticky, but she wouldn't be much use to them if her wits were addled.

'Tarble, go make yourself useful,' he said. 'Fetch a bowl of warm water and a clean cloth of some sort.'

Nappa nodded. 'Good thinking, Your Highness, I was about to ask the same.' The big man finished his binding by folding her arm over her chest and immobilising it with more strapping. Every tiny shift of the mattress they sat on made the pain in Vegeta's tail flare. He could feel cold sweat breaking out on his brow. The girl's head fell forward, chin on her chest, and when Vegeta moved a hand to lift her chin and keep her airway open he saw his hand was shaking.

'And what happened to you, Vegeta?' Nappa asked him quietly. 'That bandage round your tail's not just for show is it?'

Vegeta was loathe to admit what had happened, but he supposed the truth was bound to come out at some point. 'Some human fighter I was not expecting was there tonight. He got lucky, and managed to chop half my tail off in the window.'

Nappa was aghast. 'How is it that it's reattached then? It would take major, complicated surgery for that!'

'This girl…' Vegeta suddenly remembered that besides her usefulness to him he also owed her for his tail. It also hadn't escaped him the symmetry of their experiences – he being injured by the human sentry, and she by the Saiyan one. 'This girl _Bulma_ performed the surgery and saved my tail.'

Nappa raised his eyebrows. 'But she's just a kid.'

Vegeta gave him a long cool look. 'Am _I_ just a kid Nappa?'

'Of course not! But that's different. You've never been "just a kid".'

'Maybe, if this was an ordinary girl she would be "just a kid," as you say. But this one is extremely clever. She's…' What? Special? Different? 'Important. Cleverer and more important, for the time being, than you are, as a matter of fact, and I'd advise you not to forget it.'

Nappa's expression hardened as he lowered his eyes to his task, clenching his jaw at the insult. Nappa was loyal, but the man frequently forgot himself in his enthusiasm, tending to act without thought, and Vegeta didn't want the girl murdered or damaged when his back was turned. When Tarble squeezed himself into the room Nappa ignored him, so Tarble offered the bowl and the cloth to Vegeta.

'Finished,' said Nappa, standing up.

'What about treating this head wound?' asked Vegeta.

'Well, a head injury is a head injury,' said Nappa flippantly. 'All you can do, with the equipment we have, is to clean it up and hope it's not too bad.' He pushed his way out the door, saying 'If you need me I'll be out…' The end of his sentence was an incoherent mumble. Vegeta felt anger rising at his second's defiance of him. He had half a mind of order him back and finish the job, but then decided he was not in the mood. He'd do it himself and teach Nappa some better manners later. He pulled the girl down the bed until she was lying on her uninjured side, with him kneeling behind her. Now that Nappa was gone the boys crept up to the bed and crouched next to Tarble near her head, watching with disgustingly transparent concern. Including Tarble! Even Brolly showed more curiosity than usual. Gods, he was only a handful of years older than these four and yet the gormless expressions of emotion on their faces him feel like it was a thousand years.

The daemon selected for him a bottle of disinfectant fluid, and he added a splash to the water before dipping the cloth and beginning to wipe up the blood in her hair and on her face and neck. Brolly climbed up next to him on the bed, inadvertently knocking his tail. Vegeta jumped and sloshed some of the water in his lap.

'Get off the bed, Brolly!' he roared. Meekly the boy complied.

His gloves were soaked and bloody and were making it a little hard to be delicate. He took them off and handed them to Tarble, then felt around the gash on her head with the fingers of one hand while he held her jaw with his other to keep her still. The cut was rather small after all the blood was cleared away, and a bruise was swelling up it, but he couldn't feel any tell tale dipping of the skull bones. As far as he could tell her skull wasn't cracked.

'Will she be all right?' asked Kakarott.

'I make no promises, but it looks like it.'

'I don't like your older friends,' said the bald one. 'First they almost kill Bulma, and then they were going to kill me!'

'It was an accident,' said Vegeta, eyes still on the wound. The daemon glared at Tarble, which made Vegeta smile. Maybe he could train the daemon to convey reprimands to his underlings when he was otherwise occupied? The thought amused him.

'It wasn't an accident when the hairy guy tried to kill me,' said the kid. What was his name? Vegeta couldn't remember.

'Raditz was just following orders,' Tarble explained to him. 'He won't kill you if Vegeta says not to.'

'Yeah? Well in that case I _still_ don't like him. It seemed rather like he was going to enjoy killing me. If we're going to be helping each other, maybe an apology is in order?'

'Keep talking, Baldie, and I'll let Raditz have another crack at you,' Vegeta threatened softly. 'Daemon, is there anything in that pile of medical equipment for closing wounds?' he asked the "cat".

It dropped to the floor from the bed and began looking through the gauze, bandages, instruments and bottles. 'There's this glue stuff that she used on you,' it said, returning with another pump bottle with a little nozzle.

He held the edges together and sprayed a strip down the wound then waited for it to dry.

'So, this is the Princess?' asked Tarble. 'The one the Namek and the blue dwarf told you about?'

'Yes.'

'Bulma's not a princess,' said Kakarott, sounding surprised. 'Is she, Krillin?'

'No,' replied the Earthling kid. And then he added under his breath, 'but she acts like one sometimes.'

Vegeta snorted with amusement at Baldie's aside. 'She lives in a palace in the largest city on the planet. For all intents and purposes, she is a princess.' For some reason he resented this. Here he was, a true prince with nothing but his pride, this ship and a handful of soldiers.

The glue dried in seconds. He took the cloth, squeezed it out and wiped the last of the blood from around her ear. The skin of her neck and cheek against his bare hand was amazingly smooth. He didn't think that skin could feel like that. Not that he touched much skin except his own without his gloves on.

She was stirring in his hands now.

'Mmm,' she said, smiling slightly as he rubbed the cloth across her cheek. This painkiller really did a number on a person. He had no doubt now that she'd been trying to incapacitate him earlier. He dropped the cloth back in the bowl and passed it back to Tarble who was transfixed, staring at the girl.

'She's pretty,' said Tarble quietly, sounding overawed. No-one argued with him.

'Now, everyone, get lost,' Vegeta told them, moving himself painfully across the other side of the bed, letting the girl's weight roll off his knees. She sighed and settled herself on her back. 'I'm tired' he told them, 'so I don't want to be woken up unless Frieza himself is landing outside.'

'What should we do with the new guys?' asked Tarble.

'You and Brolly show them the ropes. Other than that, I don't care.' He lay on his side with difficulty as he boys filed out, but then he saw that the bald one, Krillin, was hesitating in the doorway, frowning at him.

'How can we trust you alone with her?' he asked.

'If I'd wanted to hurt her, why would I have gone through all that bother to treat her?' he said, exasperated.

'That's not what I meant.'

'I'll be here,' said the daemon. 'I'll look out for her.'

'That's right, the daemon stays here,' said Vegeta.

Krillin nodded, somewhat placated. Vegeta didn't understand his concern.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Vegeta reached for the bottle of serum. He was too proud to show how much pain he was in beforethe others, but sore enough to take relief if it was at hand. 'Tell no-one,' he said to the cat, but as he lifted it to his face the cat let out a cry and grabbed his hand. 'What?' he shouted.

'No that one!' it shouted back. It was then he realised he was holding the bottle of glue. He threw it down and found the other bottle.

'I can't read that fucking Earthling writing,' he grumbled. 'Looks like you've already proved your usefulness today, Daemon.' He took two squirts this time, feeling the numbness immediately kicking in.

The cat scowled at him. 'I don't know why! I should have just let you glue your mouth shut!'

Vegeta laughed. 'Because you're a good little daemon.'

'I have a name!'

'Poo-arr!' He snorted with laughter again, his eyes drifting shut. 'Poo-arr the talking, flying, shape-sifting…shape-sitting…shape-shitting…cat…'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, I won't be updating for a while, although I will still be writing the story. I've got four and a half chapters written after this one, but I want to hold off posting more until I have at least fifteen chapters, so that I have leeway to go back and revise as I work through the story. Sorry, but I think it's necessary for quality control. This chapter was only short, and not likely to require any revising, so I thought it safe to post.
> 
> Do not give up hope, I will update again eventually! Unfortunately I don't know AO3 very well, but I believe if you subscribe to my story or to me as an author with the subscribe button that you will get email notifications when I begin posting chapters again. Maybe add the story to your bookmarks?


	6. The Good Ship Vegeta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay, I'm committing myself a bit earlier than what I thought I was going to. Why do I always make promises to myself and never keep them? Anyhow, enjoy while you can, because I've got four more chapters done after this, but I'm not posting another until I've finished two more.
> 
> I'd like to take this moment to thank my beta Adli! I can't believe she does this out of the goodness of her heart. The natural state of my writing is to be riddled with typos and grammatical errors even after several proofreads, so lets all thank her for the legibility of this chapter! She even agreed to retro-actively beta-ed the first five chapters AFTER I posted them!

'How dare you invade my mind, Kami?'

Kami's face wrinkled in an expression of mixed sadness and disgust. 'If it's any consolation Piccolo, I'm not enjoying it one bit.'

'Have you satisfied your curiosity yet? Finished gloating at my misfortune?'

'This misfortune is my misfortune too, Piccolo, you know that.'

The only reply he got was a wall of solid anger. He'd get no more from his other half today. He sighed and opened his eyes. Mr Popo watched him with concern, holding his watering can forgotten in his hand.

'Any luck, Kami?'

'Some. He closed me off as soon as he sensed me, but I saw a little more of the confrontation he had with the aliens. It was as we suspected – that he bought our lives with the knowledge of the Dragonballs. The creature Pilaf who freed him was with him at the time. It was he that turned them in the direction of the Briefs girl.'

'Why would he do that?' asked the black-skinned being. Kami smiled, despite his unease. He could tell that Mr Popo was playing dumb in order to hear what his theory was. He often did so. The servant of the Guardian of the Earth was far, far older than Kami himself, and had known more guardians and lived through too many trying times not to carry a wealth of his own wisdom and wits.

'Pilaf has somehow divined that she was the one who helped Goku find the Dragonballs. He gave her up to deflect their attention from themselves. Pilaf has his own methods of finding the Dragonballs, but neither he nor Piccolo confessed to that.'

'The poor girl.'

'Yes, but it remains to be seen whether putting her in the path of the Saiyans was a bad thing or not. They've not harmed her yet…not on purpose anyway, and Goku and his friend Krillin are with her. And I hate to say it, but if Piccolo had kept his mouth shut or resisted, or made it too difficult for them, both he and I might be dead right now.'

'Oh no, Kami! There is no time that the Earth needs it Guardian more, than now!'

'Thank you, Mr Popo!' He turned from the South, where Piccolo was hiding, towards the West where Goku and Bulma Briefs were now cloistered with the aliens in a remote valley. 'I had wondered what the aliens' interest in her was. This makes sense. But we still don't know what their ultimate aim is here. Though this talk of the one they call Frieza is disturbing.'

He could see nothing but the tops of clouds with his eyes, but he pushed his consciousness out, searching across plains and mountains and forests to the spacecraft in the valley. The girl was still asleep. The boys Krillin and Goku were agitated but not greatly so. He touched on the minds of the Saiyans, as they called themselves. It was hard to sense if they were evil, or just brutal and unfeeling and pathologically single-minded. Perhaps it was an attitude that came on with age? It seemed that the younger ones were not as afflicted as the older. Hopefully it was a learned attitude and not inherited from their race. He'd been watching Korin's most recent student Goku for a little while now, and he would hate to think of him growing into something so hardened.

'So you are an alien, young Goku?' he puzzled aloud. 'Well so am I.'

Namek. He was a Namek. When he'd heard the word from the Saiyans' lips, he'd somehow recognised it. He had a place out there – an origin, a people and a name. But the largest mystery of his life remained. Why was he here on Earth?

The more pressing question was, why were the _Saiyans_ here on Earth, right now?

When he had first sensed their life forces – five outrageously strong life forces – he had attempted to keep track of them. Most of them remained within short range of the ship, with only one or two at a time making longer forays. He'd thought he'd been having a bad week until he sensed something he hadn't for a very long time – his other half, Piccolo, freed from the rice cooker prison Kami thought he might spend the rest of eternity trapped in – and now it was turning into the worst month he'd had in three hundred years. Before Piccolo had been free even a whole day the Saiyans had tracked him down, and from what Kami had seen, beat the living snot out of him. He could have almost been grateful to the Saiyans for that, except that it scared him lily-green.

From that day there had been a new pattern to the Saiyans' activities. One of them would go out searching, and one would go to West City for long stretches of time, and the Capsule Compound was his port of call almost every time.

'Prince Vegeta,' Kami whispered aloud. The strongest and the strangest of them all. He had tried to warn the girl, Bulma, but hers was an odd mind also. It was one of the most closed he had come across, and her life force was buried deep inside, guarded and almost untouchable. He may have only succeeded in making her jumpy and watchful, but that hadn't been enough to catch Vegeta in his spying game. At night he had tried pressing the warning into her sleeping mind, hoping that it would manifest in her dreams, but he had no idea if this had had any effect. And even if it had, Kami was forced to admit that it might not have made any difference once Vegeta finally revealed himself to her.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Bulma and Goku were with the Saiyans now? Not to forget the boy Krillin, and the shape-shifter Puar. Perhaps the four of them would uncover the purpose of the Saiyans all the faster now they were in their camp? All he could really do now was watch. Oh, and one other thing…

* * *

Vegeta woke, groggy from sleeping with the light streaming in the window. His head was a little sore, but nothing like it had been, and his tail wasn't hurting right now, though it was throbbing. He rested a little while, waiting to see if he would fall back asleep again, but found that he could not, as a presence was making itself known via one sense after another, and becoming impossible to ignore.

When he opened his eyes he saw the sleeping girl not eighteen inches away from him on the bed. When he breathed in her scent was dragged into his lungs along with the air. It was a strange one, though he'd been growing familiar with it. He thought perhaps all humans smelt odd, but in fact, the bald kid smelled more like the Saiyan boys than the Earthling girl. Her scent was powdery, and sweet and with a hint of flowers and musk, and somehow the more he smelt it the more he wanted to smell it. He propped himself up on an elbow to look down on her better, and to surreptitiously inch his nose closer to her.

It occurred to him that this was perhaps the closest he'd been to a female since he had been weaned, at least without doing violence, and he rarely needed to get this close to a woman to kill them. He rarely needed to get close to anyone unless he was fighting or sparring. Being this close to her made him feel uneasy, but her scent and his curiosity held him close to her. He decided to endure her proximity a little longer while he studied her.

Her face was a smooth oval, her cheeks and forehead like the alabaster curves of eggshells. Her lips were pink, and shapely, and her eyes, though lidded now, were large, almost making her look like a young child to him, although she was clearly not. Her body was adult. He let his gaze wander down over more curves – the fabric stretched across her plump breasts and the round thighs that her shorts left exposed.

Pretty. That's what Tarble had said. Vegeta refused to admit it. Someone already as blessed as she didn't deserve to be attractive as well. It wasn't her prettiness that caused Vegeta to let his surveillance of her drag out much longer than it needed to. He both loved and loathed watching her living her ridiculous life, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He felt a curious mess of feelings when he looked at her, but resentment was the reigning sensation, not desire. Vegeta was not swayed from his purpose by female flesh like the slavering dogs Nappa and Raditz. No. He stubbornly decided she was odd and alien-looking only, not pretty, and what she looked like didn't matter anyway, as long as she served her purpose?

He remembered how soft the skin of her cheek and neck had been when he cleaned her up earlier, and was suddenly gripped by an urge to touch her again. It seemed somehow a forbidden thing to do, and he knew that certainly, if she was awake she wouldn't allow it, but she was asleep, and so would never know. It wasn't like he intended to get off on it, he rationalised. He was just curious.

He reached out a hand and ran a fingertip down her cheek, then under her jaw, and it was indeed the smoothest skin he had ever touched. A mad thought crossed his mind do the same with his lips and tongue as he'd just done with his finger, but he didn't act on it. He wondered if her skin tasted as good as it smelt, and then choked on the thoughts that erupted. He liked to think he had more taste and self-control than Nappa and Raditz, but as he got older he was beginning to suspect that inside himself was just as much potential for impulsive debauchery as his underlings. At least he had stopped at touching her face, which was a lot more restraint than what the other two would've shown if it were one of them in the room with her.

Swiftly he withdrew his hand as she sighed in her sleep and made a little groaning 'mmm!' noise. He thought it was perhaps the most pleasant sound he'd ever heard her make. Until last night, most of what came out of her mouth was either smug self-flattery or furious screeching. She yawned and stretched in her sleep, then yelped as she moved her injured shoulder, her other limbs jerking out at the shock. Her foot closest to Vegeta came crashing down on his tail where it lay, gingerly draped over his leg onto the mattress. Vegeta roared directly into her ear, nearly blind with pain, and the girl screamed in response, sitting bolt upright, jarring his tail more. She jumped from the bed and pressed her back to the wall, continuing to scream, while he rolled around on the bed clutching his offended tail and letting out long ragged groans of pain.

* * *

'Where am I?' Bulma screamed, and then regretted screaming immediately. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! What the hell?' She looked down at the arm she couldn't seem to move, and saw it was bound to her side. There were bandages all around her chest and shoulder. Her collarbone was in searing pain and she had a massive headache centred on the same side as her bad shoulder. With her good arm she reached up and gently touched her scalp, finding it swollen, and the hair around it matted and crusted.

'What happened?' she sobbed to the boy who was now kneeling on the bed with his face pressed into the mattress to muffle a miserable howl. She looked around the room, taking in the plush bed, the stylish and ultra modern bedside furniture, and the rumbled bedclothes. She could remember him and the bizarre night, and flying towards the dawn, but nothing after that. 'Why were we in bed together?'

Vegeta turned his red face to her and snarled 'Calm down, you silly bint! We were _on_ bed, not _in_ bed, sleeping off our injuries.'

The door burst open and a hairy giant of a man stooped and came into the room. Bulma screamed again. Besides the tumbling mass of hair that fell from his peaked brow, the main impression she got was of strapping, naked thighs.

'Hell, that sound grates!' he said in Bulma's direction. 'You okay, Vegeta?'

Vegeta straightened. 'Of course. Do you think I couldn't handle this idiot?'

'Well, you were making a fair amount of noise,' suggested the man with a teasing grin. 'I thought the little girl must be pulling your fingernails out at least.'

'Shut your mouth, Raditz, before I rip _your_ tail in half.'

The big man flinched and withdrew. 'I was only kidding, Your Highness,' he muttered as he pulled the door closed again.

As soon as he was gone Bulma asked, 'W-who was that?'

Vegeta took a deep breath and slowly got up off the bed. 'Raditz; one of my men.' He grimaced as his bandaged tail left the support of the mattress. Bulma realised he was in perhaps as much pain as she was, and maybe even more.

'Your tail's really sore, huh? I guess that's to be expected. I did tell you you'd have to go easy on it.'

He lifted his lip and growled at her, eyes gleaming darkly, and Bulma froze, put in mind of a wolf. However, he didn't make any move to attack her. She supposed he was in too much pain to move much at all.

'What happened to me?' she asked him, and it occurred to her for the first time that _he_ might have injured her.

'My sentry mistook you for a threat and shot down your aircraft. You bashed your head and broke your collarbone on a tree. And apparently you're concussed, because I've already told you this, but you don't remember.'

Ouch. That felt about right.

'Well tell your sentry to be more careful next time! He must be a moron to mistake someone as beautiful as I for an enemy!' She heard Vegeta snort, but ignored him. She had more important things to think about – like herself.

'Urh, I need painkillers,' she groaned, deciding that she didn't have the constitution for stoic suffering. She spied her backpack and satchel and some of the supplies she'd nicked from her father's labs uncapsulated on the floor by the bed, and shuffled over to root through the packets and bottles. She selected a plastic jar of codeine, read the label quickly, then popped a couple of the little pills in her mouth. Without any water they got stuck in her throat and tasted terrible.

'Want some?' she asked.

'So I can be insensible again? I think not.'

'It's not like the squirty stuff,' she said. 'It's just your run-of-the-mill, addictive, powerful analgesic.'

'No.'

'Suit yourself. I'll leave them right here, in case you change your mind,' and she set them on the bedside table.

She looked around the room again. It was large, curved, and oddly wedged shaped, like a fat slice of pizza that had had the tip eaten off it. The ceiling sloped down from a high point in the wall that the door was in, to a low point on the outside of the pizza slice, about five feet high. This low wall had three massive circular windows in it that touched the floor at their tips and the ceiling at their tops, and bulged outwards like fish eyes. With its pale walls and minimalist design, it felt light and airy. She could see forest outside and a grassy glade with a stream running through them. There was an abstract art piece on the wall over the bed, expensive-looking light fittings, a polished parquet floor with a thick black rug at the foot of the bed, and a wooden, but wholly modern and unique-looking desk and chair. However, at odds with all of that were crumpled food wrappers, dirty mugs and discarded underwear that adorned the place, as well as the fact that the bed sheets looked well past due for the laundry.

'Are we in a _hotel?_ ' she asked.

'No,' he grizzled. 'While I'm repeating myself, why don't I also repeat this? We are on my ship.'

Bulma's eyes grew large. ' _Space_ ship?'

'Well I would hardly be travelling the galaxy in a _sea_ ship, would I?'

She ignored his tone and grabbed the door handle, stepping out into a narrow corridor. It curved away in both directions with a few doors off either side.

'So this is a spaceship?' she said excitedly, and yanked open the nearest door, on the other side of the corridor from the bedroom. It was a linen closet with depleted stores. 'Huh.' She opened the one next to it and found a cleaning cupboard. 'Well, I suppose even a spaceship needs mops and vacuum cleaners.'

She shuffled down the passage and opened the next door. It was a toilet…she thought. It was of puzzling design, and she might have not recognised what it was if not for the smell of stale urine. The small room was in dire need of top to toe disinfecting, from the black marble floor to the glass hand basin.

'Euw!'

'Are you going to open every door on this ship?' Vegeta growled, as he followed her out with difficulty.

'Of course! I've never been on a spaceship before.'

He rolled his eyes and shouted 'Nappa! Raditz! Anyone!' There was no answer. He huffed. 'Useless! They're probably outside putting Kakarott and Baldie to the test.'

Belatedly Bulma remembered her friends. 'Are Goku and Krillin okay?'

'Well, they were when I last saw them.' He pushed himself away from the door with a grimace and waddled towards her.

'Are you _sure_ you don't want painkillers?'

'Do not second guess me.'

Bulma made a face. 'Well, how about _you_ not be so rude? Aren't you going to show me round? I guess I'll be staying here a while, so I'll need to know where everything is.'

'Idiot,' he muttered, moving past her. He tapped the next door and said 'Bathroom,' and she peeked in, getting an impression of creamy tile and glass and gold fittings and luxury, strewn with damp towels and socks. A definite trend was emerging.

'You guys are slobs!'

Vegeta paused in his pained shuffling to bare his teeth at her. 'I'm sure there's a word for what you are too, and it's not a nice one.'

'Hmm. Messy _and_ limited vocabulary.'

All the rooms were wedge shaped. The bathroom had two circular windows like the bedroom. There was a laundry on the inner wall overflowing with dirty sheets and towels, and another bedroom on the outer wall.

'But we're using it as a pantry,' said Vegeta. Bulma stuck her head in and found the room icy cold and its windows frosted up. Two single beds were leaning up against the wall, and game carcasses hung from the bedheads, pools of dried blood splattered underneath their severed necks. Stockpiles of packets and cans and freeze-dried bricks, and more dead animals crammed the space. Wires strung across the ceiling held dozens of turkeys, pheasants, ducks and other fowl. Bulma thought she even spotted some endangered species. She shut the door on the unpleasant scene quickly.

There was a wedge shaped galley kitchen in a state that would have sent her mother into a dead faint, with a breakfast bar, past which could be seen the main living area. Three steps led down from the kitchen into a large sunken lounge in a semi-circular shape. The steps continued around the curving edge of it, up to a wide strip of wooden parquet floor that circled the room at the same height as the kitchen and bedrooms. The same large, circular windows appeared at regular intervals in the outer wall. One of them had an ovoid dining table set partway in it. The dining chairs were scattered, some on their side, around it. The sophisticated lounge suite had been stripped of its seat cushions, and these were scattered on the carpeted floor of the lounge, as were throw cushions, blankets and – she looked twice to make sure – a variety of strange animal furs. Halfway inset to the middle of the straight wall was a circular dais, upon which a fire burned, although Bulma could see no smoke or ash, and when she approached she could feel no heat either.

'If I touch this, will it burn me?' she asked.

Vegeta sighed. 'Are all you Earthlings completely fucking backwards, or just you? That's a hologram!'

She turned on him. 'Well excuse me for growing up on a planet without advanced holographic technology! If I'd known you were coming I'd have brushed up on my alien tech for the pop quiz!'

She got no reply other than a glare, and Bulma lifted her nose in the air, satisfied that she had won this point. She pointed at a sweeping stairway that curved up to the ceiling from the other side of the dining table. Despite its intriguing visual design, it was also narrow and steep and she didn't want to try climbing it in her condition.

'What's that?'

'A stairway.'

'No shit, funny man. Where does it go to?'

'The flight deck.'

One section of windows was missing, and instead the broad wooden floor was mostly taken up by a white partition that went up to the ceiling. She crossed the cluttered lounge and up the steps to open the door and see what was inside. When she got there, though, she saw it was some sort of pressure locked door, with chunky metal braces extending into the surrounding wall, and it was locked. There was a small, deep-set circular window which was dark when she peered through it.

'What's this?'

'An airlock!' Vegeta replied, getting less and less gracious with every question she asked.

'Oh, yeah. Well, of course.'

One part of the wooden floor directly opposite the holographic centrepiece was much narrower to allow for a ramp that led outside. Bulma was coming back down into the lounge when Puar flew back in the entranceway.

'Bulma, you're awake!'

'Yup. Are the others outside, Puar?'

'Yes. They're-'

'What were you doing outside?' barked Vegeta. 'I never dismissed you!'

The cat shot an evil glance at Vegeta. 'I needed some litter, if you must know. And you were passed out cold still. I didn't think you'd appreciate me leaving a deposit on the pillow! Perhaps I should have!'

Vegeta's glare twitched just a bit with amusement. 'Very well. You have my permission to relive yourself when it is unlikely to inconvenience me.'

'Oh thank you, _Master!_ '

Bulma had never seen little Puar speak with such venom. 'What do you mean you hadn't dismissed her? Do we all dance to your tune around here?'

'Yes.'

'Well, I won't!'

'Will you not?'

'Not if you want me to go on helping you. Start ordering me around like you own me, buddy, and I walk! Now what are those boys up to?'

* * *

'All right then,' grinned Nappa. 'As one arm and one leg was obviously still too much for you, I'll fight you with just one arm and _neither_ legs. How's that sound, eh?'

Goku growled, feeling bruised all over his body. This 'training' so far had been no more than escalating humiliations dealt by Nappa, with commentary provided by his new "brother" and laughter by Tarble and Brolly. Krillin was already on the sidelines, knocked half senseless early on, but for some reason Nappa and the others went easy on Krillin. All their attention was for Goku, though he wasn't finding it particularly flattering.

He darted in again, trying to bluff Nappa with an afterimage to his left while he went to the right and lashed out with his leg at the exposed side of Nappa's massive chest, but the man and his eyes were so fast that he'd realised the deception as soon as Goku attempted it. He blocked Goku's kick, and the next, before backhanding the boy and sending him hurtling across the clearing and into a tree.

'Uff!'

'Too slow by half!' said Raditz.

'Goku!' he heard a shriek.

Groggily he got to his feet and looked towards the spaceship's ramp way, which Bulma and Vegeta had just emerged from.

'Oh, hey, Bulma.'

'Why is that ugly giant beating the crap out of Goku?' she demanded of the prince.

'To test him, of course.'

'That's right,' said Nappa smugly. The ogre hadn't even broken a sweat while he'd been knocking Goku all over the forest for the last half an hour. 'I'm just seeing what our latest Saiyan recruit has to offer, disappointing as it may be.'

Goku really didn't like this Nappa guy. He could take being bashed around by a superior fighter, and although he wasn't used to losing, it shouldn't matter if the one who defeated you wasn't an enemy. But he found himself wishing that Nappa _was_ his enemy, he was so mean.

Bulma was coming over to him, slowly. He could see she was hurting.

'Are you okay with this, Goku?'

'Yeah, it's fine,' he lied. He didn't want to worry her if they were going to be trapped in this situation for a while. 'Let's just find those Dragonballs soon, okay?'

She hadn't quite made it to him when she stood on a fallen branch and it rolled under her foot. She lost her balance and began to fall. He grabbed her around her middle to catch her before she crashed to the ground, and she yelped as he lowered her gently to the moss.

'Ugh. I didn't even…I feel kind of woozy still,' she said, looking suddenly paler than usual. 'I don't feel the best.'

'You don't look the best either. Maybe you should go sit down again.'

She pouted at him and he pulled her to her feet by her good hand. She let go with her hand and laid it on top of his head to steady her as she made her way back to the ship.

'Don't think that just because the princess is swooning that you get off lightly, tyke,' said Nappa behind him.

'Try not to injure him too seriously, Nappa,' said Vegeta. As they drew level with the prince, Goku could see that he didn't look very well either. Vegeta turned and followed them slowly, bandaged tail hanging loose behind him, the tip curled to just barely clear the ground.

'I guess we're not going to go find the Dragonballs right away, then?' Goku asked Bulma regretfully.

'No, I guess not,' she whispered back.

'Son Goku.'

'What?' He looked around, startled, because he hadn't expected this soft, old sounding voice.

'I said, I guess not,' repeated Bulma a little louder.

'Listen to me, Son Goku.'

'Who are you?' asked Goku.

'Goku?' Bulma said, sounding worried. 'It's me, Bulma!'

'I am Kami, the Guardian of the Earth.'

'Kami? But where are you?'

'I'm right here, standing next to you!' Bulma said.

'I am not with you, Goku, but on my lookout in the heavens.'

'Oh! Wow.'

'Goku, what's going on? Are you feeling all right?'

He shushed her. 'Quiet, Bulma! Kami is speaking to me.'

'Kami?' she squawked.

'Goku, I have a task for you. I want you to find out exactly what the Saiyans want to use the Dragonballs for.'

'And stop them?'

'No, not yet. Hopefully there will be no need for that. Just find out what their plans are. I will be watching to hear the answer.'

'Okay, Kami.'

Suddenly he was gripped by the shoulder and spun to face Vegeta. The guy had a fierce look on his face. He wasn't like he'd been last night. Last night the Prince had been loose and relaxed and shouty. Now he was tense and sharp and quiet. As the older boy's eyes bored into him he began to feel annoyed. Some part of him was instinctively intimidated by Vegeta, and Goku didn't like to be intimidated by anyone. He glared right back at the prince defiantly.

'Is he touched in the head?' Vegeta asked Bulma, without taking his eyes from Goku's.

'No. Not usually. I mean, he's Goku – he's pretty different if you know what I mean, but he doesn't usually talk to people who aren't there.' She stepped in front of Goku and peered down at him. 'You've never talked to Kami before have you, Goku?'

She was talking to him in a voice with much more concern that normal, and Goku felt a tiny bit worried. 'No, I've never talked to him before. Is that not normal, then?'

'No,' she said. 'Are you feeling okay?'

He thought hard about this. 'Well, I'm not very happy about the big, bald guy or the one who says he's my brother, and I banged my head pretty hard on that tree just now,' he said, rubbing his head where he could still feel a bit of a smarting, 'but I think I'm okay.'

Vegeta's lip lifted in contempt. 'For his marbles to be knocked loose by such a blow is pathetic!' he said, to no one in particular. He gave Goku a shove that sent him stumbling back towards Nappa. 'Child, you need to toughen the fuck up if you're going to survive amongst us.'

'Hey,' said Bulma, rallying in Goku's defence. 'Don't treat him like that! He's hurt! And I hope you don't expect _me_ to spring back up from being thrown into a tree!'

'I do not, as you have already proven that Earthlings aren't up to much by doing just that and damn near dying. Even now you look like you're about to pass out.'

'I might, just to spite you,' she said, turning away.

'Then I will leave you where you fall,' Vegeta replied, and he followed her, his haughty tone at odds with his waddling walk.

Goku watched them hobble back to the strange looking 'ship'. He was a little unnerved by this conversation with Kami, truth be told. Bulma's reaction had made it clear that this was not a normal thing to happen to a person, and for a few seconds he wondered if his marbles really had been knocked loose like Vegeta said. Then he changed his mind. It had felt real. And if the Guardian of the Earth existed, it would make sense for him to want to be watching the Saiyans. Goku would watch them too. He wasn't convinced they were evil yet, but he could tell already that they weren't good.

He walked back to where Nappa and the others stood waiting, oblivious to the conversation with Vegeta and Bulma. He growled with frustration. He couldn't get one past this Nappa guy, plus he was mean, and he smelled bad. He'd tried his rock-paper-scissors attacks, his mad dog technique (which the Saiyans had found hilarious), afterimages, clone attacks, and even the Kamehameha wave, and none of it had been enough to touch the brute. He'd surprised Nappa, yes, but he just simply wasn't strong or fast enough to capitalise on any of his 'tricks' as the Saiyans had called them. Oh well. It was Goku's experience that whenever he began training with a new master, it was frustrating and difficult at first, and it would feel like the tasks were impossible. He shouldn't expect this time to be any different, but he hoped that no-one would expect him to call Nappa 'Master'.

As he passed the smallest Saiyan, Tarble asked, 'Does your friend Bulma have a baby somewhere?'

'No. I don't think so.' Goku looked to Krillin for confirmation.

'Of course not!' said Krillin. 'She's only sixteen. And I'm sure she'd tell us if she had a baby.'

Nappa was regarding Tarble with amusement. 'Now why would you ask that, Tarble?'

Tarble looked mildly surprised. 'Oh. I just thought she looked like she was nursing. Because her mammaries are…you know… _engorged_ ,' he added, blushing slightly.

The older Saiyans began laughing, and even Krillin and Brolly sniggered, although Tarble just looked embarrassed and annoyed. Goku looked around at the lot of them, confused. What was so funny? What were mammaries?

'This is what happens when you receive your sex education from a race of flat-chested eggheads,' said Raditz, still chortling.

'What?' demanded Tarble. 'The Tech-techs only swelled in the chest when they were nursing their babies.'

'You ignorant little toerag, Tarble,' mocked Nappa. 'All those Saiyanoid species we've come across, did you think all the women had a babe on the tit? Do you think all the Earthling women are nursing?'

Tarble was turning red now and he roared back at Nappa. 'Well, how am I to know? You and Vegeta hardly ever let me leave the ship! You haven't let me leave this valley since we came to Earth!'

'And after the judgement you showed this morning, you only justified our decision!'

'Well then how am I supposed to learn any better?'

'Guess what Tarble, I just don't care! And don't think you can get away with talking to me like that!' He held a hand up to Goku. 'Step down, Kakarott; it's Tarble's turn in the hot seat.'

'Let me, Nappa,' said Raditz. 'Tarble owes me one.'

'He owes us all one, so me first.'

Tarble defiantly stepped up to the hulking warrior. 'Fine!'

'And for that cheek, don't think I'm going to go easy on you, you little shit!'

Goku took a seat by Krillin. Tarble, for all that he was the same height as Krillin and not as sturdy looking, held his own for a few exchanges before being served the first of many courses of whoop-ass by Nappa. Krillin winced as Tarble arced up into air, a few spots of blood left behind to drop to the mossy ground.

'That guy really means business when he spars!' whispered Krillin. 'I just can't get over how strong that Nappa is.'

'Neither can I, Krillin. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be this strong!'

'Do you think they're all crazy powerful like that?'

'Yes. Can't you feel it?'

'Well, I guess, now that you mention it, I do. Although I had confused the feeling with having the crap scared out of me.'

Goku eyed Brolly, who stood a few yards away, his cool eyes on the fight. 'Hey, are you as strong as that guy Nappa?'

Brolly turned his soft, empty gaze on Goku, and Goku resisted the urge to shiver. It wasn't that Brolly was frightening. It's just that something seemed a little odd about him.

'I don't know,' said Brolly. 'They won't let me train with them.'

'Huh? Why not?'

Brolly shrugged. 'It's not safe for me.'

Goku turned back to Krillin who was frowning. 'I thought they said earlier that Tarble was the weakest of them,' said his friend.

'Maybe Brolly's too strong to fight with them, then?' suggested Goku.

'No, that can't be it,' said Krillin. 'He's just a kid like us; he can't be that powerful. It must be something else.'

The conversation was ended when Goku felt the back of his gi twisted in a large fist, and he was lifted into the air by it. Raditz curled his long arm around to make Goku face him.

'Brother. Let's not waste this opportunity to get to know one another.'

Goku was still unsure how he felt about this "brother" business. If he'd imagined having a brother he would have imagined someone more like Krillin, or maybe Yamcha. This guy set alarm bells ringing in his head. He hadn't done anything evil yet, but he also hadn't done anything good, either.

'How do we get to know one another?'

Raditz grinned the terrifying grin and suddenly threw Goku high into the air. As Goku twisted and tried to regain control he heard Raditz yell from below.

'Ready or not, here I come!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Please leave a comment. I love em. Seriously. Feedback is like crack to me and it fuels my writing when I could be doing something more useful, like sleeping.
> 
> Now we play the waiting game again. I don't know if I've said this yet, but if you like what you read here and haven't yet, check out my other stories while you're waiting for this one to be updated! Broken Down Universe is my sci-fi/romance epic and was completed some months ago. There is also a farcical, comedic, smutty one shot I wrote called Monkey Business: A Midsummer Night's Dream - DON'T read it if you don't laugh at filth, or if you're under age...I don't want to be responsible for polluting innocent minds. Actually, if you have a high degree of purity I worry for your fate reading this story also. Not that it will be vulgar or gratuitous, but there will be sex involved at later stages. I'm considering doing a lightly censored version of this story on fanfiction.net for when we get to those scenes, and an uncensored version on AO3 if people are interested. Let me know. If a few people say they want a clean-ish version to read I may do that.


	7. Fix Up Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi everybody! Yes, it's been a long time...longer than I meant. Slightly longer than 2 months, which might be the longest I've ever gone without updating. It didn't feel that long to me, because I've continued to write and puzzle over this story, but the main reasons for not updating sooner were: a major project at work coming to an end with weeks of 80+ hours, stealing all my time, energy and health units; getting sick afterwards (duh!); Christmas; home renovations (I have at this moment, no kitchen, just a bare room with a tap and a funnel in the floor where the drain used to be); and, most naughtily of me, another story, but I'll tell you more about that at the end of this chapter.
> 
> Once again, props to Adli for beta-ing! It's been so long since she beta-ed this chapter, she's probably forgotten she did it!

Bulma made it as far as the steps in the main living area before sinking to her haunches, trembling and feeling nauseas and all together overtaxed. Vegeta shuffled past her, going up the three steps and into the corridor that connected to the bedrooms on the opposite side of the kitchen. She heard the sound of pills clattering in the plastic pill box and knew that he was helping himself to the painkillers despite all his refusal before.

'Huh!' she managed in feeble gloating before going back to feeling terrible. She didn't know if it was her head or the pain in her shoulder that was making her feel queasy, but as the minutes passed the pain began to recede again. Vegeta reappeared and very slowly climbed the steps beside her to a contraption she hadn't paid much attention to yet. It took up a good amount of space on the wooden floor, was taller than Vegeta was, and was the shape of a beehive with a glass front.

'Girl, you are technically proficient, I believe?'

' _Proficient?_  Don't be insulting. I'm technically  _brilliant_ ,' she said, managing to put a little sting in her voice despite not having the energy to be properly annoyed.

'So I've heard you say.'

'When?'

'Many times while I observed you. It seemed whenever there was anyone around to hear, and quite a few times when there wasn't. Perhaps you could prove it.'

Bulma was speechless for a second while she floundered with embarrassment and the realisation that he may have seen and heard all manner of things during his "observation" of her. 'What else did you see while you were spying on me, huh?' She turned to look at him where he slumped against the glass of the tank-thing. God, he was weird. His widow's peak was so extreme that she had to wonder if he had a prematurely receding hairline. He looked younger today than she had thought him last night, with his face pale with strain and his black eyes staring out like lumps of coal dropped in porridge. Had she really thought he might be cute last night? Well, she supposed the light had not been very good.

'You pervert! Did you watch me in the bathroom, you little creep? I bet you were only too excited to watch me undress and shower and take a tinkle!'

'Don't be disgusting! Who would be interested in the toilet habits of a vain little creature like yourself?'

'What?' she exclaimed in confusion. 'What are you saying? That you  _didn't_  watch me get undressed?'

'Absolutely not! What do you think I am? Anything untoward I had to witness, I endured with distaste; most especially your vulgar vanity and preening self-absorption.'

'My WHAT? Well what do you think I'd find if I observed you unseen for a while? I tell you what I think I'd find! A creepy, sneaky, unpleasant,  _short_ ,' and she paused to appreciate his flinching at the word, 'little tyrant, and probably a panty-sniffer to boot! And if I happen to say that I am brilliant and beautiful, it's hardly vanity if it's the truth!'

He hissed through his teeth. 'You foul-minded tart! You flatter yourself with your self-assessment and the idea that I'd  _ever_  want to sniff anything of yours!' Vegeta turned red right up to the top of his excessively high hairline as he said this. 'Are you anything more than a spoiled princess with a coddled ego? All I've heard is words so far. Get up here and have a look at this.  _Prove_  your genius, if it exists!'

She did, stamping up the steps in temper and then regretting jarring her injuries.

'I'll show you fricking genius,' she muttered, looking over the thing for a few moments. Behind the glass was empty space with wires and stick-on electrodes similar to various cardio and cerebral monitoring systems hanging down from the top of the dome, as well as a rubber face mask, to cover the mouth and nose, attached to a hose. She noticed that the base, back- and side-walls were rather thick, and probably housed most of the workings of whatever this was. The design and the electrodes and even the cool beige and pale aqua colour scheme were all suggestive of a medical usage, but she had no idea what.

'Okay, I give up. What is it?'

'You don't even know what it is? Just perfect,' he complained.

'Look, can you get it through your thick skull that my planet doesn't have the same technology that yours does? It doesn't mean I'm an idiot, just because I've never seen one of these before. Just tell me what it is and why I'm looking at it!'

'This is a regeneration tank. It heals all manner of wounds from minor to life threatening in a fraction of the time it would take to heal unassisted. My tail and your collarbone would be mended in a matter of hours if this were working. It is a fairly standard technology across the galaxy amongst those individuals and organisations that can afford one.'

'I thought you said you weren't rich?'

Vegeta looked a little startled, like maybe he'd forgotten he'd told her that. Then he straightened and lifted his chin stubbornly. 'We are power rich, but resource poor.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means we  _stole it_.'

'Oh.' Of course they did. The kind of guy who spies on a girl and makes a string of death threats before dragging her along on a life or death quest was undoubtedly the kind who would also commit theft. But she was somehow a tiny bit disappointed with him.

'It doesn't work, though,' he continued. 'After we drained it and brought it in here, we could never get it to fill up again. Now you fix it.'

'Wait, what? Drained? And you want me to fix it? You've got to give me a bit more to go on than that! How does it work? What went wrong?'

He bent over with difficulty and picked up two small volumes from the floor next it. 'The operator's manual and the technician's handbook.'

'Okay…' With rather more hope she took one book with her good hand and let the book fall open on a page with some diagrams, but not a single label or note that she could read. '…But I can't read this writing!'

Vegeta let out a groan that turned into a growl and snatched the book back off her again. 'If necessary I will read them to you myself, but I will not suffer to be invalided like this a moment longer than I need to be!'

She eyed the tank again. She was not thrilled with way it appeared to work – immersing a patient in fluid for hours as Vegeta said - but right now she was sick with pain and one-handed. It was worth a try.

'Good, because I don't want to listen to your grouchy griping a moment longer than I need to!'

* * *

They sat rather uncomfortably side by side on the edge of the wooden floor, Vegeta reading aloud the table of contents and then the preface of the operator's manual. When Raditz wandered in an hour later Bulma was looking over the contraption, opening panels and pressing buttons, and generally getting a feel for what it was and how it worked.

'So water comes in here, right?'

'Correct.'

'And this is the intake for the regeneration fluid concentrate?'

'No, that takes the cartridge for the nano-bot refills. The fluid intake is the larger intake further round.'

'Ah.'

Raditz began his preparation for dinner, ostensibly going about his business, but actually all his attention was on the girl and his Prince. Whenever he could, he glanced over at the two of them. She was quite a juicy one. He wondered if that was why Vegeta was allowing her to speak to him with such impertinence.

'Where are the service tools, then?' he heard her demand of Vegeta.

'We don't have them. You'll have to make do with these tools from the ship.'

'You just told me it says I need the special spanner to open this panel. What makes you think just any old tool will work?'

'You must make do!'

'Maybe you shouldn't have left the service tools behind.'

'I'm sorry, there wasn't enough time to notice we were missing the service tools while we were  _boosting it from a parked frigate!_ '

'Well you may as well not have bothered stealing it at all if I can't get this panel off – oh, well look at that, you just got it off.'

'If you put as much effort into finding out what's wrong as you are at finding things to complain about, it would be fixed by now!'

Raditz waited for a typical Vegeta eruption of temper, but it never came, and shook his head. He rather doubted the purity of his Prince's intentions, no matter what Vegeta claimed. The boy had shown little interest in women so far…in fact, was proud of his disinterest, as if it was a badge of accomplishment – an attitude that grated on both Nappa and Raditz. Vegeta was so buttoned up that Raditz was surprised he didn't burst sometime with the pressure of built up spunk. If he was finally losing out to biology, this could only be good news for Raditz.

It was hard sometimes to judge age between species, but the human Earthlings looked very Saiyan-like. This girl Bulma looked a little young perhaps, but  _old enough,_ he thought to himself with a grin. The girl bent over, making her shorts tighten over her rear, and it was a very nice rear, he thought. A contemplative look passed over his face. As long as Vegeta was still in denial, Raditz wouldn't let this tempting morsel go to waste…Vegeta had forbid him to force himself upon the girl, which Raditz found insulting. He didn't need to force a woman! Proposition, seduce, perhaps even lie and coerce, and he had been known to pay when it was more convenient, but force? Never! He was Raditz! He would not need to  _force_  anything.

* * *

'Oh, I see! This is actually so simple!' Bulma said. 'You dummies just stopped the pump working when you completely drained it. It needs the fluid still in it for the suction to work. The only hard part is getting the fluid back. It'll have to be siphoned.'

Bulma turned back to Vegeta, sniggering at her own cleverness compared to the ham-fisted boys, but met no expression of gratitude. Instead he just looked very pissed off.

'Stop talking about it and do it then!'

Her attention was suddenly captured by the man approaching Vegeta from behind. It was the same guy as before – he of the naked, bulging thighs. Vegeta turned to see what she was looking at.

'Raditz, what do you want?'

Radtiz kept his eyes on Bulma's as he approached the base of the steps. Even three steps below her she had to look up to meet his eye. Tall, dark… _handsome!_  Bulma thrilled silently. Sure, he badly needed a haircut and his fashion sense was quite out of whack, but he had the excuse of being an alien. Unlike Vegeta's body armour, his was beetle black with white piping, and had brown panels hanging from the waist to protect the sides of his legs and his crotch. They didn't cover his legs that much though, or the fact that he only seemed to be wearing a pair of snug black briefs to cover the essentials. Then again, she thought, as she admired his muscled arms and legs, her mother had always said 'It pays to advertise!'

'I was preparing dinner when I suddenly wondered if you and our guest would like a refreshing glass of kowlon cordial.' He smiled at her, wide and suggestively, as if he'd never seen someone so beguiling. Bulma giggled with a surge of elation. 'I don't believe we've been introduced,' he continued. 'My name is Raditz.'

'Bulma,' she replied, grinning back and extending her hand to shake his. Raditz regarded her hand for a moment and then took it lightly in his. Instead of shaking it though he brought it slowly to his face. She thought he was going to kiss it, but he sniffed it, his nostrils twitching. Bulma felt her cheeks turning red at the sudden awkward turn, but Raditz seemed only appreciative as he breathed over her skin -

' _Nice!_ ' he murmured.

'No, we would not like any kowlon cordial,' said Vegeta, swatting at their hands to break them apart.

'Maybe I  _do_ ,' said Bulma, still smiling at Raditz.

'No, you don't. It's disgusting. I'm saving you the trouble of finding out yourself.'

'Kowlon cordial is just fine, Vegeta,' said Raditz. 'It's only you who doesn't like it, and it's much tastier than water.'

With his other hand Raditz presented a tall glass of liquid that looked like flat cola.

'Why thank you, Raditz!' She took the drink, winking flirtatiously at him over the rim as she raised the glass. She'd taken a gulp and had another mouthful before the taste really registered.

'Bluerfffffff!' she exclaimed, spraying kowlon cordial all over the floor. 'What the heck is this? It tastes like stewed wildebeests' hooves!'

Vegeta chuckled. 'I tried to save you, but you wouldn't listen.'

Radtiz looked a little dismayed. 'Well, I'm sorry it doesn't agree with you.' He took the glass back from her and took a long drink himself. 'Personally I find it quite tasty, and we ran out of all the other juice, tea, cordial, wine, beer and spirits months ago and the only milk we've got left is Gordorian dog milk, and even Nappa won't drink that.'

'Dog milk! Oh my god, please tell me what you're making for dinner!' she gasped, appalled.

Raditz straightened and lifted his nose into the air. 'Spit-roasted quadraped…a mammal of some sort. I believe Kakarott called it a Mountain Goat. And baked dongdon tubers and beans. And I'm the best cook aboard - ask any of the others.'

Vegeta continued sniggering.

'I guess that doesn't sound too bad,' Bulma said doubtfully, doubly glad that she'd packed those emergency supplies. If dinner were inedible at least she and Krillin and Goku would have those.

'So what  _is_  that thing?' asked Raditz, apparently having noticed Puar slumped up against the wall.

'I'd tell you myself, but I'm sure my opinion doesn't count,' said Puar sulkily.

'My new daemon. It is an amusing little thing,' said Vegeta.

'Huh.' Raditz turned back to Bulma, cocking his head jauntily. 'Is there anything else I could get you? Glass of water? Milk, perhaps?'

'I really don't think so,' she replied.

'Stop being such a filthy suck-up, Raditz. From the smell of it the campfire is burning out of control while you're in here bothering us.'

Raditz looked sharply at Vegeta, and then lowered his eyes. 'Excuse me, Your Highness, my lady. Duty calls.'

Finding a hose small enough to siphon the fluid through the pump took longer than actually doing it. Vegeta lifted a section of the wooden floor, revealing storage space and equipment underneath, but there was nothing of use inside and the movement caused him obvious pain. As he was preparing to lift the next segment a small figure skipped in the door and performed a somersault out of sheer satisfaction, judging by the 'Ha!' it uttered. Landing with his back toward Bulma and Vegeta, the kid jumped with fright when Vegeta spoke.

'Tarble. What are you so happy about?'

As he turned towards them his smile faded away into nervousness. He was about the same height as Krillin, thought Bulma, but not as stocky as either Krillin or Goku. His hair stood up in spikes similar to Vegeta's, although not as high, and if he had a widow's peak it was concealed by the bangs that covered his forehead. He was a very cute looking kid really, and she thought he could only be about nine or ten years old. His eyebrows followed the same furrowed lines as Vegeta's, and his chin held the same point…in fact, he looked very much like Vegeta, she realised as she looked back and forth between the two - but younger and less pissed off.

'I beat the two new boys in training,' he said.

'Well, you should have,' replied Vegeta, straightening slowly to avoid hurting his tail more. 'They are both abysmally weak.'

Bulma was speechless at the news. This little one beat even Goku? The Saiyans were monsters!

'Their power levels go up when they fight, though!' said Tarble.

'Nonsense!'

'No, it's true! Ask Nappa or Raditz! They say it must be some Earthling trick.'

Raditz happened to come up the ramp at that moment from tending the spit-roasting goat.

'The Earthlings can fluctuate their power levels?' asked Vegeta, without preamble.

Raditz blinked. 'Yes.'

'Raise it?'

'Yes.'

'And lower it?'

'I don't know. Maybe, I guess.'

'And when were you going to mention this?'

Raditz stood there for a moment with his mouth open. 'It didn't seem urgent, Your Highness. They only managed to raise their levels about another twenty points each from our first reading.'

'Well, I think it might be very important when warriors can conceal their true power from a scouter, don't you?'

'I guess I hadn't thought of it that way. Very clever, Your Highness.'

Vegeta turned away with a scowl on his face, and Bulma was surprised to see the big man  _scurry_  away into the kitchen the moment Vegeta's eyes were off him.

'Help Bulma with this task, Tarble,' said Vegeta, moving away from the steps and the floor panel he'd been about to lift.

'Okay!' Tarble looked her over with a frank excitement that Bulma wasn't sure how to interpret, but given his age, must be innocent she reasoned. She smiled at him and he grinned back in delight as he rushed forward to do his Prince's bidding. Unlike Vegeta and Raditz he wore no armour. Instead he had on a stretchy blue suit like Vegeta's, which was baggy on him instead of snug, and turned up at the wrists and ankles. In fact she suspected it  _was_  Vegeta's suit. It rather made him look like he was wearing pyjamas. The suit was rather scuffed and spotted with blood here and there. She hoped Goku and Krillin were all right.

'Are you Vegeta's little brother?' she asked as Tarble lifted the awkward section of flooring with ease and laid it against the steps. To her surprise Tarble froze, and instead of answering her he turned to look to Vegeta. She noticed that even Raditz in the kitchen stopped what he was doing to watch Vegeta.

Vegeta was frowning. 'No, he is not,' he said.

Tarble turned his attention back to what he was doing, looking a little less happy than he had done before, while Bulma puzzled over this odd interaction.

The storage spaces held tools, emergency-use space suits, ducts, wires and other spaceship workings that Bulma was reluctant to touch. Under the third floor panel was a series of translucent plastic water tanks, hooked to each other and into the ship by flexible clear tubing.

'What are these?' asked Bulma, fingering the tubing. 'This could work if it's safe to disconnect it.'

They hunted around for a sign or a label. 'Auxiliary Water Storage,' read Tarble when he found it. Bulma reached for it and then looked back to Vegeta who nodded his consent. She turned the valve on the last tank to close it, and then loosened the clamps that held the hose in place.

'How long have you all been on Earth?' she asked.

'Two weeks,' replied Vegeta.

'How did you learn to speak our language so well in that time?'

' _Your_  language?'

'What do you mean?' asked Tarble.

Bulma paused and looked up at them both in confusion. 'I mean, you all speak the common language of Earth so well. You've got funny accents but…'

'Earth's common language?' said Vegeta, his face breaking into a mocking smile. 'This is the Galactic Common Language. Or the All Speak, or the Gods' Tongue, if you're superstitious. Did you think you Earthlings invented it?'

'Huh? But…how can that be? As far as I know,  _you people_  are the first aliens to have visited this planet! How would we have the same language?'

'There are as many theories on that as there are planets, but many believe that an early space-faring race travelled the universe, seeding their language and their genes amongst the indigenous primitives, thousands of years ago,' replied Vegeta.

'The Tech-Techies say that the Gods grew tired of having to learn all the millions of languages all over the universe, so they came down from heaven and taught everyone in the universe to speak the same language,' added Tarble.

'Ah, the superstitious have spoken,' teased Vegeta.

'It's only a  _saying_ , Vegeta. They don't actually believe it.'

'What are the Tech-Techies?' asked Bulma, thoroughly confused now.

'The people who raised me.'

'This one was tamed and trained by eggheads,' said Vegeta, giving Tarble a gentle looking shove that still rocked the little boy onto his back. Tarble rolled to his feet and backed off from Vegeta.

'I was sent to Planet Tech-Tech as a baby. Vegeta and the others found me a while ago. I didn't know what I was until they came,' he told her.

'Kind of like Goku, huh?'

'You mean Kakarott?' Tarble asked. 'Yes, like him,' he nodded. Bulma frowned and turned to Vegeta.

'So, how is it that two Saiyans were sent to alien planets as babies? Where were their parents? Did they crash land? Were their parents killed somehow?'

'No. There were sent to planets marked for clearance and eventual sale because they were the weaklings of Saiyan society.'

'What? That doesn't make any sense! And what do you mean clearance?'

Just as she asked this, the rest of the spaceship's contingent walked or staggered in the door. The moustachioed giant Nappa led the way, cracking his knuckles and his neck once he cleared the rampway entrance, and after him came another boy, slightly taller than Bulma herself, and Goku and Krillin, hanging onto each other, both looking about ready to drop from exhaustion and their injuries. Bulma just about hit the roof.

'What the hell have you done to them, you brute?' she screamed at Nappa.

Nappa turned to look down at her, then wrinkled his nose at her furious expression. 'Bad choice, my Prince; this one's more sour than a Tharkarian lemon!'

'Nappa, you know very well that she isn't here for the sake of her company.'

'It's okay, Bulma, we're not as bad as we look,' Krillin chuckled, and then he stopped immediately, clutching his ribs. 'Ow!'

'I'm just so hungry!' moaned Goku.

'That's all right, little brother,' said Raditz, emerging from the kitchen brandishing a fistful of cleaving and carving knives and a stack of plates. 'Grubs up!'

'Dinner's ready?' yelped Goku. He turned and rushed outside, dragging a protesting Krillin behind him. Tarble and the other boy bounded after them.

'Brother?' exclaimed Bulma. 'Are you  _actually_  Goku's brother?'

'Yes, I am  _Kakarott's_  brother,' said Raditz. 'And I'll admit it, as much as it shames me,' he added airily as he swept past her and Vegeta.

'What…?'

'That's enough questions for now,' said Vegeta. 'More pressing matters are at hand. Like food.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Ten house points if you recognise where the dog milk is a reference is from!
> 
> Yes, this is a short chapter. This tends to happen at the beginning of stories I find, as we nibble past the bun and salad bits. Then the chapters start getting longer and meatier as we start chomping down on the hamburger of the story. I've also branched into fan art lately. Like my new bookcover for Never Ever Land? I actually have stuff to post on my deviant art account now.
> 
> So, about that other story. Well, it's only a five chapter story, and the last chapter is almost finished, so I hope to start posting it soon. It's not like this one, and it's mostly about Vegeta, a young Vegeta (though it doesn't exactly fit with this AU, it fits my head cannon for Vegeta, and can be seen as an add-on or backstory for Broken Down Universe, if you've read that).
> 
> Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think so far! And if you could say which chapter you're commenting on that would help too.


	8. Campfire Tales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Promised and delivered. I finished Innocence now, so I'm back to this one. we'll see how long I can hold out before posting the next chapter after this one!

Outside, behind the ship, was not one, but two whole spit-roasted goats rotating over the low flames of heaped embers. The wide circle of ashes suggested that they had already had many large fires on this site. The spit roast set up was quite sophisticated, Bulma noted, with metal shafts and supports, and a chain connected to the motor that was turning them both. It had a rather homemade look to it though.

Raditz saw her inspecting it and stepped along side her.

'I made this myself, you know,' he said, preening. 'I'm quite technically minded like that.'

Vegeta and Krillin both laughed when they heard this, but Goku frowned and said 'That's pretty cool, I think. It cooks the meat really well, I imagine.'

'That it does, little brother.'

'Raditz, you will not impress _this_ girl with your DIY cooking equipment,' said Vegeta.

Bulma put her unbound hand on her hip and attempted to puff up her chest, but desisted due to the amount of pain this caused her collarbone. 'Oh, so you admit I _am_ brilliant then?'

Vegeta settled himself on one of the trunks that circled the fire. Bulma noted that these were not old logs of fallen trees, but fresh, healthy trees, snapped off at the base and stripped of branches. 'Well, you've proven yourself less of a moron than Raditz, at least.'

Raditz puckered his mouth in annoyance but didn't say anything in his own defence. Bulma took a seat on the other log next to the fire, and Puar, Goku and Krillin sat either side of her, making a wall of Earthlings opposing the Saiyans, who settled next to their prince. Vegeta glowered pointedly at Puar.

'What?' she said.

'You know what, cat,' he replied, and dejectedly she floated over to perch beside him.

'Huh?' said Goku, observing this. 'Puar? Are you _friends_ with this guy now?'

'Yeah,' Puar said sadly. 'Whatever.'

Bulma frowned with concern but said nothing – for now. Vegeta seemed to have some kind of hold on Puar, but she suspected it would be better to question Puar when there was no Vegeta present.

'What's this, Vegeta?' asked Nappa, looking at the tiny ball of fur that sat between them.

'My new daemon,' said Vegeta smugly. 'It's a shape-shifter.'

'Oh really?' replied Nappa.

'A shape-shifter?' exclaimed Tarble. 'Can I see?'

Puar scowled and folded her arms, looking up at Vegeta.

'Do it, cat,' Vegeta ordered.

'All right.' With a pop the cat exploded outwards into one of the most disgusting things Bulma had ever seen. It looked like an obese little troll that had been turned inside out – entrails on the outside, heart plain to sight, beating away, and raw flesh quivering like jelly.

'Oh my god!' shrieked Bulma. Everyone jumped a few inches in the air, except for Vegeta, who laughed.

'Turn back, turn back!' yelped Krillin.

'How about this, Vegeta?' Puar gurgled.

'Very amusing, Daemon. But it's _Prince_ Vegeta, and don't you forget it. Now Raditz – serve.'

Raditz took one spit off the fire with his hand in an oven mitt (Bulma did a double take – it was pink and had a flower pattern on it) like it was a toothpick with a cocktail sausage on it, rather than a hundred pound animal, then cheerfully dismembered it onto the grass with the cleaver he'd brought out. It was crispy black on the outside and still running blood on the inside, and although Bulma didn't mind her steaks medium rare, this was less than completely appetising.

He presented an entire hindquarter to Vegeta. 'Your favourite cut, Vegeta?'

Vegeta grunted and immediately attacked the joint with his teeth, the plate apparently for nothing more than stopping the meat juices splashing onto his lap. Were Saiyan table manners congenital? Bulma was still staring in disgust when Raditz dropped a huge cut of meat onto her plate.

'For you, my Lady. The neck is often the most tender.'

It was indeed a _whole_ goat neck, vertebrae intact. 'Ah. Um…thanks…'

'Raditz, where's my cut?' snapped Nappa. 'Strumpets don't get served before me! I'll have the other haunch.'

After Nappa, Raditz cut himself a shoulder quarter. Goku was on the edge of his seat, staring with intense longing at the remaining meat. In fact, all three Saiyan boys wore identical expressions of anxiety and ravenous yearning.

'All right, dig in boys,' said Raditz, taking a seat. By the time Krillin stood up, the three Saiyan boys were already tearing into the belly, ribs and back-flaps and the last forequarter. Bulma had seen Goku eat like a starving animal before, even similar fare to this, but seeing it multiplied by three was even more disturbing. All three boys had their tails in held high in the air above them as they forewent the plates and chowed down right where they knelt. Krillin hovered around the edge, looking for an angle to get in.

'Some things are falling into place,' she said to him, and Krillin nodded back to her.

'Krillin, you're going to miss out!' said Goku, surfacing with a face smeared with charcoal, fat and blood.

'I know Goku, but I don't think it's worth losing a finger over, if you know what I mean. I'll just wait.'

Vegeta tore a scrap from his own joint and held it under Puar's nose.

'Are you kidding me?' she squeaked indignantly, and then with a start she added 'Prince Vegeta, Your Highness. I'd prefer to feed myself.'

'As you wish.'

She floated away and joined Krillin, hovering for an opportunity to get at the meat.

Bulma picked up her own prize to tackle. It was quite unwieldy, and there were no knives or forks but once she got her teeth into it, it wasn't too bad. Raditz had brought out a selection of condiments that all the Saiyans were ignoring, and with a bit of salt and relish the neck roast was quite okay, she decided, after getting past the blackened skin.

The boys ended up snapping off bits of bones and taking them back to their seats to gnaw on. The cute little Tarble was stripping scraps off a section of rib cage with his teeth as he smiled at her. Krillin was picking over the bones, going for all the smaller bits ignored by the others.

'The assistant's timidity has cost him his dinner,' said Vegeta, not sounding the least bit concerned for him.

'No,' insisted Krillin. He had amassed quite a pile of bits on his plate. 'I've got enough.'

Goku offered Krillin the other side of the rib cage, but Krillin turned him down. He had a feast of goat meat on his plate already, by his human standards.

Puar came away with even less, but was quickly full and began cleaning her paws and whiskers while sitting on the grass, conveniently forgetting to return to Vegeta's side.

Second course was dongdon tubers, baked in the embers, and a large pot of beans. Apparently the plates were for the beans. They were quite analogous to baked beans, but they were larger, pale green, and the stuff they were swimming in had a sweet, smoky flavour, like an odd barbeque sauce. The dongdon tubers looked similar to large potatoes, but were sweeter and far stickier. In fact, the greyish flesh was very pasty and stodgy. Raditz put a whole tuber on her plate, but Bulma couldn't even eat half of it, and that she had to drown in relish and sauce to stop it from sticking in her craw. The older Saiyans were having three apiece, and the boys two.

'Are you going to eat that?' Goku asked Bulma after seeing Bulma not touch hers for a while.

'No Goku, you go for it.'

Her left over root was inhaled in seconds. 'This food is pretty good!' he enthused.

'I know, right?' agreed Raditz.

Bulma rolled her eyes. 'You'd eat anything that wasn't moving too fast, Goku.'

Vegeta took the leg bones he'd stripped and tossed them up and over surrounding trees to crash to the floor of the forest. The others followed his example, except for Bulma.

'Won't you attract wolves and bears if you do that?' she asked, wondering if there were bears out there already.

'Hopefully,' said Nappa. 'I like this Earthling bear meat.'

'Bear?' said Krillin. 'Yuck!'

'No, bear's okay,' said Goku.

'Ah…' Bulma began to feel a prickle of uneasiness. She was out of place here, more so than Krillin even. She was the only person round this campfire besides Puar who was more likely to be bear-food than a bear-eater. Her stomach gave an unpleasant palpitation at the thought.

Dessert was more goat meat. The Saiyans took more time over this one, cutting their own morsels and taking the time to savour it rather than vanishing the flesh with all possible haste. Raditz offered her a chunk of fillet when she didn't get up to fill her plate.

'No thanks, I'm stuffed.'

'The Earthlings don't eat much,' said Vegeta. 'Maybe that's why they're so feeble.'

'You guys eat as much as I do!' said Goku, clearly impressed. 'Maybe I am a Saiyan after all?'

It was becoming blatantly obvious to Bulma that many of her friend's quirkier aspects were Saiyan racial characteristics.

'Idiot,' hissed Raditz. 'Of course you are. How many times do I have to tell you that you are my brother?'

'Okay,' said Bulma, cutting in on their conversation. 'Time for some explanations. Why did Goku come to Earth as a baby, and why wasn't his brother with him? Where are his parents?'

A good many glances were exchanged around the campfire, until all the Saiyans' eyes rested on Vegeta. Apparently the decision to answer her was his alone. Bulma frowned. They really were deferent to Vegeta, even Raditz and Nappa, who were far bigger than he. Was it just that he was their prince?

' _Kakarott_ was sent to this planet as an infant,' began Vegeta, 'to complete a planet purge which he patently did _not_ succeed in.'

'A planet purge?' repeated Bulma, Krillin and Goku in unison.

'That doesn't sound very nice,' added Krillin.

'It's not. At least not for the people whose planet is getting purged!' laughed Nappa.

'A planet purge is when a planet is cleaned of life, ready for sale,' said Vegeta. 'Sometimes just the sentient species are destroyed, sometimes all higher life forms, and often, all life forms, depending on the requirements.'

Goku looked thunderstruck. 'I wouldn't do that!'

'No, you _didn't_ do that,' replied Vegeta. 'That you failed in your mission is the only reason we are all here today. I can only guess that the infant conditioning program in your space pod failed to initiate.'

'Babies were sent to destroy civilisations?' said Bulma, still unable to comprehend. 'Who would feed them? Who would take care of them?'

'A Saiyan child, in a hospitable environment such at this one, can care for itself from a year old or so.'

'You're kidding!'

'I was sent on an infant purge,' volunteered Raditz. 'I was fine. I got a bit lonely, especially towards the end, but it was okay.'

The Earthlings could only stare at Raditz.

'You killed all the people on your planet?' asked Goku eventually.

'Not just the people,' he clarified. 'My instructions were to take out all higher life forms. It took me a couple of years, but I was home before my fourth birthday.'

'WHAT?' squawked Bulma rather loudly. 'You wiped out a planet, while you were still a _baby_? What the hell are you people?'

'We are warriors. Saiyan children are not weak and helpless like the brats I've seen on this planet,' said Vegeta. 'I can't imagine spending the first year of life not even being able to walk, let alone fight.'

Goku was staring at the ground as if he was having some inner, horrific revelation. She watched him for a moment, half afraid of her friend, as if he were a bomb whose detonator hadn't blown, but might go off at any moment. But then she shook herself.

'Hey, Buddy,' she said to him quietly. 'Are you okay?'

'I was just remembering what Master Roshi said, about how Grandpa Gohan told him he'd found me in the forest, and that I was wild and violent until I banged my head,' he said.

' _Banged_ his head!' scoffed Nappa. 'What a frail a babe he must've been! It explains a lot though.'

Goku eyed Nappa with dislike and shuffled over to Bulma on his hands and knees, and Krillin and Puar followed suit. 'I was sent here to kill everything. I don't want to be a Saiyan if it means I have to hurt people! I only want to fight bad guys. I don't want to kill anyone who doesn't deserve it. I like Earth - it's my home.'

'We'll drive that kind of drivel out of him before we're done,' said Nappa.

'No one's going to make you kill anyone,' said Bulma, glaring at the giant Saiyan. 'And if they try, you can stay an Earthling!'

The three older Saiyans looked unimpressed by this speech. Tarble was staring sullenly at the ground, not engaging in the discussion at all. The other young Saiyan was staring serenely at her, looking only mildly curious. He was a strange boy, Bulma realised. She hadn't heard him say a single word yet, or alter his expression other than when he was eating. She wondered briefly if he was brain damaged. No one had introduced him, and he didn't seem motivated to introduce himself. He was a good-looking boy – maybe a little younger than herself, with spikes of hair at the front of his head, and long flicks at the back. He didn't dress like the others either – white pantaloons and a dull grey tunic – but strangest of all was the headdress he wore. It was a gold circlet, not quite a crown, coming to a point low on his forehead, where a red stone was embedded.

'Did you go on an infant purge?' she asked him.

The boy blinked slowly. 'I was sent on a purge, but the infant conditioning on my space pod didn't activate.'

Nappa chuckled. 'It didn't stop Brolly from destroying half his hosting planet anyway by the time we caught up to him.'

Brolly smiled faintly and Bulma shuddered. His sweet, blank face couldn't possibly be the face of a killer could it? And little Tarble…

'What about you?' she asked the smallest one.

'Same story,' said Tarble.

'Did you wipe out half your planet?'

Tarble's mouth turned down. 'No. Just a few tens of thousands…'

'And you?' she asked Nappa.

'Hell no! That shit is for the brats of third class weaklings. I'm a Saiyan elite! I was raised on Planet Vegeta with the other worthies.'

'That's crazy!' said Krillin. 'You send the weakest babies…and they conquer planets for you?'

'That used to be the way,' replied Vegeta. 'The Saiyan race's main trade in its final years was planet-purging to order. We worked for Frieza's Planet Trade Organisation, under duress, I must add, and we found that for many planets, one of our lesser children was sufficient to do the job. As part of the conditioning they received in their space pods en route, the children were instructed to activate the beacons on their pods once they were done. They would be picked up by Saiyan soldiers and the planet claimed for the Trade Organisation. But after the destruction of our planet, _Frieza's_ soldiers would follow the beacons, claim the planet for the organisation, and _kill_ the Saiyan child. These three have only survived because they failed. If they had activated the beacons on their pods they would be dead like all the rest. We knew which planets Saiyan children had been sent to, and which beacons had never been activated…And so we came looking, before it was too late and the frontier of the PTO moved out to swallow the last few Saiyan children.'

The four Earthlings stared at Vegeta as he told this grim tale.

'Frieza was the one that destroyed your planet, right?' asked Bulma eventually.

'He was,' replied Vegeta.

'Why?'

'He was afraid of us, and how powerful we were becoming. My people were a long way off challenging Frieza's power, but he didn't want us to even get close. And he was afraid of a prophecy. He was afraid of the Legend of the Super Saiyan. He believes his line will be ended by a Super Saiyan.'

Tarble was hanging on every word, and Brolly, Raditz and Nappa were completely still, serious expressions on their faces, giving this talk of prophecy and super beings credence Bulma didn't think it sounded like it deserved.

'What's a Super Saiyan?' asked Goku.

'Is it like that comic character?' asked Krillin. 'A super-man with special powers, like super strength and the ability to fly and deflect bullets?'

'Krillin,' Bulma whispered in his ear as the Saiyans laughed and Vegeta sneered at Krillin's stupidity, 'They _already_ have super strength and can fly! And even Goku can deflect bullets!'

'Oh. Yeah.' He gulped. 'What does that make a _Super_ Saiyan, then?'

'It is one of the oldest of our people's legends,' said Vegeta. 'Once every few thousand years a Saiyan will be born with the potential to become the Legendary – a being of god-like power. The last time one arose was three thousand years ago. The time is ripe.'

Bulma looked around at the little ring of boys and men. 'There are only six of you! Are you saying that you think one of you six is this _legendary_ thing?'

Nappa huffed but Vegeta sat up straighter, looking right at Bulma as he hissed 'No. I'm saying that _I_ will be the Legendary Super Saiyan!'

Bulma shuddered at the maniac gleam in his eyes. Over the ridge of the hill a wolf howled in the gathering dark. Another answered its call from much closer, somewhere within gathering gloom of the valley, and Bulma gripped Goku's shoulder and whimpered.

'I am the most powerful child born to the Saiyan race in living memory,' Vegeta went on. 'I will be the one to make the ascension and destroy Frieza!'

Into the silence that followed this proclamation Krillin ventured, 'How did _you_ survive? You and…Nappa and Raditz?'

Now Vegeta hesitated again, his face growing dark. He turned away from them, looking into the hot embers and licking flames of the campfire, and when he answered his voice was a bitter rasp.

'We were _already_ in Frieza's direct service. My father, King Vegeta, was forced to give me up as a hostage to ensure my people's subjugation. Nappa came with me as my personal aide. Raditz followed a little later, as a squire after my first one died. But that wasn't enough for Frieza. Very soon after that, he destroyed our planet and our race and my father.'

'Is that when you ran from him?' asked Bulma.

' _No it wasn't!_ ' hissed Vegeta. 'I was only a child then. Frieza lied to me for years! He said that my planet had been destroyed by meteorites. I had to do his bidding for _years_ before I found out the truth…And then…'

But he never said what happened then. He trailed off into silence, staring into the flames, his jaw clenched with whatever fury he was reliving in his memory.

Bulma wondered if she was expected to say that what happened to them was awful, but she wasn't sure how sympathetic she actually felt, and the silence was too tense to break. Raditz, Nappa, Tarble and Brolly seemed to have turned to statues, staring at the ground, the fire, anywhere but at Vegeta. A popping, rending sound ended it, and Vegeta shook away fistfuls of bark and green wood he had torn from the log he was sitting on. But eventually Bulma couldn't contain one niggling question any longer.

'But why didn't Frieza kill you three at the same time?'

Vegeta looked up from the fire slowly, training his thunderous gaze on Bulma. His face, his whole body were tensed with hatred, and Bulma was reminded of her terror of him last night.

'Because it _amused_ him not to!'

Abruptly he stood. 'Girl,' he barked. 'Go back inside and finish fixing that regeneration tank. I have had enough of this inconvenience,' he said, gesturing vaguely behind him at his tail. Slowly he walked back around the ship. Bulma eyed the fresh scars in the tree he'd left behind.

'Vegeta said that Frieza was many times stronger than he,' she said to the remaining Saiyans.

'And the rest,' said Raditz.

Nappa gave him a vicious shove, knocking him backwards off the log. 'Shut it!' Then he rounded on Bulma, and she scrambled to her feet in alarm.

'Do as Vegeta says,' he snapped. 'Go do whatever the hell it is that he has brought you here for. And don't pester the prince with your prying questions!'

She hurried to comply.


	9. On Your Mark, Get Set...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As both this and the last chapter are quite skinny I decided not to wait too log before posting this one. Even though I'm not exactly keeping up with my write-one-post-one schedule. Hmm.

'You know, when you leave this place for a while and then come back in, you notice it smells distinctly of _boy_ ,' Bulma noted with distaste.

'Whereas you just reek of _girl_ constantly,' said Vegeta with annoyance from where he was waiting for her by the tank.

Half an hour later the pump was primed and the regeneration tank was looped in to the auxiliary water supply. The others came in and wandered around the ship for a while in pre-bed routines, and then carried blankets, furs and cushions outside to the campfire again while Bulma and Vegeta watched the tank charge.

'I'm going in first,' Vegeta told her. 'I'll wake you when my cycle is done.' Hopefully we'll both be healed by morning.' Then he striped his armour and shirt off, and kicked off his boots. As he was tucking his thumbs into his waistband to pull down his pants Bulma interjected.

'Wait! What? Do we have to go in naked?'

Vegeta looked at her like she was stupid. 'The tank works much better if the injured area is totally free of clothing.'

'Your injured area is your tail. Why are you taking your pants off?'

'So they don't get wet of course!'

Actually getting his pants off proved to be an ordeal. By the time he got them to his mid thighs he was gasping and sweating. His tail had to slip out of a hole in the back at the same time as he pulled them off his legs, which was moving the tail around and obviously causing him a lot of pain, and he hadn't even made it as far as the bandage yet. He leant his side against the tank looking furious, his half mast pants revealing a pair of plain black, low cut briefs that covered a muscular set of buttocks and…Bulma dragged her eyes upwards, aware that she was staring. In fact, as she let her eyes wander, although he was not bulky like Nappa or Raditz, under his clothes he was something to behold. His musculature put even Yamcha's to shame, who, until now, had been Bulma's benchmark of masculine perfection.

'Girl,' he hissed. 'Don't just stand there gawping! Assist me!'

'Do I really have to?'

At arms length she gingerly slipped his tail through its little hole, trying to ignore the faceful of alien butt in front of her. It was difficult with one hand –she kept attempting to use the injured one, forgetting it was strapped to her chest, and provoking her shoulder. When it was done she was relieved to see he made no move of take his underwear off, and she was in a fair amount of pain herself.

'I guess the bandage will have to come off,' she said.

'Do it,' Vegeta said grimly, and bit his lip.

She fetched the scissors and the sedative from the bedroom and returned. When she offered him the sedative, though, he shook his head. 'The tank itself sedates the patient.'

She nodded, understanding. Two sedatives might interact dangerously. He was just going to have to grin and bear this.

She snipped away the splint and bandage while Vegeta hissed through his teeth and clung white-knuckled to the tank. Remembering how sensitive Goku's tail could be, Bulma moved as slowly and gently as she could. Luckily it had hardly bled at all, probably because of her father's solutions, and so the bandage didn't stick much and she was able to get it off with one hand without having to resort to using her teeth. When she was done Vegeta crouched for a long time, breathing hard through his nose with his head pressed against the cool glass of the tank, and Bulma wondered if he was going to be sick. Eventually though, he stood and showed her what buttons to press to start the cycle. Then he stepped in, causing a soft overhead light to come on, connected the electrodes and donned the mask with swift familiarity, as if he did this all the time. He closed the door himself and nodded at her. She pressed the buttons and pale blue fluid immediately began to rush in. Vegeta stood calmly as the water rose up, past his hips, past his shoulders, and up, over his head. He closed his eyes with what looked like blessed relief as he began to float in the water.

Bulma watched with curiosity and anxiety, not sure if she wanted to test this alien technology on her human body. The thought of being trapped underwater inside a tank for hours scared her too. Vegeta certainly seemed to have no problem with it though.

She watched for a minute, but nothing seemed to be happening. The mask only covered his lower face, and she noted that Vegeta looked even more like Tarble when his face was relaxed and calm. Suddenly his eyes opened again and Bulma jumped in fright.

'Sorry!' she said, dumbly, realising that he probably couldn't hear her anyway. 'I thought you were asleep!'

The eyes above the mask crinkled in what might have been amusement, and she hurried away to get ready for bed.

* * *

Outside Goku was wrapping himself in the blanket he'd taken from the lounge. Krillin hunkered down close to him in a fur. He gave the fur a suspicious sniff before laying his head down on it. Puar was curled up between them and had covered herself with the edge of Goku's blanket.

'Hey, Goku,' Krillin whispered to him. 'How come you haven't asked Raditz about your parents yet? If it was me I'd be bursting with curiosity.'

Goku frowned, unsure of what to say. The thought had arisen and been slowly growing heavier in his mind all day, but to ask Raditz seemed to be to accept that he was his brother. The longer he spent with the Saiyans though the more likely it seemed that it was the truth. He was like them…in some ways anyway. Strangely this made him feel like he knew who he was less than he had before he had ever heard the word "Saiyan".

'I guess I should ask.'

He sat up again to look across the campfire where Raditz already lay and Nappa was taking off his armour. Goku hesitated, seeing all the scars on the wide back and shoulders of the older Saiyan.

'You look like you've been in a lot of fights,' he said.

Nappa turned around, a prideful smile stealing across his face. Goku was interested to see that this was the first time he'd said something that actually pleased Nappa.

'That's right, kid. Tell me, do you like to fight?'

Goku couldn't lie. 'Sure. I love fighting bad guys and in the tournaments, and even just for fun.'

'Well, if you stick with us, you'll get all the fight you could want.' Then his eye fell on Puar, who lay exposed by Goku having sat up.

'Daemon! What are you doing out here? Your place is with Vegeta!'

Puar floated dejectedly into the air, making her way back to the ship.

'I'm not so sure that thing is a daemon at all,' said Raditz.

'Maybe it just needs to be broken in?' suggested Nappa.

'She's not a demon, she's a _cat_ ,' said Goku. Even he knew that much!

'Well, whatever it is, if it doesn't live up to expectations for Vegeta, I'm sure he'll snap its little neck in an instant,' said Raditz callously.

All of a sudden Goku felt that a conversation about his parents could wait for some other time.

'It's true,' sighed Nappa, rolling his massive body in several blankets and furs. 'Our young Prince does not handle disappointment well.'

* * *

She had to use the toilet. Opening the door on that little room almost made her want to risk the wolves in the forest. She struggled to figure out how to mount the alien pot, which she concluded required a person to pose in a crouch, supported under the shins by the moulded ceramic. She shuddered at any contact she made with the sticky surfaces, did her business and fled to the bathroom to scrub at any contaminated inches of skin with a washcloth she found in the linen cupboard. After cleaning her teeth she couldn't decide if she should join the boys camping outside by the fire where she would have the protection of Goku and Krillin, or sleep in the bedroom where there were no wild animals or Nappa, who frankly terrified her. In the end she realised her throbbing shoulder would not tolerate lying on the hard ground, so she searched through her bag of capsules for camping equipment and selected a sleeping bag. She would sleep on the bed, but no way was she sleeping _in_ it. The effort of getting inside the sleeping bag defeated her though, and she gave up, whimpering in pain and only half in it, like a butterfly stuck partway out of its chrysalis.

It turned out to be exceedingly difficult to sleep between the pain and the mountain of questions that were accumulating in her mind. The Saiyans were…different. She and the boys were helping them, but under other circumstances she was sure that Goku and Krillin would be fighting them, not helping them. And when they were done, what was to become of Goku? Would he go away with them? She was horrified by the thought. Goku did _not_ belong with these people! What was going on with Puar? And why did the muscley, handsome guy have to be a planet-slayer?

Eventually she took more painkillers and fell into a fitful doze and a dream where she was running to the dragonballs over and over, all seven of them glowing and pulsing in unison, and Vegeta was flying to get them at the same time and she knew that she simply must beat him, but she wasn't fast enough! Each time he almost made it, the dragonballs flew out of his grasp, and she rushed in the new direction, but he always beat her.

* * *

A tugging on her ankle woke her.

'Girl, get up.'

Vegeta stood at the foot of the bed, still damp and wrapped in a towel.

It was an unsettling sight after her dream. He looked completely self-satisfied, and his tail curled and writhed in happy patterns of smugness behind him. Puar hung listlessly beside his shoulder, like she so often did at Yamcha's side, but without any of the joy.

Bulma groaned with pain from both her head and her shoulder. She held her hand out to him, but he ignored it.

'Help me up!' she commanded.

Sighing loudly with annoyance, he did, rather roughly, and made her gasp and cry again.

'Careful, you idiot!'

He growled and turned his back on her. She followed him back to the machine in the near darkness. The ring of overhead lights was out, leaving just a dim blue line of light along the edge of the platform, and Bulma almost slipped in the puddles left by Vegeta's exiting the regeneration chamber.

'How do you even know this works on humans?' she asked him.

'It is calibrated for all carbon based, oxygen breathing, DNA bearing bipeds. It works fine on a Saiyan, and it will work fine on a human.'

Standing before it she felt anxious again, and then realised she was going to have to strip off to go in. She looked at Vegeta imploringly, but he was already undoing her bindings in a very matter-of-fact way.

'Ow! Ow! Slower please!'

'The sooner these are off, the sooner you'll be healed.'

'Yeah, but no need to do more damage along the way!' she said as he pulled the looping of bandage off over her head.

'This will do no more damage, whiny Earthling.'

'Oh, you're all bluster now, but you were glad of my gentle hand when it was you having your dressing taken off!'

He didn't answer and Bulma sucked in her breath as her shoulder relaxed. Then Vegeta grasped the hem of her T-shirt.

'Hey, no!'

'You must take this off if the tank is to do its work the faster.'

'Yeah, well, I'll take care of it! You turn your back.'

'Why?'

'Because this isn't a peep show, Buddy, and if it was, I'd be charging a lot more than nothing!'

Vegeta frowned at her. 'You wish me not to see you in your underwear? And yet I must turn back around to program the tank.'

Realising he was right she shouted, 'I don't care, just do it!'

He did, and she pulled her good arm inside her shirt and started to push the shirt up over her head. However, it was too tight to get it off without painfully pulling on her shoulder.

'Ow! No! Owwwww! Vegeta, I'm stuck!'

With two sharp and eye-wateringly painful tugs he had the shirt off her and Bulma was left swearing and blushing in her blue polka dot bra. Vegeta reached out to the strap of her bra and she stepped back, slapping at his hand. 'I don't think so!' she shouted, and then slipped the strap off her shoulder herself so it would be out of the way, but left her modesty intact – to an extent. She turned, kicked off her shoes and socks and undid her shorts and let them drop to the floor before getting in the tank.

He then leant in and began sticking the electrodes to her temples and chest. Bulma couldn't blush any harder as his hands brushed lightly over her skin.

'Pervert!' she said for good measure.

'That would imply I had some choice in this,' said Vegeta.

'Doesn't mean you're not enjoying it.'

'I'm not,' he said, and as he pulled the mask over her face a grimace of annoyance spread across his features.

'Yeah, right,' she mumbled in the confines of the mask.

He closed the door of the tank and immediately the blue tinted water began to pour in noisily.

'Wait! Don't I need to know some things first? How do I know when it's finished?' she said, banging against the glass. For the first time she noticed that there was no door release on the inside. 'Vegeta!'

The water swirled up past her knees, then her hips, and very quickly her neck while she stared with panicked eyes at the cool face of the Saiyan. She let herself float upwards until her head bumped the top of the top of the tank and her vision blurred as the fluid filled them. She shrieked.

Vegeta pressed a button outside and his voice was transmitted through the fluid smoothly. 'Do not panic. The regeneration fluid cannot drown you, but it's not very much fun to breath if you can avoid it.'

Gasping into the mask and blinking she looked at the fuzzy shape of him standing outside. 'How will I know when it's done?'

'You will awake, and then the tank will drain and the door open.'

'Awake?'

As she uttered the word she became aware of a strange taste in the air coming through the mask.

'Oh! _Oh_ …'

* * *

She woke slowly, feeling very comfortable and floaty. In fact, as her mind focused she realised she _was_ floating. 'Hmm, nice,' she mumbled, feeling the warmth around her, but before she got much further down the path to consciousness the plug was pulled on her waterbed. As the fluid drained she opened her eyes, realised where she was, and looked out of the door and screamed.

'WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ALL LOOKING AT, YOU FILTHY CREEPS!'

Nappa, Raditz, Tarble, Brolly and Krillin were clustered around, all looking on with expressions ranging from appreciation to curiosity, except for Krillin who looked distinctly guilty.

She ripped the mask and electrodes off as the door popped and snatched up the towel that Tarble offered.

'Good Morning, Princess,' said Nappa, giving her a grin as dirty as the bottom of a septic tank.

Oh jeez, the man really was a giant close up. She sidled away from him yelling, 'Get a good eyeful did you? You oughta be ashamed of yourselves!' The rest of the Saiyans all looked genuinely surprised, but Krillin blushed red to the top of his dome.

'I tried to stop them, Bulma! I told them you'd be pissed.'

She belted him on the top of his head.

'Ow! Why are you hitting _me?_ '

'Because you know better and it still didn't stop you looking, did it?'

She stalked away to the bedroom, emitting little shrieks of temper the whole way. She dried herself off and decapsulated a full chest of drawers of clothing options. She pulled out a pink t-shirt dress, another pair of shorts and clean underwear and pulled them on. She took the straps of her little backpack of capsules and converted them to a belt, then put that on over the dress. She let out another shriek when she caught sight of her hair in the mirror over the desk. The glue that had held her scalp together had come free and was stuck in her hair, making a matted tangle on the side of her head. She tried to pull it free, but it was bonded to the strands, and she ended up breaking it into little pieces and trying to coax them out of the tangle with a comb. Even then, half of it stubbornly remained. Cursing angrily she combed the rest of her hair out and pulled that side of her hair into a jaunty ponytail, tying it with a red hair elastic.

'There! Fashion statement of the year,' she congratulated herself. 'I've got to tell you Bulma, you really know how to work what you've got!'

'Er, Bulma?'

She swung around at the squeak of Puar's voice. The cat sat up on the pillow next to Vegeta's head, whose face poked out of her sleeping bag like a hot dog from a bun. He was awake and watching her with one brow raised.

She screamed again, turning red right to the top of her hairline.

Vegeta grimaced and covered his ears with his hands.

'What did you see? Why are you _in my sleeping bag?_ '

'Calm down, banshee! I only saw you fussing over your damn hair. And this… "sleeping bag" smelled better than the bed clothes.'

'Urgh! Not anymore! What is wrong with you Saiyans? Have you no boundaries at all?!'

With that she stomped out of the room and slammed the door for good measure.

* * *

Dragonballs…

Bulma stood out in the mossy clearing, studying her dragon radar and consulting a map. Puar and the full contingent of males were arranged behind her, waiting on her word. Bulma had a very good reason to keep her back to the Saiyans. She didn't want them to see how easy her radar made finding the dragonballs, as she was sure that then they would just steal it from her. If they threatened her life or limb she would just give it to them, but until then, with the fate of the world in the balance, she didn't want to leave them to their own devices when wishing on the dragonballs.

'The closest dragonball is about an hour North by North West by hovercar,' she told them, turning the radar off and facing them. 'The second is another couple of hours North of that again. I'll take Goku and Krillin, and if we don't hit any snags we should be back here with two balls before dinnertime.'

'No,' said Vegeta simply.

She returned his steely gaze, cursing inwardly. He wouldn't just trust her, and probably for similar reasons she wouldn't trust him.

'What do you mean "no"? Shall we all just sit here then and let the dragonballs magically find their way to us?'

'I won't leave something so important to a bunch of halfwits and weaklings. Raditz, Brolly and I will accompany you.'

She saw Tarble's shoulders slump unhappily.

'And if a hovercar is one of those abysmally slow contraptions that I've seen crawling their way all over the roads here, we will not be travelling that way. We will fly,' Vegeta added. 'We will carry you if necessary.'

Bulma made a face. 'No! Wait a minute.' She rooted through the bag on her belt, looking for her only other hoverbike; the slower and less reliable one. She popped the capsule when she found it, causing a gasp of wonder amongst the Saiyans who hadn't witnessed the technology yet, and then she hopped on board, coaxing it into the air.

'Lead the way,' commanded Vegeta, drifting into the air as if he had merely forgotten he should be standing on the ground, Raditz and Brolly at either side of him. Puar looked up at Vegeta, not sure what to do. Vegeta looked down at her.

'I doubt you could keep up, Daemon, but if you can hold tight enough, get on my back.'

Bulma took them up, out of the valley, following the bleep on the radar. Once she had the hoverbike going at top speed, buffeted in the air by the gusty breeze, she looked around for Krillin and Goku. She waited until Krillin looked over and gave him the "panic eyes" look, mouthing his name and beckoning him over, trying to shield her hand from the others so that they wouldn't see. Krillin looked back at her in consternation, but slowly drifted closer to her.

'What is it, Bulma?'

'Emergency conference,' she replied. 'Go bring Goku over here, and be subtle about it.'

Krillin flew to the right and brought Goku back a minute later, but it wasn't subtle. Bulma could hear Goku's shout of 'What's wrong?' from her position in the lead. She checked her wing mirrors to see how far back the Saiyans were, and hoped it was far enough that their words wouldn't carry on the wind.

'Okay, emergency conference,' said Krillin, when the boys flew close on either side of her. He had to almost shout to be heard over the sound of the engine and the wind. 'What's the emergency?'

'The emergency is that we don't know what these guys are going to wish for when they get the dragonballs,' said Bulma 'Call me crazy, but I don't trust them to make a nice, sensible wish that's in the best interest of this planet!'

'Kami told me I have to find out what they're going to wish for,' said Goku.

' _Kami?_ ' yelped Krillin. 'You think _Kami_ talked to you?' He looked to Bulma in alarm, and she looked back at Goku.

'Do you think it was really him?' she said. 'Not the bump on the head?'

'No, I thought about it, and I'm pretty sure it was him. It kind of makes sense that he would want to know why the Saiyans are here if he exists, right? I've had much worse knocks on the head, and none of them made me hear voices that weren't there.'

'But…Kami doesn't just talk to people!' said Krillin.

'Didn't you say that you used to pray to Kami at Orin temple?' asked Goku.

'Well, yeah, but he never replied!'

'Either way,' said Bulma, 'We need to know what they're going to wish for. And even more importantly than that, we need to decide what we're going to wish for, and wish for it first!'

Goku nodded his head, his face set in grim understanding.

'That's going to be hard, Bulma!' said Krillin.

'I know! That's why we can't let control of this dragonball hunt get away from us,' she told them. 'Especially as we get toward the last ball. We've got to try and keep possession of them, stay in the lead, one step ahead, and maybe most importantly of all, not let them know how easy it is to use the dragon radar! If they knew I'm sure they'd take it, and it seems to me that there's not a damn thing we could do about it.'

'You're right about that,' said Goku. 'They are unbelievably strong. Even Tarble.'

'So, the plan is…I guess, pretend that the radar is very complicated to use.'

'How?' asked Goku.

'Um. Maybe every time I have to use it, make sure they all stand well away from me. Tell them I need absolute concentration. Tell them that their electromagnetic fields are interfering with the equipment. I don't want them close enough to see how it works.'

'Okay,' said Krillin, 'but how are we going to find out what they want to wish for?'

'Well, we haven't tried asking them yet,' said Goku.

'Do you think that's wise?' she said, and then shook her head, realising who she was asking.

'It can't hurt. They might tell us. And if they don't, then we try and find out another way.'

'But how?' asked Krillin again. 'If we ask and they don't tell us, we've kind of blown our hand haven't we? Other than eavesdropping and hoping they let something slip, I can't think of any other way.'

'We'll think of something,' said Bulma. 'We've got a couple of days. And there's Puar. She is constantly around Vegeta, maybe she'll overhear something.'

'Yeah,' said Krillin, concern creeping into his voice. 'What's going on with Puar?'

'I don't know,' began Bulma, but she was suddenly interrupted by a voice right over her shoulder.

'What are you talking about, Earthlings?'

Both boys jumped and tumbled away into the air in fright at Vegeta's sudden appearance. Bulma barely kept from screaming.

'We were just chatting,' she said.

'No chatting. We have pressing business,' he said. 'Does this thing go no faster?'

'No.'

'Then it's too slow. You're all too slow. Land it now.'

'But I don't have any faster vehicles!' she protested.

'Then you will not be permitted to drive one.'

'What?'

He alighted on the back of the bike, his added weight immediately slowing it and making it lose altitude. Then he stood up on the back foot braces, leaned forward over her and pressed down on the handlebars, making the bike to streak towards the ground.

'What are you doing?' she screeched, trapped in a crouch under Vegeta's chest, with his head over her shoulder and her hands stuck under his grip on the handlebars. She caught the ghost of Puar's frightened cry from somewhere behind Vegeta and knew that he was risking all three of their deaths. Seeing the ground come flying towards them she struggled against him madly, but it was no use, and she screamed in pure terror at her approaching doom. Her scream tapered off as their descent slowed just metres above the ground and the G-forces pushed her down and forwards with the sudden deceleration. Vegeta deposited the bike gently in the grass of a wild meadow under his own power and hopped off, Puar hauling herself, shaking, to his shoulder. Gasping through her fright, Bulma turned off the ignition and turned to confront Vegeta just as Brolly, Raditz, Goku and Krillin landed around them.

'What's going on?' asked Krillin, spying Bulma's furious face.

'You're too slow,' said Vegeta. 'We will carry you three. Girl, do your magic trick on the craft and let's be on our way.'

Bulma attempted to breath fire at Vegeta, hissing as she shouted 'You jerk-faced dick-hole!' at him. 'You almost killed me just now, and you think I'm going to let you carry me anywhere?'

'I did NOT almost kill you,' he replied. 'What are you talking about? I only lowered the craft to the ground when you wouldn't comply.'

'Well guess what? I'm not complying now either!'

He rolled his eyes. 'It's impossible to keep your co-operation. I'm beginning to think that force would be easier.'

'Buddy, getting someone to do every single thing you tell them, the instant you tell them to do it is NOT co-operation; it's blind obedience! And I am not one of your Saiyan men or your lapdog!'

'A dog would be easier to train.'

Bulma took a step forward, seeing red, her arms coming up to do violence to the smug prince before her. Krillin, standing next to her, anticipated her move and grabbed her by the wrist.

'Woah, there, Bulma!' he said and pulled her down closer to his face so he could murmur 'Let's live to fight another day, if you know what I mean!'

Bulma panted, breathing hard to get her temper under control. Vegeta was smirking, find this all very amusing apparently, and lashing his tail back and forth in the long grass.

'Time is of the essence, don't you think?' he told her. 'It is the fate of _your_ planet at stake after all, should Frieza track us here.'

Bulma narrowed her eyes at him, beginning to doubt the likelihood of this happening. It was a very convenient excuse to get her onboard with this whole dragonball hunt thing. But then she remembered what he'd said to her outside her house. Could she afford to take the risk that he wasn't lying?

'Fine!' she snapped. Vegeta stepped forward towards her. ' _You're_ not carrying me!' She capsulated her hoverbike and turned to Brolly, but Raditz stepped forward.

'Allow me, my Lady.'

Bulma felt her anger burning off under the warmth of Raditz's smirk. It wasn't that his expression was substantially different from Vegeta's. It was just that…ah…to be nestled against that broad chest…

'Okay,' she squeaked, her cheeks pinkening slightly. From the corner of her eye she saw Goku frown and Krillin slap his forehead with his palm.

'Bulma!' groaned the little monk. 'You're an idiot.'


	10. The Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I haven't quite kept up with my writing schedule for this story. I hoped that I would be way out past chapter 15 by now, but I''m actually still writing 12. Mmm. I blame Innocence for this. And also the fact that I decided to turn my one shot Monkey Business into a multi-chapter for another writing challenge, and that has actually been much more of a challenge than a smutty farce has any right to be. I also got sick, which seems to be becoming a habit for me to get sick around this time of year.
> 
> One of the scenes in this chapter owes a debt of "inspiration", homage if you will, to an scene from the early chapters of my favourite author's first book. Fellow fans might recognise it ;) Shout out if you do. The setting for that scene was impulsive and without reason, but once I got into it it struck me that much of the action was perfect for this story, so I reworked it for Bulma with entertaining results. Ah, Bulma...such a clever, silly, bratty, spunky teenager.
> 
> Now, where were we? That's right - flying through the air in Raditz's arms!

'Left more' Bulma cried. 'Just a bit further!'

She was doing her best to read the dragon radar where she held it over Raditz's shoulder out of his sight, while at the same time clinging to him for dear life with her other hand. When he'd first picked her up her brain had gone into a flatline of blank joy at the feel of his strong arms around her back and under her legs. He had grinned down at her and she'd lost her breath. Then they'd taken off and she'd literally lost her breath. The wind whooshed past her face, stealing the air from her nose and mouth, the moisture from her eyes, roaring in her ears, and far too loud for conversation. Raditz held himself parallel to the ground they flew over, and Bulma's body hung unsupported between his arms, her butt dangling a hundred metres above the hard earth below. Her heart beat fast, not from excitement but from fear that he would drop her or that she would drop the radar.

She released the death grip on the shoulder of his armour long enough to point at a barren, rocky stretch on the side of the mountain they were skirting. 'There!'

They landed, which was even more alarming than flying, and Bulma slithered free of Raditz's arms. She looked down at her radar and then jumped guiltily as Raditz sidled up to her, looking over her shoulder and standing close enough to be touching her.

'What's that, then?' he asked, grinning down at her.

'Complicated!' she said, hiding it against her chest. The others were landing now too. A smell like bad eggs hit her, and she wondered what the heck Raditz had had for breakfast. She'd had more beans, which Goku and Krillin had saved for her, cold, congealed and in a distressing but not wholly unenjoyable sauce called 'Ice Chilli.'

'Excuse me, I need my space to concentrate!' she said loudly, wandering away from them.

She heard Vegeta's cynical 'Hnn' behind her, and Krillin assuring him that she needed no interruptions to do her work before he scuttled over to her to "assist" her . Stifling the sound of the proximity beeps somewhat with her hand she turned until the dragonball was directly in front of her, checked the distance gauge and counted about 80 metres on the grid. Then she wasted another minute just for show, hmm-ing and ah-ing before finally announcing 'I've got it! Follow me!'

She led the way uphill, stepping over the wind-hardy alpine grasses and shrubs and sliding a bit on the scree. The bad egg smell grew stronger as she crested a rise and looked down into a pit of bright, steaming, turquoise water. A quick glance told her what she didn't want to know. The dragonball was squarely in the middle of the small volcanic lake.

'Oh, crap.'

She wandered down the crater-like bank to the water's edge, but she could already feel the heat coming off it, and even soaking up from the ground through the soles of her shoes. She dipped a tip of a finger in to the water for half a second and pulled it out fast.

'Yeah, that's hot!'

She tried to cool her finger by putting it in her mouth and ended up sticking her tongue out at the powerful, burning, chemical taste.

'Eh!' she squealed, wiping her tongue hurriedly on the shoulder of her dress. 'And acidic!'

The boys joined her at the water's edge, Goku and Raditz both not willing to take her word for it and testing the temperature and the taste for themselves.

'I'd swim down for it Bulma, but even I don't like my baths this hot,' said Goku, spitting on the ground.

'You're telling me it's down  _there_?' said Vegeta.

'No one said fetching dragonballs was easy!' she replied, and then she scrambled back up the bank – the heat coming up through her shoes was getting unbearable.

'Submarine?' suggested Krillin, leaping up to join her.

'We can't take a submarine down in that,' she said. 'Look at the bubbles in the centre! Submarines aren't designed for boiling water. And even if it survived, we wouldn't - we'd be baked alive!'

'How are we going to get it then?' asked Goku, joining them.

Raditz and Brolly were looking at Vegeta, and Raditz asked Vegeta practically the same question. 'What now, boss?'

Vegeta looked at the cat on his shoulder. 'Daemon? Any ideas?'

'How about you swim into it and have all the meat cooked off your bones?' said Puar unhelpfully.

'Huh. Don't be cheeky or  _you'll_  be the one taking a swim,' he replied, smiling anyway.

Vegeta floated up into the air to survey the problem from above. Bulma watched him, mentally running down the inventory of her capsule kit. Extending mechanical arm? No, too short. Flame resistant, heat reflecting suit? Not water-tight. What of their skills? Would Goku be able to do something? Could his powerful Kamehameha wave be useful here?

'Girl,' Vegeta called down at her. 'How indestructible are these dragonball gems?'

'Reasonably indestructible, but I'm not sure. It's not like I've stress-tested them. I mean, what's the point of using a bomb or something to blow the water out of the lake if we then destroy the dragonball?'

'We won't need a  _bomb_ ,' said Vegeta, turning to face them. As she watched his contemplative expression stretched into a smile that she was beginning to grow familiar with. It was as if no happy emotion could pass over his face unless it was prompted by the misfortune of others or, as in this case, gloating at his own cleverness.

'Out of the way, all of you,' he said, raising his hand. 'Unless you want to die.'

Bulma looked up at him, puzzled by the soft glow that appeared in his palm, though Krillin and Goku immediately blanched and trembled.

'Get back, Bulma,' cried Goku, and pulled her far out of the way, the rest of them following. The light in Vegeta's hand suddenly burned brilliant blue and white. Puar sat up on Vegeta's shoulder and gasped 'What are you doing?'

'What is  _that?_ ' said Krillin.

'It's not a Kamehameha wave, that's for sure,' said Goku. 'But it uses chi just like it.'

The ball of light streaked out of Vegeta's hand, striking the edge of the water near where they'd been standing. Hot rocks and water exploded, splattering the area, but mostly it was blasted down the mountain the way they'd come. With a rumble the bank slowly gave way, the water of the lake pulling it with it as it began to crumble, and the water forced its way through the gap Vegeta had created. Soon the water was rushing away through a massive break in the crater wall. Vegeta helped it on its way with a few smaller blasts, widening the gap and then deepening it as the water level began to even out. In a few short minutes the lake was drained except for a bubbling pond right in the centre of the steaming cauldron. Bulma had to admit it was clever.  _But I'd have thought of that pretty soon_ , she assured herself.

Vegeta hovered over the remaining water.

'I can see it,' he said. 'Sort of.' He stretched out his hand and blew another, narrow beam of energy straight downwards. The water barely reacted.

'Don't hit it!' she protested.

'I'm not an idiot!' he shouted back. He let off another blast, then a third, and Bulma was about to refute him when she noticed that the water was slowly draining downwards, into the holes he'd just made in the underlying rock. The dragonball came into view, sitting proud on a twisted piece of rock.

'Oh. I guess you're not an idiot,' she muttered.

Vegeta snatched up the ball triumphantly and flew to rejoin them, opening his mouth to offer himself whatever congratulation, when suddenly there was a deafening bang behind them. Bulma, Krillin, Goku and Brolly were blown onto their backs and Vegeta tumbled to land on top of them, and only Raditz kept his feet as they were all splattered with scalding mud.

'Ow! Fuck! Ow!' Raditz howled.

'Let's get out of here!' screamed Bulma. 'Fly!'

All five boys leapt into the air.

'No! Wait! Take me with you!' she screamed. Vegeta was back with stunning speed, hoisting her over his shoulder and winding her. They flew like the blazes up the mountain. She could see Krillin and Goku fall behind as they couldn't keep apace with the other Saiyans.

'Why did that happen?' screamed Puar shrilly as she clung desperately to Vegeta's other shoulder. Bulma didn't answer though as a second, larger explosion shot rocks, water and ash into the sky, followed by a massive steam cloud that rose up and blocked the sun. Small rocks came pattering down on the ground below them, followed by some larger ones. 'Faster!' she screamed.

Once they were out of the radius of the falling debris they slowed and Vegeta dumped her on the rocky ground, which was rumbling ominously.

'What the fuck was that?' he shouted.

'You moron!' she shouted back. 'You triggered a volcanic eruption when you blasted your, whatever it was,  _chi_ , straight down into an active crater!' She didn't mention that she had thought it a good idea until the moment of the explosion too. Another booming ejection had them all looking fearfully down the mountain again, and then there was a smaller one behind them. Bulma looked behind her and noticed that he had set them down right on the lip of the mountain's main caldera. 'We have to get off this mountain, NOW!'

He threw her over his shoulder roughly and jumped into the air again. A scared looking Goku and Krillin had only just caught up, and Raditz grabbed them both and tucked one under each arm. Brolly looked only mildly excited, a hint of a smile on his face as he looked at the natural disaster flaring up about them.

Vegeta led them laterally away from the eruption, slowing only when the mountain's slopes shallowed out into rolling foothills. He slapped the back of her thigh.

'Girl, wake up! Which direction should we be going?'

'Hey!' she protested, dragging her eyes away from the pillar of ash and steam and turning the radar back on. She checked the radar again, with some difficulty.

'We need to go that way,' she said, trying to point with her foot as her arms were otherwise occupied.

* * *

Half an hour later they landed in the wooded verge on the side of a road. Bulma groaned and staggered with stiffness after being carried so awkwardly for so long.

Every indication was that the next dragonball was somewhere in the small town over the rise of the hill. As they began to walk down the road the group fanned out across it. Hearing a car coming from behind, Krillin, Bulma, and eventually Goku moved off the road to let it pass. The Saiyans didn't.

'Guys,' said Krillin nervously. Vegeta flicked him a glance as the car slowed and the driver honked their horn at them.

'Hey, bozos, get out of the way!' said the driver, hanging out the window. The Saiyans turned to look at the young, red-faced man as he edged his car around them. Bulma saw the flush fade from his face as his eyes took in the armour and scouters on Raditz and Vegeta, and Raditz's sheer size, and then he locked eyes with Vegeta. His mouth sagged open and then he shouted 'Fucking weirdos!' and floored it, his little hatchback's engine screaming with the effort.

'You know what, guys?' said Bulma, as they watched the car careen into town. 'Maybe you should let me and Krillin and Goku handle this one? You might create a bit of a stir in your armour and looking so...um…y'know.'

Vegeta frowned, clearly unsure whether he agreed with her or not.

'It would make sense, Vegeta,' counselled Raditz. 'You did say we should be as inconspicuous on Earth as possible.'

Vegeta bit his lower lip.

'It's not like we have any reason to duck out on you,' she assured him.

'Very well,' he said at last. 'We will escort you to the edge of town. Retrieve the gem and return as soon as you have it.'

'At once, Sir!' replied Bulma sarcastically. Vegeta gave her a dark look and Goku's stomach rumbled loudly.

'Do you think we could get some food in town, Bulma?' he asked. 'I'm hungry again already.'

'So am I,' she said. 'I'll get lunch for us all while we're there.' She could do with some decent, non-challenging Earth food herself.

Where the trees ended and the first houses started, Vegeta halted them.

'We will wait here,' he said. Then he plucked the com unit from a surprised Raditz. 'If you get into trouble you can't handle press this button on the side and talk in the vicinity of this unit. We will hear you.'

'Oh, thanks,' said Bulma, surprised that he would think of their safety.

'I do not want to lose my only dragonball hunter or a dragonball,' he added, wiping away that notion.

She turned and was about to step away when she spotted a rabbit munching happily on some grass only a few yards away, apparently oblivious of the people close by.

'Oh, look at the little rabbit!' she said. 'It's only a young one – it doesn't have the sense to be scared of us.'

'Wow, that's cute!' said Krillin, and then he looked over each shoulder at the Saiyans and hedged his observation, adding, 'Not that I would notice, being a man and everything.'

'Do you like rabbits, my Lady?' asked Raditz.

'Well, I guess I do,' she said, discounting the time a giant rabbit had turned her into a carrot. In a movement so fast that she couldn't follow it properly, Raditz leapt forward, snatched the rabbit and returned to her side. He held his hand out to her, grinning and offering her the now-limp body of the rabbit kitten. Bulma could only gawp in shock.

Raditz frowned. 'What's wrong?' he said. 'Shall I gut it for you?' He slid the skin back from its belly with ease and pushed his fingers inside its body cavity with a pop to scoop the entrails out. 'It's barely a mouthful,' he said, 'but you have such a petite appetite it will probably keep the hunger pangs at bay a while longer.'

'How could you?' she squealed as he pulled the intestinal sack back into view, and she turned away in revulsion.

'What? Don't you want it?'

'Are you an  _animal?_  No, I don't want to eat a cute, innocent little thing that's still warm, let alone raw!' She stomped away, getting more irritated when she heard Vegeta chuckling at the exchange.

'I'll eat it!' volunteered Goku.

Bulma made a face. 'Goku, if you touch that thing I swear you can stay here with the others!' she shouted over her shoulder.

Krillin and Goku hurried to fall in either side of Bulma. 'But when I'm really hungry and I don't have time to cook the meat I quite often eat it raw,' said Goku.

'Not listening!' she screeched, covering her ears with her hands. 'Gross! Gross! Saiyans are  _gross!_ '

* * *

Brolly, Raditz and Vegeta watched the Earthlings make their way out of sight.

'Ah, women. Who can understand them, eh?' said Raditz, raising an eyebrow at Vegeta.

'She is an alien – I doubt we could ever understand her, and I don't see any point in trying,' he told Raditz. 'We're leaving this idiotic planet as soon as we have all of these  _dragonballs_.' He sat down in the grass to examine his find at last. It was about the size of an apple, deep yellow-amber, with two red star shapes that glimmered unnaturally in the heart of the translucent orb.

'Daemon, how do they work?' he asked Puar softly.

'You gather all seven of them and make a wish,' the cat replied.

'I know that much,' said Vegeta curtly. 'Tell me more. Tell me everything, and I warn you to hold nothing back.'

'But I don't know everything about them!' it protested.

'Tell me all that  _you_  know.'

It sighed. 'When you gather all seven together and summon the dragon, the sky goes dark and the Eternal Dragon appears. Then he grants you one wish.'

'Any wish at all?'

'Any wish within its power.'

'And what power is that?'

'Well, it can't bring back to life someone who has died of natural causes, or a person who's been dead for more than a year.'

Vegeta stared hard at the ball, pausing while he absorbed Puar's words. 'Anything else?'

'That's all I know. Other than the dragon is really scary.'

'You've seen it before?'

'Yes. Once.'

'So I could wish for fame or fortune?'

'Yes.'

'An enemy defeated, peerless strength?'

'I guess so.'

'A planet restored? Immortality?'

'I don't see why not,' it said. 'What  _will_  you wish for?'

'Maybe I haven't decided yet?'

'You should wish for that Frieza person to be defeated,' it suggested. 'That would be the best solution for everyone.'

'Oh little cat, what makes you think I'm interested in what is best for  _everyone_?'

'But we're helping you so that our planet stays safe!'

'Of course,' said Vegeta the corner of his mouth lifting. 'And so it shall.'

* * *

Listening in to the conversation between Puar and Vegeta from his lookout, Kami was disturbed by the dark emotions he could sense Vegeta repressing.

'What are you up to?' he wondered aloud. He was worried about what Puar had suggested too. They didn't know all the limitations of the dragonballs. They couldn't defeat anyone stronger than Kami himself, and Kami knew that even the Saiyans were already stronger than himself. Whatever terror pursued them, the dragon would certainly not be able to defeat, bind or kill.

Kami quelled a shiver that ran through him. Most of the time being the Earth's Guardian was a joyous, if monotonous task, but sometimes it seemed like the universe wouldn't be satisfied until the planet was scrubbed from the heavens. He preferred his job when it wasn't exciting.

'How are we going to get you out of this scrape?' he asked his beloved planet.

A gust of cold wind clutched at him in answer.

'I am afraid for us,' he whispered.

* * *

Bulma, Goku and Krillin wound their way down the high street. Many people were standing around on the streets talking to each other and looking into the distance at the rising column of ash.

'Better get the washing in,' said one man into a cellphone. 'Looks like Mount Jellytip is erupting again.'

A few people gave their volcanic-mud splattered clothes a second glance, and Krillin a third because he was still wearing his pyjamas.

'This is silly,' said Bulma eventually. 'You can't wear your pyjamas day and night until we've found the dragonballs.' She rifled through her bag, coming up with a handful of bank notes. 'Now go buy something less ridiculous.'

'Thanks Bulma!'

'Just don't be long about it – I doubt Vegeta is the patient type.'

Ten minutes later he emerged from a children's wear shop wearing chinos, a polo shirt, a woollen overvest and loafers, grinning from ear to ear. Bulma's mouth fell open at the sight of the prep boy in miniature.

'Is that really appropriate adventure-wear, Krillin?'

'Hey, just because we're roughing it with a bunch of aliens doesn't mean I can't look sharp, Bulma!'

She shook her head. 'You can be  _so_  weird,' she muttered, turning away.

They followed the dragon radar into a side road off the town's main shopping street. Between a greasy, nasty takeaway joint and a permanently closed pottery studio the radar indicated that the dragonball was only five yards away inside the velvet-festooned store before then.

'Madam Astrid's Divinations,' Krillin read from the sign painted on the window.

'Another fortune teller?' said Goku. 'I wonder what this one will do?'

Bulma pursed her lips. She had had nothing but bad luck with fortune tellers, between pretty young ones making out with  _her_  boyfriend, and powerfully magical ones callously pitting her friends in battles of life and death.

As they entered, a bell over the door rang and they were overwhelmed by the smell of incense. Goku held his nose as they looked around the dim interior. The purple velvet curtains blocked most of the light from the windows, allowing an oil lamp to cast an orange glow on a paisley draped desk. More curtains screened a doorway on the opposite side of the room, and voices and soft music of chimes and pan pipes drifted through. A teenaged girl came rushing down the stairs in the corner with a soft drink in one hand and a bag of chips in another.

'Oh, hey,' she said. 'Do you have an appointment?'

'No,' said Bulma.

The girl belched slightly, then waved her hand dismissively. 'It's okay, she's got no one after this customer anyway. That is, if you're wanting the fifteen minute reading? If you want a deep reading you've got to make an appointment and fill in these forms.' She pulled her hand from the bag of chips and waved a sheaf of papers with her greasy fingers.

'That's okay,' said Bulma. 'We're not here for an appointment at all.'

'Well, what then?' said the girl.

'I think she's got something we need,' said Bulma, starting to get annoyed at the girl's attitude.

The girl gave Bulma a cool look. 'Take a seat,' she said. 'I'll ask Astrid if she'll see you when she's done with this customer.'

Bulma, Krillin and Goku sank into the very squashy cushions of a low sofa and waited while the girl crunched through the rest of her pack of chips. Bulma checked the radar and the ball was stationary, a frustratingly close four metres dead in front of her, beyond the velvet curtain. Before long an old lady with weepy eyes emerged from behind the curtains, clutching her hand to her heart and smiling while she wept. 'Oh, she is  _wonderful_ ,' she said to the room in general. 'Money well spent!' she gushed as she floated out the door. Bulma raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms.

'Some youngsters looking for guidance!' exclaimed a voice from the opposite doorway. An iron haired, late middle-aged woman stood there in an unremarkable house coat, but with a rather facetious turban on her head.

'They said they don't want a reading,' spoke the chip-eating girl. 'They said they want something you have.'

'Well, I'm afraid readings are all I'm selling,' replied the woman, eyeing Bulma and the boys.

'Oh fine, we'll have a reading then!' said Bulma. They all climbed out of the sofa, but Madam Astrid held up her hands. 'One at a time, dears! I can't do three at once!'

'Why not?' asked Krillin.

'Because then we wouldn't pay three times over,' grumbled Bulma. 'How much is it?' she demanded.

'Two hundred zeni,' said the girl.

Bulma fished her wallet out of her bag and threw the money down on the desk.

'Lovely dear,' said Madam Astrid. 'Right this way.'

Through the curtain every fortune-telling cliché was fulfilled. Bulma ducked under some hanging crystals and slumped down on a boudoir chair next to a velvet draped circular table. Incense burned on a side counter and candle lanterns and salt lamps where the only illumination. Her eyes and hand immediately slid to a silk handkerchief covering a sphere, the very size of a dragonball.

'Oh, we don't go straight for the jugular here, my dear!' said the woman, catching her hand before Bulma could pull the handkerchief away. Instead she pressed a bone china teacup and saucer into her hand and turned to the side counter to take hold of a teapot that was hiding under a cosy.

'Jasmine tea okay for you? Otherwise I can boil the kettle for something else, but it'll take it's time to cool.'

Bulma rolled her eyes and held out the cup. 'Whatever. Let's hurry it up.' She felt sure the ball was under the cloth, and she was seriously debating just snatching it up and making off with it, but despite her impatience and natural scepticism, she was curious as to what the woman would tell her.

'Now, you drink that, try not to drink the leaves, and tell me a few things.'

'Like what?' she asked, ready to roll her eyes again. Was the woman such a lazy charlatan that she would fish for clues so baldly?

'Just some things to open you up a little. I'm not really getting a strong aura off you, my dear, I'm afraid you might be a little  _uptight_  to tell you the truth.'

 _Uptight?_  Her? Bulma bit her lip with difficulty, growing angry behind her tea cup. She drank the tea mechanically. It was only warm and rather over-steeped, but not completely unpleasant. 'Go on then.'

Madam Astrid's gaze swept over her appraisingly, her smile tightening at what she saw before looking Bulma in the eye. Her heavy eye makeup was caked in the crinkles of her crows' feet and bags under her eyes, but the eyes that bore into Bulma were unsettlingly canny.

'Now, when I say a word to you I want you to say the first thing that pops into your head.'

Bulma raised an eyebrow. 'Are you a fortune teller or a shrink?'

'Fortune teller. But I get better fortunes this way. So let us begin. I say "bicycle" you say?'

Bulma let her eye rolling impulse break free. 'Seat!' she said.

It was Madam Astrid's turn to raise a brow. 'Well, that's a new one. Very interesting.'

Bulma reviewed her own answer and blushed, but Astrid continued.

'I say "love", you say?'

'Boys.'

'Stars?'

'Spaceship.'

'Death?'

'Wish.'

'Diamond?'

'Tipped.'

'Hmm. Waves?'

'Particles.'

'Quasar?'

'Pulse.'

'Genius?'

'M-' Bulma pulled herself back from proclaiming her own genius – Vegeta's words from yesterday had stung her. 'Modesty,' she revised. She took another sip of tea and grimaced as she sucked on tea leaves.

'Here. Swirl those dregs around three times and I'll have a look at it.'

Bulma did so, and Astrid frowned into the cup she was given.

She frowned. 'Well, we've got a bridge, which is a sign of transition. A flower, which is emergence or growth. Neither of those is very surprising for a girl your age. There's a rather large void…Are you planning on going on a long trip sometime?'

'Skiing with my parents?'

'Mmm, that could be it. And there's something else…'

Bulma heaved a sigh rudely.

'Well, never mind. Let's have a look at your hand instead.'

'Wait, what was it?'

'Just another metaphor,' Astrid said as she took her hand, leaving Bulma wanting to know whatever it was Astrid had decided to keep from her. The woman examined her hand for just a few seconds before exclaiming, 'That  _is_  interesting!'

'What is?' Bulma asked, dying to know despite her certainty that she was being fed a pile of rubbish.

'You've got a nice long lifeline, but it's broken, which is unusual.'

'What does that mean? That'll I'll die and be resurrected?' she said, her sarcasm instantly regretted when she remembered that with dragonballs it was a possibility.

Astrid grinned. 'Well, that would be a very literal interpretation, and rather unlikely, don't you think? No, it probably represents a clean break away from your old life. A change of career; a change of country; a new identity, that kind of thing. No, it's your love line that's interesting.'

'Why is that?' Bulma asked eagerly, staring down at her own palm, trying to see the signs Astrid did.

'Are you the cheating type, my dear?'

'What?' said Bulma.

'Well, much of your love line is doubled up. One line starts later and ends sooner, but they run parallel to each other for a long way.'

'What does that mean? How do you interpret that?' she asked.

'I really don't know what to make of it, I'm sorry. It's not one I've seen before. I'd warn against taking it literally though. Unless you really  _are_  planning to commit bigamy or enter a ménage e tois?'

'Of course I'm not,' she said, looking frowning at her palm. She rubbed the thumb of her other hand over it hard as if she could rub out the lines on it.

'Don't worry about it, love, you don't believe in palmistry anyway,' said Astrid archly.

Bulma looked back at her narrowly. 'That's right. Nor tea leaf reading.' Her eyes slid to the sphere. 'How about a crystal ball reading though?'

'On to the hard stuff? As you wish.'

Astrid lifted the handkerchief and Bulma let out a harsh bark of laughter. The woman was a fraud for sure!

'I knew it!' she crowed, reaching out for the one-star dragonball that sat in a pewter cradle.

Astrid pulled it away from her before she made contact with it.

'Don't touch the crystal, dear. It's a medium between worlds.'

'It's not. It's a dragonball, and I've been looking for it.'

'A what, sorry? It's a crystal ball, handed down from mother to daughter through my family for generations!'

'Now you're lying, and we both know it!'

Astrid's eyes flashed with annoyance and she sat straighter in her seat. 'What of it? I bought it in a brick-a-brack shop a few months ago after my last crystal ball was smashed.'

'Well, I need that ball,' Bulma said, reaching for it again. Astrid snatched it out of the cradle though, and out of her reach unless she wanted to get up and wrestle the woman for it.

'Needing is not getting. What a grabby young woman you are! I bought this ball fair and square!'

Bulma backed off and folded her arms. 'All right then. How much do you want for it?'

Astrid gave her a long, piercing look. 'What an opportunity! How much would Bulma Briefs, heir to the Capsule Corp fortune, pay for a bauble that she "needs" so much?'

Bulma gasped. 'How did you know who I am?'

'Well your T-shirt was a big clue.'

Bulma looked down at the front of her shirt where her name was blazoned in five inch letters. 'Hmm. But there's more than one Bulma in the world.'

'Yes, but I also recognised you from your photographs.'

'What photographs? My family is very careful to keep out of the media! People hardly know I even exist - there hasn't been a single picture of me printed in a tabloid, newspaper or magazine!'

'Not a single one?'

'No!' And it was true, baring one or two exceptions, but there was no way…was there? She looked Astrid in the eyes, realisation stealing across her face.

'That's right, my dear, I read Physics Today  _and_  The Cutting Edge. You  _are_  a precocious thing, aren't you? But so was I, once upon a time.'

This was no simple fortune-teller. 'Who are you then?'

'Dr Alice Calliper. Or I was a doctor, until I was discredited and they stripped my physics doctorate away.'

Bulma paused to get her head around this new information. 'Is that because you were as fraudulent a scientist as you are a seer?'

'Not at all!' she retorted hotly. 'I was framed and ruined, and my work spat upon. I was a beauty when I was young. A senior faculty member at my university attempted to seduce me, and I spurned him and told his wife what happened. In retaliation he stole my work and then turned around and accused  _me_  of plagiarism! No one believed my side of the story. Colleagues I'd thought of as friends told me that all along they'd never believed I had innocently achieved what I had at such a young age. Here's a real fortune for free!' She leant towards Bulma, her lips curling down with bitterness as she told her, 'The same thing or similar will happen to you one day! People will tell you that youth, beauty and genius cannot reside in one person - especially one who has the temerity to be female! People will say you've ridden your father's coattails; that you've been trained like a parrot by him; that they don't trust your findings and inventions as they do his, or some other older, uglier, more male counterpart.' She sighed and settled herself again, going on in a calmer, but no less acidic tone. 'However, for you, I'm sure that inheritance will soften the blow somewhat and you'll not be reduced to teaching high school science to pay the rent.'

Bulma regarded Astrid for some long moments. She wanted to deny that such a thing would happen to her; she wanted to keep on feeling angry with the woman, but she couldn't quite manage either.

'How did you end up telling fortunes, then?'

'My Aunt died and left me this business. When I came to town to shut it down I discovered that fortune telling was a great deal more enjoyable for a similar amount of money as attempting to teach dim and uninterested teenagers. There you have it, the story of my life in short.'

'So how much do you want for the dragonball, then?' Bulma asked dully. She hoped it wasn't so much that her parents got upset.

'Only that you get my paper published. I want your father to read it, and for it to be published under the Capsule Corporation umbrella.'

Bulma gasped at the outrageous demand. It was much worse than money – it was Capsule Corp's reputation she wanted.

'My father will not have the company associated with poor or shoddy science!'

'Well good, because my work is neither poor, nor shoddy! Get him to read it. I promise he will want to publish it when he's done. And I have a witnessed, dated and secured copy, so if he tried to claim it as his own, I'll bring the company down about his ears!'

'He would never!'

'I'm glad to hear it! Do we have a deal?'

'Fine. It's a deal.'

* * *

Ten minutes later Bulma stalked out of the fortune-teller's shop with a dragonball in one had and a research paper in the other. Krillin and Goku had to run to catch up. She considered throwing the heavy ring-bound ream of paper in a bin as she passed, but a deal was a deal, and maybe the science was sound after all. She huffed and glanced at the title. "The Mechanics of Wormhole Propagation" she read and huffed. It would be some kind of miracle if it were anything more than crackpot pseudo-science.

They selected a bakery-cum-coffeehouse to buy lunch. When the man behind the counter asked what they wanted Bulma tried to calculate the amount of food required for herself, Krillin, Goku…and three other Saiyans.

'All of it. Just give me everything you've got.'

* * *

'What took you so long?'

Bulma had just been getting over her bad mood and starting to feel good about having the second dragonball in hand when Vegeta's imperious tone cut her right up again.

'It's a very boring story, but I shall repeat it all at length for you if you wish!' Bulma said. 'Or we could eat. I'm starving.'

She popped the capsule she had packed their lunch in and they picnicked right there on the grass verge. The Saiyans frowned and prodded at the food, but began eating ravenously after their first few bites. Bulma quickly snagged some sandwiches and a slice of mudcake as the others demolished the bakery's worth of food.

Raditz hoed down a meat pie in two bites. 'Hey Vegeta, get a load of these!'

Vegeta only growled enthusiastically as he ripped into a twelve-inch chicken and salad-filled bagette with his teeth. Once Bulma finished her lunch she sat back and watched the spectacle of four Saiyans chug-a-lugging sodas, pushing food into their faces and burping unrestrainedly. She picked the dragonball up from her lap and immediately attracted Vegeta's attention.

'Give it to me,' he commanded.

She looked back at him weighing up the consequences of resisting.

'No,' she said, evenly.

They stared at each other, Bulma trying to maintain a smooth poker face, while Vegeta's expression grew more intense, like a cat getting ready to pounce.

'You don't trust me,' he said lightly.

'You don't trust me either, obviously.'

He smiled smugly and Bulma suppressed a shiver as she looked away. She knew that he didn't need to trust her. If he decided to take the dragonball by force there was nothing she could do about it, and she doubted even Goku could stand in his way, not with that Nappa guy on his side. She wanted to maintain some control over the dragonballs, and he wanted  _all_  the control, and the only way she could think of to stop him from having it all was to somehow get him to trust her. But how? He didn't seem the trusting type.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Goku, who had been quite oblivious to their exchange.

'Two dragonballs before lunch, huh?'

'That must be some kind of record,' said Krillin.

'Hmm,' she mused. 'Maybe at this rate I'll be home in time for my birthday.'

'When is your birthday, Bulma?' asked Krillin.

'Two days. In two days I'll be seventeen.'

'Wow, that's so old,' said Goku.

'I'm going to be fourteen in less than a month,' said Krillin.

' _Fourteen?_ ' she replied. 'I thought you were twelve?'

'No. I've been thirteen for nearly a year.'

'I thought you were the same age as Goku!'

'I think I'm a little older. Although it's hard to tell, because Goku can't make up his mind how old he is.'

'I'm thirteen too, I think,' said Goku. 'Or at least, I said I was twelve last year, so I suppose I must be thirteen now.'

'You're nine,' said Raditz.

'Nine!' the three Earthlings exclaimed.

'I don't think that's right,' said Goku. 'I'm pretty sure I remember more summers than that.'

'Oh my gosh, this explains so much!' said Bulma. Krillin was staring at Goku, reassessing their friendship.

'No wonder you can ride the Flying Nimbus!'

'Do Saiyans grow up really fast?' Bulma asked the older ones. Goku had always seemed small for a twelve year old, but for a nine year old, or eight year old, when she met him, he was quite large.

'No, we grow up at the proper pace,' said Raditz.

'How old are you?' she asked.

'Sixteen,' he replied, and Bulma couldn't believe it.

'And you?' she asked of Vegeta.

'Not that it means anything to you, but I'm twelve.'

'Twelve!'

He scowled at her. 'This conversation is absolutely idiotic. I am twelve galactic standard years, but roughly twenty-four in Planet Vegeta years, and who knows how many in the years of this place.'

'Oh. Right. That makes sense. So how long is a galactic standard year?'

'Do you want us to count it out for you?' he said. 'Moron.'

'I am not a moron! How long is a galactic standard minute then? I suppose you have those too?'

'A minute is a minute long! It's a hundred seconds.'

'And how long is a second?'

'A second! Look at the cursor on the com unit you're holding. It blinks on the second.'

She did. It seemed to blink in time with the second hand on her watch at first, but then they slowly got out of time.

'What are you doing, Bulma?' asked Krillin.

'Shush, I'm counting.' After she'd counted the galactic seconds into a minute, and then, to be sure, counted how many earth seconds into a galactic minute she asked Vegeta, 'And how many minutes in an hour, and hours in a day, days in a year?'

'Fifty minutes in an hour, twenty hours in a day, five hundred days in a year.'

'Right then, so…Vegeta is about eighteen earth-years, Raditz is twenty three, and Goku is indeed about thirteen.'

She had the satisfaction of seeing the stunned surprise on Vegeta's and Raditz's faces.

'Did you just work that out in your head, just like that?' asked Raditz.

'Of course!'

'She could just be making up any number and we wouldn't know,' said Vegeta.

'Well, when you get around to checking my calculations you can let me know how I did,' she replied tartly.

'I wouldn't bet against Bulma on an answer to a math problem,' warned Puar.

Vegeta grunted. 'I guess your claim of genius must be based on  _something_.'

'Last time I checked, grace was a virtue, Vegeta.'

'Last time I checked, so was discretion.'

Seething, she averted her eyes from Vegeta's taunting face, and let them rest on the only person who seemed uninterested in the conversation.

'What about you, Brolly? How old are you?'

'I was born about the same time as Kakarott.'

'That's right,' said Raditz. 'How did you know that Brolly?'

'I remember him.'

'You remember me?' said Goku, bouncing to his feet excitedly. 'I'm sorry, I don't remember you at all. It must be because I lost my memory when I banged my head as a baby. Were we friends?'

Brolly pressed his lips together in an expression of mild annoyance.

'No. You were a cry baby.'

'Oh. We could be friends now, though. I don't think I've cried  _since_  I was a baby.'

Brolly looked up at Goku from where he knelt on the grass, the barest hint of suspicion marring his blank face. 'Maybe.'

'Stop this nauseating talk, Kakarott,' said Vegeta. 'No one is "friends" here. We are Saiyans and warriors, and such connections mean nothing to us, so start getting used to it.'

'What are you talking about, no "friends"?' Goku complained. 'Aren't you all friends with each other? Why do you all live and work together if you don't like each other?'

'We stick together because we are Saiyans,' said Raditz.

'And because there is no other choice,' said Vegeta. 'I'm not giving you any other choice.'

Goku and Vegeta locked eyes, Vegeta daring the younger boy to defy him, and Goku indignant and defiant in spades. Barely seeming to move, both boys looked coiled to spring at the other. The hairs pricked up on Bulma's arms as she could feel the energy in the air pick up.

'I don't wanna join you Saiyans,' Goku growled.

'Did I not say I wasn't giving you a choice?'

'Goku,' said Krillin quietly, 'I don't think you want to fight him.'

'Yes, I do,' said Goku. Suddenly his face transformed with a darkly gleeful grin that Bulma had not seen on Goku very often. 'I want to fight him.'

'Don't do it, brother,' chimed Raditz lightly, getting to his feet. 'It won't be pretty.'

'It won't be a  _fight_ ,' said Vegeta, smiling back at Goku. 'So this is your last chance to back down.'

'I won't do what you say,' said Goku. 'You won't stop me from being friends with Brolly if I want to be.'

In a sudden explosion of movement, Vegeta left his place on the ground and had Goku clutched by the throat before all of them. Bulma screamed, and Vegeta head-butted Goku with a crack that rang around the wood-lined road and then tossed him to the ground at Raditz's feet.

'Brolly,' said Vegeta. 'You are not to be friends with this fool Kakarott.'

'Yes, Your Highness.'

With that Vegeta turned his back on them all.

Bulma and Krillin ran to Goku, who was groaning, but Raditz lifted him by his gi before they got to him.

'I told you not to do it,' said Raditz as he put Goku on his feet. The boy sagged and would have fallen to his knees if Krillin hadn't caught him. A big red patch was forming on his forehead, and a trickle of blood where the skin had split.

'Goku, are you alright?' wailed Bulma. 'We should take him to a hospital, or at least lie him down!'

'No, s'okay, Bulma,' slurred Goku.

'He'll be fine. The prince went pretty easy on him, all things considered,' Raditz reassured.

The Prince! Bulma swung around to glare at his back, fear warring with fury inside her. How dare he treat her friends like this! She wanted to punch him in the face for what he'd just done, but if he hit her back with the force he'd just shown Goku, it would be the last thing she ever did.

As if he could feel her eyes scorching the back of his head he turned and caught her staring.

'Where is the next dragonball, girl? I'm growing impatient for my wish.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: For my Kiwi readers...Jellytip...lol.
> 
> Oh yes, if you liked my story Monkey Business: A Midsummer Night's Dream, keep your eyes peeled for several new chapters, the first of which is coming soon. You may want to go there now and click follow (on fanfiction.net) or bookmark it here if you're keen not to miss it. The whole of the next chapter is going up on fanfiction.net, but the next one...uh oh! The full version will only be here on AO3.
> 
> You may not care, but here are "Bulma's calculations" for future reference.
> 
> Galactic standard:
> 
> 100 seconds in a minute
> 
> 50 minutes in an hour
> 
> 20 hours in a day
> 
> 500 days in a year
> 
> 50,000,000 seconds in a year
> 
> 34,615,385 galactic seconds in an earth year.
> 
> 94,836.67 galactic seconds in an earth day
> 
> 3,951.53 galactic seconds in an earth hour
> 
> 65.56 galactic seconds in an earth minute.
> 
> 1.0976 galactic seconds in an Earth second
> 
> 1.44444 earth years in a galactic year (527 days)
> 
> 25.308 earth hours in a galactic day
> 
> 1.265 earth hours in a galactic hour
> 
> 1.518464526 earth minutes in a galactic minute
> 
> 0.911078717 earth seconds in a galactic second


	11. Ethics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: A big fat chapter for my readers!

The next ball was much further away, and to complicate things, it was on the move. It was mid afternoon by the time Bulma, perched on Raditz's back got them close enough to figure out that the dragonball was inside a speeding armoured truck, being chased by police squad cars with sirens blaring. They followed it by sight as it wound its way into the arid mountains, away from a small city on the plains below.

'Great!' she complained, and flicked another faceful of Raditz's hair away. Sitting on his back was much preferable to being carried by him, but she'd been swimming in a tickling, whipping mass of hair snakes for hours.

She pointed down at the van and looked over at Vegeta, who swung closer with Krillin and Puar both clinging to him. Brolly came closer with Goku too and they all slowed to match the pace of the vehicles far below.

'It's in that van that looks like it's being used as a getaway vehicle!' she yelled. 'I don't know how we're going to get it.'

'We'll just take it,' said Vegeta. 'A metal can isn't going to be much of a barrier to us. I will go for the ball. Raditz, you and Brolly destroy the other witnesses following.'

'No! What? No!' screamed Bulma.

'Woah, woah, you can't just kill cops!' said Krillin.

Vegeta tried to look up at her, unable to see Krillin on his back, annoyance evident on his face. 'Police, huh? Watch me.'

He raised his hand and suddenly Goku shot in front of Bulma, clipped Raditz and tangled with Vegeta, spilling Krillin and Puar from his back. Vegeta batted Goku away again, and the whole procession halted in the air, Goku and Krillin spinning a little as they tried to control their chi to recover from the movement.

'Kakarott, what the Hell are you doing?' roared Raditz.

'First you defy me, then you try and pervert my actions?' said Vegeta, also looking at Goku with outrage in his eyes.

'You were going to kill them,' stated Goku. 'They're not bad guys. Are they, Bulma?'

'No,' she confirmed, in a tiny voice, because Vegeta _did_ look extremely angry.

'And on Earth, we don't kill people for no reason,' Goku continued. 'Not unless we're bad guys ourselves. Are _you_ bad guys?'

To her horror a smile spread across Vegeta's face, and he laughed in the manner of a child caught out in a lie. She also felt Raditz's whole-hearted chuckle beneath her.

'It took you this long to work that out, did it?' Vegeta said. 'I suppose you think you're one of the good guys? Well you can forget that fairytale crap. There are no goodies and baddies, only winners and losers, and I will stop at _nothing_ to be one of the winners!'

'I won't let you kill them!'

'Kakarott, shut it, or I'll beat your face in myself!' shouted Raditz again.

'Your brat brother has been nothing but trouble since we picked him up, Raditz!' snarled Vegeta. 'You'll be lucky if you still have a brother by the time I'm done with him!'

Bulma had never felt so trapped, sitting astride an admitted baddie a hundred feet in the air. This was a very bad time for Goku and Vegeta to start fighting again.

'Hey, everyone,' she squeaked. 'Maybe we should just chill out a moment and see if some other solution presents itself. Then no-one has to…you know…die.'

Vegeta gave her a sidelong glance of scorn, but then everyone's attention was diverted by the sound of gunshots below. A loop of the road had brought the van closer to them again as it snaked its way up the narrow mountain road. A man was leaning out the open back door firing off shots at the police cars. The front tyre of one blew out, and the speeding patrol car crashed through the flimsy road-side barrier and flew out over empty air. Bulma couldn't help screaming in horror, but Goku said, 'Right!' and sped downwards as fast as he could. Krillin hesitated, and then followed him. The car slammed into the slope of the mountain, bouncing and crumpling before Goku could get there, but he got beneath it and pressed against the radiator, digging his heels into the dirt to stop before it made it as far as the sheer cliff a little way below. Krillin arrived and grabbed hold of the door column, trying to hook one of the policeman inside.

'Great,' said Raditz. 'The kid thinks he's a hero.'

A loud boom and a rumble grabbed the attention of the rest of them. A massive cloud of dust separated the van from sight, and as it settled they saw a rockslide barred the road between the van and the remaining police.

'Those crooks must have set a charge in the mountain to be triggered as they went past,' guessed Bulma.

'Well, things just got simpler for us,' said Vegeta, blasting off towards the van that was heading away again. Bulma clutched Raditz's neck as he and Brolly took off after their prince. Puar snatched at Raditz's hair as they whipped by and ended up slamming into Bulma's chest. Bulma wrapped her arm around the cat that Vegeta had forgotten about for now.

'Are you okay, Puar?' she asked her quietly, banking on the wind to keep her words from Raditz's ears.

'No,' said Puar. 'Bulma, this is a disaster!'

'I know. Thank God no-one's been hurt.'

'Yet!'

Bulma frowned to hear the distinct ring of accusation in Puar's tone. 'Hey, it's not like everything that's happening is _my_ fault!'

'Yes, but you're not stuck to Vegeta's shoulder! Supposing we all live and the Saiyans leave peacefully? What'll happen to me? Vegeta thinks he owns me!'

'We'll think of something. We won't let him take you!' But then she thought of a question even more pressing. 'Puar, we need to know what the Saiyans want to wish for. Has Vegeta said anything?'

'He said he hasn't decided what to wish for,' Puar replied.

Their conversation ended as Raditz came alongside the van. The man at the wheel had a stocking stretched over his face, and he glanced out the window and then turned his whole head to look at her. Bulma cringed away from the gun-totting crim.

'Hey, girl, what are you doing up here riding a…' He looked more closely at Raditz. 'The fuck…?'

'Oi, Benny, look out!' yelled the passenger, but it was too late, and the van slammed straight into Vegeta's raised leg.

Glass shattered over Raditz, Puar and Bulma as the front of the van took the force of the sudden deceleration, and then the back of the van sailed up into the air and the whole thing flipped end over, landing and skidding on its roof on the tarmac. For a split second Bulma wondered what had happened to Vegeta, but her inexplicable moment of concern ended as soon as she saw the cocky little figure of him, standing, grinning, with his arms crossed and one leg still raised as the van crashed behind him.

Raditz and Brolly touched down next to Vegeta, and Bulma fell off Raditz's back. Timidly she followed the other three as they strode towards the wreck, Puar clinging to her shoulder. First to emerge was the man who'd been in the back. He crawled around the van, groaning and bleeding all over the road metal, but at the sight of the Saiyans coming towards him he reared up his knees and pointed a gun at them.

'Who are you?' he shouted. 'Who do you work for?'

'No-one,' said Vegeta, still grinning. 'We're freelancers.'

The man pulled a blood-sodden balaclava off his head and threw it to the ground. 'Freelancers?' he gasped. 'Find your own action. We knocked off First Mutual Assurance, fair and square.'

'You have something we want,' replied Vegeta.

Without warning the man shot at them. Bulma squealed and ducked behind Raditz's bulk.

'Fool – your projectiles can't harm us,' said Vegeta. And then Bulma didn't see what happened, because she was too busy quaking behind Raditz, but she heard a little buzzing of the air parting, and then the man said 'oof' and hit the ground, his gun clattering on the road next to him.

Goku and Krillin touched down next to her, finally having caught up from their rescue mission.

'Hey, what did we miss?' asked Krillin, and then seeing what sprawled on the ground before Vegeta, 'Oh, jeez.'

Goku growled, and stepped towards Vegeta, but Bulma caught his arm. 'It's okay, I think, Goku. He was a bad guy.'

Goku kept his eyes trained on Vegeta, but looked somewhat placated. 'If you say so, Bulma.'

Suddenly shots rang out again, from behind them this time. Bulma actually felt the slipstream of one bullet as it passed by her cheek and struck Raditz in the back.

'Ow!' he roared, and they all wheeled around to see the driver of the van, on his side, halfway out the window unloading the clip of a semi automatic at them.

'Bad guy!' screamed Bulma, scrambling to retreat to the other side of the wall of solid Saiyan flesh. 'Bad guy, Goku!'

Goku bounded into action, tail puffed out in indignation. He landed on the gun, his momentum skittering it out of the man's grasp, and then he hopped to the ground. In one motion, he hauled the man by the front of his jacket and flung him out onto the road. 'Get out of here, or those guys I'm with will kill you!' he shouted at the man. Instead the groggy-headed criminal made a lunge for his weapon and began firing on Goku again, spraying bullets back towards Bulma and the others. She screamed as the unseen projectiles hit Raditz in the legs and made puffs of powdered stone erupt around her feet.

'Ow! I've had just about enough of that!' Raditz complained, and stepped forward, but before he could do anything, Goku grabbed the muzzle of the gun and threw it out over the cliff. The man refused to let go of his weapon and so followed it out into empty air with a scream.

Goku watching him go, still tense with anger. 'What a fool,' he muttered.

'Er…fair enough,' said Krillin doubtfully.

Bulma shivered as the source of danger disappeared in the most final of ways.

'Well, that's more like it, Kakarott,' said Raditz, but Goku looked less than pleased with this praise.

'Huh,' said Vegeta, though in agreement or doubt, she wasn't sure. 'Brolly, go make sure there are no others to clean up.' He started towards the open back of the van, and Bulma came to herself, realising that he was about to lay his hands on another ball if she didn't get there first. She trotted ahead of him.

'I'll get it,' she said.

'No, you won't,' he replied, pushing past her and stepping inside. As soon as she pushed herself inside after him she knew she'd lost this round. A mess of shrink-wrapped bank notes and safety deposit boxes was strewn all around. The ball couldn't be in the cash, and so it must be in a locked deposit box, which she had no hope of opening. Vegeta grasped the closest one and wrenched it open as if it was made of card and not steel, and a ruby necklace and some folded papers fell out. He grabbed the next and out fell a watch and a cascade of old photographs.

'Girl, which one is it in?'

'I – I can't tell,' she lied. There was no way she wanted to use the dragon radar in close proximity to Vegeta. He looked at her and his face screwed up with anger. She screamed as his hand shot out, but he didn't strike her. He only snatched Puar from her shoulder, then brought the cat up to his face and shook her.

'Daemon, what do you think you're doing? You're mine, not anyone else's.'

'I can't help it if you forget all about me!' said Puar.

'Then help me remember! But this is your only warning!'

Bulma stumbled away from this exchange, upset by it after all the fright and unpleasantness of the last few minutes. She heard a single gunshot and then a horrid gurgle from the front cab of the van as she made it out into the evening sun and plopped herself down rubber-kneed next to Krillin and Goku.

Raditz joined Vegeta in the van, and then Brolly, who returned from the front, his hands bloodied. The sounds of tearing metal could be heard from within.

Goku was uncharacteristically grim, and Krillin's pasty dough face said it all, but he elaborated anyway.

'Bulma, I don't know how we can stop these guys doing anything they want,' he said very quietly.

'I know.'

'We'll think of something, Krillin,' insisted Goku. 'We have to.'

* * *

'Mr Popo,' called Kami, his mind's eye still lingering on the messy and violent exchange on the highway.

'Yes Kami?'

'I want you to take your flying carpet and fetch me a dragonball, before it's too late.'

'But that will lead them straight here, Kami!'

'I know, Mr Popo. But I think this problem may be beyond the abilities of young Goku, Bulma and Krillin to handle.'

'I thought the Saiyans were also much more powerful than _you_ too, Kami.'

'They are. But strength isn't my only tool.'

'You will reason with them?'

'If that is possible.' He sighed. 'I'm not really sure what else I can do. I must make sure the Earth is protected from danger, and it might come down to me directly interceding.'

'As you must, Kami.'

'Now hurry, Mr Popo. They have already collected three in less than twelve hours. This could all be over, one way or another by tomorrow night.'

* * *

When they got back to the ship it was dark. Vegeta and Brolly touched down, followed by Goku and Krillin who had let go of their rides as they approached the clearing. Raditz landed last and Bulma fell off his back with the impact.

'Ow!' she said, lacing the cry with all the accusation and self-pity she could.

'What?' said Raditz, laughing slightly. 'Don't tell me you're so weak and frail that you can't even hold on, and that that little tumble hurt you?'

Bulma watched the retreating backs of the others as they made their way to the campfire, and then turned back to Raditz, feeling pissed off.

'Yes, and yes!' she said bitterly. 'What do you care anyway?'

Raditz glared down at her with his arms crossed and feet spread wide, and suddenly she felt very vulnerable. He _was_ a bad guy, after all. Then he raised one hand to his chin and appeared to be contemplating something.

'Hmm. I care.'

'You didn't care when I was nearly killed today.'

' _When_ were you nearly killed today?' he said in surprise.

'When those crooks were shooting bullets at us! That one that hit you nearly took my head off, and you and the others just stood there and let me fend for myself!'

'Bullets? Pah! They just sting a bit!'

'You maybe! But humans use them to kill each other! I ALMOST DIED!'

Raditz frowned and then smiled, a smirk stealing over his face. 'I'm very sorry, my Lady. I had no idea. I tell you what – from now on I shall be extra vigilant about not letting you be killed. It's very important to me that you not die.'

'Well, good!' she said, 'because it's very important to me that I not die either!'

His grin widened. 'I'd never forgive myself if I let that beautiful face and body go to waste.'

Bulma's anger was derailed by this sudden turn of conversation, and then a blush bloomed on her cheeks. She laughed nervously. 'You think I'm beautiful?'

'Oh, yeah…!'

She looked up at the tower of man before her and felt her train of thought buzz off course like a happy bumble bee. Damn it, why did she always turn to goo when a good-looking guy was paying her attention? 'Ah…you're not bad looking yourself,' she stammered, and then blushed harder. 'Oh, look, is that the time?' she said, looking at the moon coming up, like a complete moron. 'Let's go catch up with the others!'

She walked so fast she practically ran, Raditz striding calmly after her. _Oh my God, Krillin is right, I am an idiot!_ she cursed herself.

* * *

Nappa and Tarble had a dinosaur the size of a draught horse on the spit roast and they greeted the other Saiyans excitedly. As Raditz and Vegeta recounted the day, Goku, Krillin and Bulma sat quietly and worried on one of the logs round the campfire. Goku and Krillin worried about dragonballs, however, Bulma was more worried at that moment about _not_ looking at Raditz.

Tarble performed the same ritual with the meat as Raditz had the night before, only this time Bulma didn't get served. After cutting portions for Vegeta, then Nappa and Raditz, Tarble glanced at her sadly and hung his head.

Nappa paused in his chomping to say 'Dig in, bo-'

'Wait!' snapped Vegeta, looking up from his meat and glaring at Tarble. 'Where is the girl's cut?'

Tarble looked stricken. 'Nappa said-'

'She can fend for herself like all the other brats,' interrupted Nappa.

Vegeta turned an evaluating eye towards her and then turned back to Nappa. 'No. She can't. Tarble, give her some meat, I don't want my dragonball hunter going hungry.'

Tarble leapt into action, returning to the spit to cut off a hunk of shoulder for her. Bulma was glad she didn't have to fight for dinner, but the short exchange puzzled her. She looked up at Nappa again to find him glaring at her. He looked away quickly, going back to his meal.

Tarble dropped the piece of flesh onto her plate. It was grey and greasy and altogether unappetising.

'On second thoughts, Tarble,' she said to him quietly. 'Why don't you keep this piece? I'm not very hungry.'

The boy's face lit up again as he took it back. 'Thank you! And, I'm sorry!'

' _Now_ you brats may eat,' Vegeta announced.

The scuffle to get fed ensued, and Bulma became aware of more than one set of eyes on her. Raditz watched her as he ate, and hint of a smile still playing in his eyes, and so did Vegeta, though his face was stony and his eyes cold. She suddenly became acutely aware of the dragonball in the bag around her waist.

'Excuse me,' mumbled Bulma, and headed back around the ship to the rampway. Krillin and Goku were too intent on getting their fill to notice. Only Vegeta and Raditz's eyes followed her as she left.

She headed straight for the bedroom and almost panicked at what she saw. The wardrobe she'd left there had been rifled, and it looked as if whoever had done it hadn't even cared if it was noticed. Clothes were off their hangars and lay crumpled in the open drawers. She gave it a quick look over, then capsulated it and shoved it back in her pouch. The medical supplies had been turned over too, and the biohazard satchel that she'd put the emergency supply capsules in had been emptied. She had no idea if any had been opened or not. Either Tarble or Nappa had done this, and her money was on Nappa. She almost hyperventilated at that thought of Nappa pawing through her underwear, but held it together, as there was an urgent job to be done.

Before stuffing them back in the satchel she selected one capsule labelled 'Feminine Hygiene Products' and opened it. The contents filled half the available space in the room with stacks and stacks of panty shields, pads, boxes of tampons and keepcups.

'Perfect!'

She waded into the drift of lightly perfumed rayon, cotton and plastic and selected a large box of maxi pads, opened it, and took out half the pads (winged, for extra protection!). Then she stuffed the one-star dragonball inside and packed the pads back in. She closed the card flaps on the bottom of the packet and then buried it at the bottom of a carton's worth of similar products. She capsulated it all and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she just wondered if it was better to keep the capsule on her person, where Vegeta was sure to look if he decided to take the ball, or leave it here where is was vulnerable to snooping.

Eventually she decided to put it in her bag, right at the bottom. Feeling a little better she popped open a capsule of food supplies from the top of the bag and grabbed a couple of muesli bars and a bag of jerky. She was snarfing the muesli bars as fast as she could when Vegeta walked in unannounced.

'What are you doing?' he said.

'Eating,' she deadpanned, trying not to show how much he'd startled her.

'Something wrong with my hospitality?'

'Yes,' she said. 'I don't like prehistoric fauna for dinner. Plus, there was the matter of the company.'

He narrowed his eyes at her and walked across the room to snatch the bar she was eating from her hand. She could feel just from that movement how strong he was, and it scared her. He sniffed the bar and threw it back to her, then picked up the bag of jerky instead. Tearing the bag open he took a sniff, then a piece from the bag and chewed it. She gathered he must've liked it, because he put his whole hand in and scooped most of the contents in his fist and dropped the bag in her lap.

'Thanks a bunch!' she said.

'You're welcome,' he said and left the room, stuffing beef strips in his mouth.

* * *

When Bulma emerged from the bedroom she could hear the sounds of someone using the bathroom and footsteps from the flight deck above. She hadn't yet been up to the flight deck she realised, and her curiosity drove her to the steep, curved stairway. At the top, a narrow door opened onto a dome of stars. The room was large and circular with glass arching unsupported overhead. One half of the room was ringed with control panels and screens and several high backed chairs, bolted to the floor. The other half was ringed with a long, curved couch, and in the middle was something she instinctively knew was a map table. Tarble stood next to it, bent over examining something, the backlit tabletop lighting his face with a cool glow.

'Wow!' said Bulma.

Tarble looked up at her and followed her gaze around the room. 'I guess it's impressive,' he said. 'This ship is only small, but it's a lot fancier than most of the ships I've been on.'

'Well, it's the only one I've ever been on,' she told him. 'I'd probably be impressed no matter what. Can you fly this thing?'

He shook his head. 'Only Vegeta and Raditz can. And Nappa a little bit. I'm trying to learn.' He pressed a section of the screen and suddenly the text and diagrams he'd been looking were projected vertically as a hologram. 'The ship's computers are loaded with flight manuals and tutorials.'

Bulma knew how holograms worked, or at least the comparatively primitive ones she'd seen demonstrated at trade shows, but she couldn't help reaching out and poking the insubstantial characters anyway, imagining she could feel them where her fingers passed through them.

'We speak the same language,' she said. 'The written characters are different though. Surely learning to read a different alphabet would be easy enough for me?'

'It's not too hard to get used to,' the boy said, smiling encouragingly at her. 'I didn't learn that long ago myself. The Tech-Techies are a pre-space exploration society, and so have their own alphabet. Raditz taught me how to read the galactic standard script.'

Bulma felt a qualm of nervousness at the mention of Raditz again. 'What kind of guy is Raditz?' she asked.

Tarble looked suddenly uncomfortable. 'Er…what do you mean?'

'I mean, is he nice? Do you like him?'

Tarble raised his eyebrows. 'Ah…he's a bit nicer than Nappa I guess?'

Bulma frowned. This didn't get her anywhere. 'Do you know if he has a girlfriend?'

'A what?'

'What's that got to do with anything?' Puar's voice suddenly rang out, causing Bulma to jump in fright. The cat leapt to the headrest of the high backed pilot's chair she'd been hidden in. 'You've got a boyfriend already, so what does it matter?'

Bulma gulped a bit in mortification. Yes, she _did_ have a boyfriend…which she'd momentarily forgotten. Oh, what was the harm in some passing flirtation? Raditz would be gone forever in a day or two and Yamcha would be none the wiser, except that she'd forgotten to factor the loyal little cat into the equation.

'I was just making conversation, Puar, calm down!'

Puar arched an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

The chair next to her swivelled around to reveal Vegeta, who she'd also not noticed, although she should have, because even the high back didn't completely conceal the tip of his pointy hair-do. 'What the hell is a "boyfriend"? Or a "girlfriend" for that matter?' he demanded.

Bulma could only stand there mentally kicking herself for being so indiscrete. And now she heard the sounds of someone else coming up the stairs, and with her luck it would be Raditz himself. 'Er…'

'If you mean, a female who is Radtiz's friend, I can tell you he has no friends, especially female ones,' said Vegeta.

'What this?' asked Nappa's voice behind her as he squeezed himself through the door with great difficulty.

'The girl wants to know if Raditz has a "girlfriend",' Vegeta told him.

Bulma sidled away from Nappa over to the long couch. Her instincts would not let her keep her back to the man.

'A what?' the giant said.

'Tell us what you mean, girl,' said Vegeta, looking at her pointedly.

'How can you _not_ know?' she said, disbelievingly.

'You didn't know what a regeneration tank was,' Vegeta replied. '"Can you get it through your thick skull" that we a from different places?'

Bulma was annoyed to hear her own words from earlier thrown back at her, especially as she supposed he was right. But really, no boyfriends and girlfriends in space?

'A girlfriend is…yes, a girl who is your friend, but in a romantic way also…er…and a boyfriend is the same only a boy, for a girl that is. Oh! Unless of course the boy prefers boys or the girl prefers girls in which case-' She halted herself, seeing the mystified expressions on Vegeta and Nappa's faces. Tarble looked a little confused too, but Puar was still pouting at her.

'Romantic?' queried Vegeta.

'Like the epic battle poems of your great-grandfather, Vegeta,' Nappa suggested. 'Or the sculptures of the Ice People warriors that Frieza had in his palace. I think she means "idealized," or larger than life.'

'No, I don't,' she said. 'I mean _romantic_ , like, doing on dates, buying chocolates and holding hands and things like that!'

Vegeta turned to Puar. 'Do you have any idea what she's on about?'

'Yes,' replied the cat, still looking at Bulma. 'A boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is when a boy and girl are _supposed_ to love each other and agree to remain _exclusive_.'

' _Love?_ ' sneered Nappa.

'Don't tell me you don't know what love is?' said Puar, distracted from her disapproval of Bulma for a second.

'Oh, I've _heard_ of it,' Nappa said.

'Love is just what weaker races call it when they become so dependant on others to survive that they'd do irrational things to stay together,' said Vegeta.

'No, it's not!' cried Puar. 'It's beautiful and sweet and powerful!'

Vegeta burst out laughing, leading Puar to scowl at him. Bulma was annoyed by Vegeta's laughing, but she rather thought Puar was overselling the role of beautiful, sweet, powerful love in having a boyfriend or girlfriend.

'Look,' she said, 'a boyfriend or girlfriend is someone you hang out with because you like them and you're _interested_ in them.'

'Interested how?' said Vegeta, recovering somewhat from his laughing fit.

'Well…' she hesitated, trying not to blush as she said in her best mature adult voice '… _sexually_.'

Vegeta looked taken back by this statement, and it was Nappa's turn to laugh.

'Prince Vegeta, she means does Raditz have a regular fuck!' he said, slapping his thigh. Bulma left her whole face turn red with embarrassment.

'No, that's not what…!'

'He doesn't,' Nappa told her, still chortling. 'Unless you count the prostitute at the trading post in the Horseshoe constellation that he keeps wanting to go back to. Why? Are you thinking of taking him on?' He leered down at her, and Bulma wished the ground to open up, she was so uncomfortable and disturbed by what he'd just said.

'You're disgusting!' she yelled back at him. She gestured to where Tarble still stood at the map table, watching everything with curious eyes. 'How can you say things like that? There are minors present!'

'Me?' said Tarble. 'I've heard a lot worse from them.'

'I'm sure you have, but that doesn't make it okay!' she said, looking around and seeing that Vegeta was staring at her with his mouth open, his expression somewhere between anger and shock. She wanted to get out of this conversation, fast. 'Saiyans are foul!' she exclaimed, marching past Nappa to the steps. 'I'm going to find Goku and Krillin!'

Nappa's dirty chuckle followed her as she went.

* * *

'So the little tart has an eye on Raditz?' said Nappa after she'd gone. Vegeta hovered on the edge of ordering Nappa to shut up. He felt like stomping down the stairs himself, and he was suddenly full of loathing for both Nappa and Raditz. The girl was right – those two _were_ foul.

'No, she doesn't,' the Daemon told Nappa. 'She's already got a boyfriend! His name is Yamcha, and he's amazing as well as brave and handsome.'

The name Yamcha sparked a memory for Vegeta. The sentry in the bushes…the one he'd failed to kill. He really should have gone back and finished the job.

'Well, you seemed concerned before, Daemon,' he said observed.

It opened its mouth and then closed it again, and chewed its lip before saying 'She'd be a fool to go anywhere near that Raditz. He's horrible.'

'Well, I wouldn't say he was "amazing and brave and handsome", but maybe the chit recognises superior bloodstock when she sees it?' said Nappa, and laughed at the scowl he earned from Puar. 'Maybe she wants to get some half-Saiyan baby inside her?'

The Daemon looked revolted and turned its appalled face to Vegeta, and Vegeta's temper suddenly ran out.

'Shut the fuck up, Nappa!'

'Oh, a wee bit touchy, aren't-'

Vegeta leapt from the chair and wrapped his legs around Nappa's throat so that the big man wouldn't be thrown backwards as he slammed his fist into Nappa's eye socket. Nappa roared and sprawled to the floor of the flight deck with a crash that made to ship shake on its legs. Vegeta landed on his feet, standing astride Nappa's neck.

'Get out!' he shouted. 'You're pissing me off, and if you make me break the ship teaching you to hold your tongue, I'll kill you for it!'

He stepped away and Nappa rolled quickly to his feet and made for the stairs with his lips clamped shut. Vegeta slunk back to his hair and slumped down in it. The Daemon and Tarble were both watching him fearfully. He sighed and closed his eyes. How long would it be before he had his wish? And how long after that before he took Frieza's mantle as Lord of the known galaxy? Not long he hoped. He was heartily sick of living every day with Nappa and Raditz. He needed them, and they were useful, and maybe he would always need them, but he couldn't wait for the day when they weren't his only source of conversation and company. As Brolly didn't have much going on behind the eyes, the only other option was Tarble, a complete sap, and even more unworthy than Nappa and Raditz, although he wasn't soaked in the corruption the older two were. Kakarott wasn't shaping up to be much of a prospect either.

He opened his eyes again and Tarble was still glancing over at him between reading the flight manual.

'Spit it out,' he ordered the brat.

'I think that the boyfriend-girlfriend concept sounds similar to something the Tech-Techs do as part of their courtship ritual,' he said meekly. 'It's called "trial phase 2" and starts after an admission of mutual attraction, but before a promise of marriage, which is trial phase 3. It's only a trial, so it's not serious. It can be ended at any time. I don't know what Nappa meant by "a regular fuck,"' Tarble blushed over the words, 'but I don't think that's what _she_ meant.'

'That does sound more like it,' said the cat. 'Bulma wouldn't…get involved in something like…what _Nappa_ said.'

'Yes, in trial phase 2 people do the type of things Bulma was talking about. Holding hands, talking, doing things together.' Tarble smiled shyly. 'I was once in trial phase 2 myself.'

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

'You were?' said the Daemon, excitedly.

'What a subversion of a Saiyan you are,' said Vegeta. 'How could you have been in any stage of courtship with those ugly, little round-headed things?' Tarble immediately coloured up.

'What's trial phase 1?' asked the cat.

Tarble grinned. 'The time before you know you're in trial phase 2! They say that trial phase 1 wrote more poems and inspired more art and music than any other Tech-Techy state of being!'

The Daemon laughed and Vegeta growled.

'Blah, blah, blah, bullshit is all I'm hearing,' he said. 'Tarble, you're a waste of the Saiyan blood that runs through your veins! Go away and leave me the space and silence to think sensible thoughts.'

The boy turned the screen off and left without another word, but with a smile for the Daemon. Vegeta cast grim eyes up at the blue and tan furry thing and frowned.

'Chatty little thing, aren't you?' he baited.

'Am I not allowed to _talk_ now?'

Vegeta considered it. 'I'll allow it, as long as you're silent when I want you to be. And anything I say to you, you do _not_ repeat. Understand?'

'Fine.'

He stared at it, waiting for his point to sink in, and it began fidgeting uncomfortably. 'What?'

'Wasn't "Yamcha" the name of the sentry in the bushes? Your former master?'

'Yes.'

'"Yamcha's girl". I thought you meant she belonged to him. Though, as she's a veritable princess, that makes no sense. She is his "girlfriend" rather?'

'Yes.'

'Hmm.' Vegeta turned back to the records of all the space traffic that ship's various sensors had picked up in the last day. As he suspected there was nothing but asteroids and Earthling satellites between the dome above him and the nearest star. Good. He hoped it stayed that way. He checked the fuel level again, and it had barely moved since they'd landed two weeks ago. It was sitting at a worrying 24%, having only risen 3% since landing. Was it the thick atmosphere that was interfering with the solar recharging, or was there actually something wrong with the solar cells as he'd started to suspect? What would they do about it if they failed? They wouldn't get any compatible parts on Earth. If they were lucky they _might_ find a fuel source for their fusion drive, but if not, they'd have to steal another ship, and who the hell came out _this_ far from the centre of the galaxy? They'd have to travel for days just to get close to a trade route in the chance of stealing another. He really didn't want to. Changing ships was a major bother, and always brought with it new problems.

'What are you thinking about?' the cat asked. 'Are you thinking about what you want to wish for?'

'Daemon,' he said, warningly. 'Quiet.'

But now he was aware of the cat staring at him from the next chair over, and it began to make him feel uncomfortable to be watched as he pondered. Having a daemon was not quite as he imagined. He had not anticipated this feeling of _never_ being alone. Nor of it being so nosy.

'Daemon, prepare me a bed by the campfire and wait for me there.'

It left him without a backward glance and he put his feet up on the chair it vacated. What to wish for? He had a few ideas, but really one option was standing out as a main contender – one that would buy him a lot of time. One that would let him fulfil his dream of slaying Frieza by his own hand, but he wasn't about to tell the Earthling cat about it. He could just imagine the mess if the girl got wind of it. She was already reluctant and distrustful of them. He wondered at what point his patience with her would run out and he'd have to force her to do his bidding. What would he use as leverage? Her life of course, but she seemed very attached to Kakarott and the assistant, so maybe he could threaten them too. Sentiment was so easy to exploit! Probably the hardest part would be not killing her accidentally. He'd heard her yelling at Raditz earlier. Like his older liegeman, he'd had no idea she'd been so vulnerable she'd almost died. He didn't have much experience keeping such weaklings alive – he'd had a million times more experience killing them.

Like Raditz, he would make an extra effort from now on to see that she lived, and he was sure he cared a LOT more than Raditz claimed he did – his whole future rested on it! What was that slimly prick Raditz up to, anyway, saying he _cared_? And why was _she_ asking questions about Raditz?

An image of Raditz humping away at the Earth girl flitted through his mind before being banished again. Without warning he was gripped by anxiety – his palms prickled with sweat, his heart pounded and his stomach clenched. He should not have eaten that Earthling snack food, especially right after a decent dinner. It might've been meat, but it was also loaded with chemicals and other non-foods. He recalled her stunned face as he'd taken them from her, wordless and unable to protest his dominion over her foodstuffs. That had been fun, but not worth getting sick for.

The Prince of All Saiyans getting sick from poor food on a planet as soft as this one. He couldn't have that.

* * *

Bulma sniffed her sleeping bag suspiciously, but it didn't smell bad. _I guess he had just come out of the tank_ , she mused. _I bet it smells a damn sight better than those blankets and furs Goku and Krillin are using at any rate!_

She laid the bag down between Goku and the fire and sat on it while she tried to brush more dry glue out of her hair. Distracted by movement in the corner of her eye, she looked up to see Raditz taking his armour off. Strange stuff that their armour was made of, it stretched as much as lycra, though it looked as hard and shiny as plastic, and she watched in astonishment as he took it off over his head and set it on the ground where it stood upright. He had a sleeveless black shirt on underneath that was stretched tight over well-developed pectoral muscles, and she continued to stare as he began to strip that off too. And then he saw her watching and slowed his movements down, flexing his arms and chest and curling his abs into a display case of impressively sculpted muscles. Bulma choked and blushed but couldn't look away until he flicked his mass of dark hair back over his head and raised his chin to her with a knowing smile.

 _Oh my god_ …she mouthed, and dragged her eyes away to meet the less exciting sight of Nappa stomping around the ship swearing and clutching his eye.

'What happened to you?' Raditz asked him.

'Our prince is in a shit,' Nappa replied and let his eyes dart to Bulma for a second before he threw himself down on his bundle of bedding, as if somehow Vegeta's bad mood was _her_ fault.

Raditz leant over to have a look at Nappa face. 'You'll have a shiner to match the one on Kakarott,' he said cheerfully.

Goku touched the large bruise and little split in the middle of his forehead gingerly.

'Is Vegeta always so mean?' Goku asked.

'Huh,' grunted Nappa. 'That's Prince Vegeta when you speak to him, and no, he's an absolute cherub, most of the time.'

'Really?' said Goku,

'No! Not really! Idiot.'

Bulma gave up on her hair, feeling like most of the glue was gone and was just about to lay down when a wolf howled at the other end of the valley.

'No!' she moaned, seriously considering breaking out her comfortable capsule house to sleep safe and sound inside.

'It's only a wolf, Bulma,' said Goku.

'Easy for you to say!' she snapped.

'Don't worry yourself, my Lady,' said Raditz, picking up his bedding and throwing it down next to hers. 'I'll make sure the wolves don't bite!'

'Oh,' said Bulma, 'Thanks, but I…' She quickly examined the distance between Krillin and Goku. She leaned over Goku to poke Krillin and hissed, 'Move over!'

'Ow,' said Krillin. 'What's the big deal?'

'Make some room for me between you and Goku, I don't want to get eaten tonight!' she hissed back at him.

'Nothing is going to eat you, Bulma! Raditz would probably eat the wolf before it got close enough to eat you.'

'Don't worry, Bulma,' Goku assured her. 'I won't let it get to you either.'

Bulma sat back and then wriggled down into her sleeping bag and then risked a look at Raditz. He was lounging on his side, propped up on an elbow on top of his bedding, naked except for the black briefs and a grin. The wolf in the forest wasn't the only one she was worried about. She lay on her back and stared up at the sky, trying to avoid looking at Raditz. She knew she should detest him, and truthfully she was scared of him, but all of that went out the window when she looked at him. He was gorgeous, and by golly, he was built! She was having a hard time getting her head around it, and around his relation to Goku. Not only was he about five times bigger, but she would have thought that any brother of Goku would be a good person, which wasn't necessarily the vibe she got from Raditz.

* * *

Goku had just closed his eyes when he heard Bulma ask Raditz a question.

'So, if you're Goku's brother, you must remember him from when he was a baby?'

Curious, Goku sat up to better hear the answer.

'No, not really,' Raditz replied. 'I saw him once, in the nurseries a little while after he was born, but I wasn't much interested.'

'What? That sounds a little heartless,' she criticized.

'Heartless? Of course it was! I was a young warrior. Why would I be interested in a baby? I wouldn't have gone at all if my mother hadn't made me. She said I should make a first impression in case we ended up working together. Fat lot of use that turned out to be.'

Goku felt an elbow in his side. Krillin was sitting up now too.

'Go on, ask him about your parents!' Krillin whispered to him urgently. Goku frowned, but nodded. The moment had arrived. He was still unsure he wanted to know, and it seemed almost as if Krillin wanted to know more than he did, but he finally asked the question. 'Raditz, what was our mother like? And our father?'

'Ah! Well,' said Raditz, obviously pleased to be asked. 'Our father was a squadron leader on a purge crew.'

'Purge crew?' repeated Goku, his frown deepening. 'You mean he was a killer too.'

'Of course he was! He was a _Saiyan_. His name was Bardock, and he was a legend amongst the third class warriors,' Raditz went on. 'He was maybe the most famous third class warrior ever, and perhaps one of the strongest ever too!'

'He was a chump!' Nappa interjected. 'Old King Vegeta offered him a position in the court and a promotion to second class and he turned it down.'

'Because he loved fighting!' Raditz argued. 'Why work in a palace when you can fight for a living?' Goku was inclined to agree. Not that he'd ever worked in a palace, but it sounded dull.

'Why spit on the King's generosity you mean?' countered Nappa. 'No, he probably just realised what a dumb mistake he'd made after mating your mother and opted to stay off planet so he wouldn't be busted dipping his dick in passing pussy,' the big man said, with a mocking grin in Raditz's direction.

The way that Bulma and Krillin gasped let Goku know that Nappa had said something horrible, though he wasn't sure what. There must be another meaning for the word pussy, because he couldn't figure out how anyone would dip their wiener in a cat.

'What's mated?' asked Goku.

'Yeah, what's mated?' repeated Bulma. 'What are Saiyans? Wild animals? Don't you get married?'

'Married? No,' said Nappa. Goku didn't know what that meant either. He would have to ask Bulma later. 'We don't waste time with pointlessly binding partnerings. We don't normally get mated either.'

'It was pretty rare that our parents mated,' said Raditz.

'It was an evolutionary throwback, is what you mean,' said Nappa. 'The two of them were so under-evolved I'm surprised they learnt to speak!'

'Shut up, you old windbag,' snarled Raditz, sitting up to face the bigger man.

'It's only the truth,' said Nappa, in an off hand manner. 'Mating was already old fashioned back when the Tuffle-Saiyan war began! The Saiyan race was moving away from that. All the experts on Planet Vegeta agreed that modern Saiyans were incapable of forming a mating bond. It only makes sense after all - if you've got no ties to a mate, you've got no one to leave behind when you've got more important things to do, and nothing to hold you back when you see some hole that needs stuffing. Being free to fight and fuck is the way the Saiyan empire grew and multiplied.'

'Maybe they just figured it out when everyone else had forgotten how?' said Raditz. 'Maybe it was everyone else who were the dumb fucks?'

'Whatever makes you feel better, Sunshine,' said Nappa, waving his hand. 'Your mother was a hot piece of ass, but not worth going dry for years at a time. Bardock had another red hot female on his team, and he'd have had to be as dead and dry as an old stick to say no if _she_ offered some R and R.' Now Nappa turned to Goku, who was trying to absorb the conversation even as most of it was washing straight over his head.

'Kakarott, I _knew_ your mother too,' he said with a sly wink. 'And I mean that in every sense of the word.'

'Euw!' said Bulma.

'What do you mean?' asked Goku, who was not even sure which word Nappa was talking about.

'Urgh, gods! Here it comes,' sighed Raditz.

'Your dear mother was a wildcat in the sack, and liked to warm the beds of the elites before she joined Bardock's crew. Gine, her name was. Thick as a post but hot enough to make up for it.'

'Shall I insult _your_ mother?' asked Raditz.

'Go ahead. You never met the old bitch, anyway.'

'Our mother was not very clever?' asked Goku. He'd gotten that much.

'Don't listen to him,' said Raditz. 'She was okay smart enough. She wasn't a great fighter though. After she had me she stayed on Planet Vegeta and worked as a butcher. She was very good looking though. Everyone said so.' He tossed his head and smirked at Bulma. 'They say I have her looks…'

'And brains,' finished Nappa.

'Mating must mean something different to you than it does to us,' said Bulma. 'You must mean "mate" like an albatross, for life, and not "mate" like a rabbit, with whatever partner it can find.'

'Yeah, it's for life,' said Raditz.

'It's _abnormal!_ Anchors-down in whatever port looks welcoming, is what I say,' said Nappa.

'We agree on _that_ at least,' said Raditz.

Goku was baffled. Anchors and ports, marriage and mating. It all sounded like nonsense. Wasn't mating what the birds did in spring? But one bird just landed on the back of another bird and they fluttered their wings for a second before breaking apart. That couldn't possibly be what they were talking about though, could it? _People_ didn't do things like that! Mating must be something else as well. Goku decided to just nod like he understood and go along with it until he could figure out what the heck they were talking about.

'Why don't you just call it getting married then?' asked Krillin. 'That's what marriage is, right? For life. Well, it's supposed to be, anyway.'

'Bah!' said Nappa. 'Marriage is bunch of words and empty promises. What's the point? Saiyans never bothered. But a mating was something else. It was weird physiological stuff. It changed people…it enslaved them to irrational urges. No thinking Saiyan would choose to be in the thrall of another, which is probably why people started to avoid mating so long ago, and we lost the ability. I have no higher loyalty than to myself, and that's the way it should be.'

'But our parents were mated?' said Goku. It sounded bad. Enslaved to... _irrational_ urges. What was irrational? He knew the rations were something to do with food, but he wasn't sure what _ir_ rations were. Was mating to do with food too? Like marriage? Did mating mean that you were enslaved and didn't get enough to eat?

'Yes, Kakarott,' said Raditz. 'Which means we are full brothers. It's unusual for two Sayians to share both a mother and a father, but _we_ do.'

'Speaking of…' said Nappa quietly. Tarble had just rounded the corner of the ship.

'Hey,' asked Bulma, just quiet enough to be heard by Raditz and Goku. 'What's the deal with Vegeta and Tarble? They look like they could be brothers, and Tarble was all weird about it when I asked, though Vegeta said they weren't.'

'Huh. Long story there. You'll have to ask Nappa to get all the ins and outs.'

'They sure look alike, now that you mention it, Bulma,' agreed Goku. 'I bet they are!'

'I'd keep that opinion to yourself, Little Brother, if you don't want to stir up a whole lot of trouble.'

It was so strange when Raditz called him brother. Somehow it felt like he was trying to stamp his ownership on him. Goku didn't like it.

* * *

Bulma watched Tarble wander into their midst and look around in confusion at all the faces staring at him. She suddenly felt sorry for him. Imagine having Vegeta for a brother, or non-brother or your prince, or _anything_.

'What's going on?' he asked. 'What were you all talking about?'

'Nothing,' said Nappa. 'Go to sleep – you're on sentry duty after Brolly.'

'Oh.' Tarble threw his furs down on the ground between Nappa and the others.

'You could sleep here,' said Bulma, rolling into Goku to offer the narrow space between herself and Raditz. 'There's wolves about.'

The little boy considered it, but then pouted and lay down where he was. 'No, I think I would just be getting in the way of Trial Phase Two.'

'Er, okay,' said Bulma, sure she had misheard what Tarble had said.

'Tarble's more scared of me than of wolves,' said Raditz laying back down again. 'Isn't that right, Tarble?' The boy didn't answer and Raditz laughed.

Suddenly a blue fur was dropped between Raditz and Bulma.

'Hey!' complained Raditz. Puar floated in the air above them, wearing an unimpressed expression. She threw a blanket down on top of the fur and settled herself on top of it.

'If that's Vegeta's bed he will not be pleased that you squished him in this narrow gap,' said Raditz.

'We'll see,' said Puar primly.

'Go find some other spot.'

'No.'

'Oh, yeah? Well I'm not asking you – I'm telling you. Clear off, fur ball.'

'I don't take orders from you,' said Puar. 'I barely take orders from Vegeta.'

'Fine,' said Raditz. He sat up and in a flash he had rolled Puar up in the fur like a squeaky salad wrap.

'Leave her alone!' cried Bulma and Goku together.

'Leave it, Raditz,' said Nappa. 'Let the Daemon wear the consequences. You'll only piss Vegeta off if it gets hurt.'

Sulkily Raditz unrolled Puar again and lay down once more and the group around the campfire coals fell quiet. Bulma knew she wouldn't be falling asleep very soon. She was too amped, anxious and uncomfortable to sleep. The forest was full of sounds…of twigs snapping, and noses snuffling, and boughs swaying. Looking up she saw a nearby treetop tremble violently for a second, its needles brushing together in a sigh.

'What was _that_?' she whispered.

'Just Brolly on sentry duty,' replied Raditz sleepily.

She felt a warm, silky weight on her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her sleeping bag before she realised it was Puar, snuggling close for comfort.

'Sorry,' whispered the cat.

It was not long before Goku and Krillin on her other side were whistling in their sleep. Bulma lay still, pretending to be asleep but actually listening to every tiny noise. Her eyes flew open when she heard footsteps in the grass. Vegeta stood over her.

'This is where you chose for me, Daemon?' he said quietly.

Puar uncurled from her shoulder and looked up at Vegeta defiantly, but said nothing.

'I told you!' whispered Raditz. 'Vegeta, I tried to tell it to pick a different spot, but it wouldn't listen.'

Bulma waited for Vegeta to pick up his fur and blanket, but instead he frowned down at the three of them, glancing back and forth between Bulma, Puar and Raditz.

'No,' he said eventually. 'Here will do.'

'Huh?' said Raditz, but found himself roughly elbowed aside by Vegeta as he took his place between them. Bulma felt her unease double. Now Vegeta of all people was practically pressed against her side as she was trapped between him and the sleeping Goku. Her heart started pounding in fear, suddenly very aware of the pouch still around her waist, in which the dragonball was hidden. While she was thinking these thoughts he turned to look at her, his fierce face so close to hers, and she panicked and looked up at the sky again. There was no way she was even going to close her eyes tonight, never mind fall asleep.

Nappa's snore started up with a sound like a two-man saw and didn't stop until dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I'm unhappy to report that a return to normal-to-heavy workload for me at work means that I'll have a lot less spare time to waste writing fics. Hopefully this doesn't mean I'll slow down posting this story, because I'll try not to get distracted by other writing, but you never know. A fan fiction author should never make any promises. I have the next two chaoters ready to roll, and currently chipping away at chapter 14.


	12. Under the Radar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A different kind of disclaimer: From time to time in this fic my characters are going to say and do things which I don't agree with, and I certainly wouldn't advise emulating this behaviour. Now I wouldn't normally bother to say this about Vegeta, Raditz and the other Saiyans, because as we all know, they are very naughty boys. BUT Bulma from time to time will also do stupid things, and as she's the main character and probably the one with whom the most people identify, and because I suspect I have a lot of readers who are young and perhaps even younger than Bulma's age despite the M rating on this fic (and hey, it's been very fun and light and fluffy so far, hasn't it?), I want to point out I think that not everything she does and says and thinks is wise or honourable. She is funny though :)
> 
> Author's Note: In celebration of sending chapter 14 off to be beta read, I give you chapter 12!

Bulma walked up the wooded valley wall to the ridge. The warmth of the mossy clearing was left behind her as she pushed forward through the cool, dark shadows and she shivered in her thin t-shirt. At the peak of the ridge the trees gave way to wind-flattened scrub and then bare rock. There was no soil up here for plants, and the wind bent twigs and stems and saplings to the ground.

She made her way to the very lip of the crag and looked down. The world spread before her in gloom, but the sun was breaching the horizon, just barely catching the distant sky scrapers of West City with its red glow. It was dawn. Or was it sunset? How odd that she couldn't remember. What was she doing up here anyway? The freezing wind was dragging at her clothes, buffeting around her, threatening to push her off the ridge again. Where were the others? Was she here all alone? She stared out across the world, this way and that, and was filled with panic by the creeping sensation that _no one_ was out there. No one alive, anyway. She was the last.

Then the half thrilling, half comforting phantom presence was with her again. He was familiar, and missed, and if he was there then she wasn't alone. She felt the warmth of a body behind her and she sighed in relief. He brushed against her shoulders as he came closer, then wrapped an arm around her middle, pulling her back against his chest. Bulma was surprised but delighted at the same time. He'd never done that before! For a long moment she just savoured the closeness of her friend and the tingle of excitement it gave her.

'Are you ready for a _really_ big adventure?' said Vegeta's voice.

Bulma's panic did a U-turn and came bursting back to the surface. No, not him! It couldn't be him! How could _Vegeta_ be her phantom?

'What adventure?' she squeaked as she felt his arm tighten around her waist. Her heart bounded with fear in her chest. Would she be able to break free of his grasp, or would trying just make him angry?

She felt him brush his face through the back of her hair.

'Bulma,' he breathed. 'Don't get scared now.'

At these words she screamed and attempted to throw him off, only to jerk back to consciousness on the hard ground, her face pressed into the smooth nylon of her sleeping bag.

She was lying with her back pressed right up against Goku. She knew immediately that she had only been dreaming, but more slowly came the realisation that something _was_ wrapped around her waist. Her eyes flew open, expecting to see Vegeta before her, but he was gone. Instead, Raditz lay on his side only about a foot away from her, propped up on his elbow and grinning down at her again.

'Good morning, my Lady,' he drawled softly. 'Sweet dreams?' Both his hands were in clear view. Bulma's own hand flew to her waist to grab whatever it was that was now stroking gently down her hip, and encountered a furry handful of some animal.

She screamed and grabbed hold of it, trying to pull it and throw it off her, but it pulled tight, clinging to something behind Raditz. Puar, Goku and Krillin all leapt to their feet with cries of shock, but Raditz went cross-eyed and crumpled face down on the ground as if he'd been shot dead. She screamed again and looked down at what she had in her hand – it was Raditz's tail.

The sounds of Vegeta, Tarble and Nappa's laughter shut her up.

'Raditz, you really are pathetic,' said Vegeta from where he stood, stirring the coals of the campfire with a stick. 'I can't believe you _still_ haven't overcome your sensitivity.'

'S-stoooop!' he moaned.

She dropped his tail and Raditz rolled away, getting to his feet.

'What was that for?' he yelled at her.

'I thought your tail belonged to a wild animal!' she told him, getting angry now too, especially at the eruption of more laughter from the other Saiyans.

'Guess what? I am a wild animal!' he said, barring his teeth at her in a full snarl - a truly frightening sight.

She got to her feet now too, backing up until she stood between Goku and Krillin, blushing because he scared her, and because she was embarrassed by her less-than-cool reaction to a mere creepy flirtation.

Raditz frowned as she backed away, and then stood straight again, attempting to smile though he still looked angry. 'I was just kidding,' he said. 'No harm, no foul, right?'

Warily, Bulma nodded agreement. Vegeta walked up to Raditz, looking up at the taller man with contempt.

'I think you got what you deserved, weakling,' he said. Now it was Raditz's turn to flush red. 'Go make yourself useful in the kitchen.'

'If you say so, Your Highness,' Raditz mumbled and stomped away.

* * *

That morning Bulma decided she'd had enough of the state of facilities on the spaceship and its inhabitants. She selected her one and only capsule house and opened it right there in the clearing.

'What in Hell?' yelped Nappa at the sight of the small domed building springing up from nothing but a capsule and a puff of smoke. Even Vegeta looked rattled.

'Just how much can you fit inside one of those capsule things?' he asked her.

'It depends on the capsule,' she told him. 'This is about the biggest size my father's company makes. There are plans to go bigger, but there are some scalability problems to overcome first.'

As she approached the red front door she realised that everyone was following her, and Vegeta was right on her heels.

'Who said _you_ could come in?'

'I don't need permission,' he said.

'Yes, you do,' she insisted and looked him straight in the eyes. She didn't want Saiyans in her house pawing her stuff. She wanted space and privacy from which she and the other Earthlings could plan their counter-move against Vegeta, and she wanted a shower in a nice, clean bathroom, damn it! 'This is _my_ house and I wish for some privacy. No one can come in here without my permission.'

'Is that so? How will you stop me?'

Her eyes flashed dangerously at him, but truthfully she was very close to backing down.

'I guess I can't. If you're that desperate to resume your spying on me...you know, watching me in the bathroom and going through my underwear, that kind of thing, I guess I can't stop you barging in to get your fix.'

Vegeta flinched and Nappa and Brolly both sniggered. Vegeta shot them a murderous glance over his shoulder and rounded on her again, patches of pink blossoming on his cheeks.

'You are...you are so uncouth, it disgusts me! I did no such thing!'

'Oh, didn't you? I _saw_ you rifling my underwear drawer.'

'Looking for my tail!'

'A likely story. Meanwhile you admitted to me you feasted your eyes on me as I slept in my bed at night.'

Vegeta made a choking sound. 'A man would starve to death if _you_ were the feast!' he said at last over the sound of suppressed laughter.

'I suppose you and your men can't help yourself,' she sighed. 'I _am_ hard to resist.'

'You're delusional!' shouted Vegeta, now red from hairline to collar.

'Then why are you so determined to come inside?'

'For the sake of curiosity! But if you insist on interpreting it as some unpalatable interest in _you_ – I will refrain.'

'What about your men? I don't want any of them wandering in while I'm getting changed or using the bathroom either.'

Vegeta wheeled away from her. 'Nappa, Brolly! No one is to enter the girl's house. That is my order! Brolly, go find Raditz and tell him at once.' He strode away, obviously furious, Puar looking sadly back at her from Vegeta's shoulder.

'Puar is welcome!' she yelled after them.

She saw Puar say something in Vegeta's ear, and he reached up to take her roughly in his hand. 'No!' he snapped, striding off with the cat dangling at his side.

'Hey!' yelled Bulma, seeing this. She ran after them. 'Stop that! You'll hurt her! She's only a cat!'

Goku and Krillin rushed either side of her to back her up, though Krillin gulped audibly when Vegeta turned to face them. His thick brows were pulled down into a thunderous scowl.

'Fine,' he said, releasing Puar with a negligent flick of his wrist. 'The cat can visit you in your house. And then it will tell me all that transpires within, or I'll crush its little skull.'

Bulma was left speechless with fear while Vegeta glared directly at her, and then he turned again, disappearing out of sight around the curve of the spaceship.

'What an evil prick,' she said at last.

A trembling Puar collapsed on top of Goku's head and said, 'Thank you, Bulma.'

'Can _we_ come inside your house, Bulma?' asked Goku.

'Of course! And Krillin too. Follow me,'

She glanced at Nappa as she led the boys and Puar through the door. He was glowering at her. _He's probably pissed that he's not allowed to spy on me and sniff my undies like he did yesterday_ , she told herself. Well, he wasn't going to get a chance to try it again, because she wasn't going to leave the house uncapsulated while she wasn't around.

* * *

The daemon was vexing.

Vegeta ate the slop Raditz served up in silent annoyance. He liked his new toy, but it was not behaving itself as it should. Perhaps, after they left this planet and all its friends, it would fall into line.

Nappa righted a chair and sat next to Vegeta with his own breakfast.

'Those brats are almost certainly plotting against your purposes in that house, Your Highness,' he said.

Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement. The girl was vexing too. He'd found it almost impossible to sleep last night. She fidgeted, refusing to fall asleep herself, and her scent was more than distracting. He'd had to restrain himself all night from pinning her down and telling her to lie still and sleep already. Refusing to let him in her silly little house seemed to be calculated to piss him off, and the mouth on her! A muscle jumped in his cheek as his unsatisfied rage sought a way out of his body. He tried to remind himself that the irritation she presented would soon be behind them when they left here. Still, he wished she would be more co-operative. If she were, she could still be useful to him even in space. Despite all the doubt he expressed over her talents, he'd seen enough of them to think that she might make a decent mechanic if she had the time to learn to read and study the material on the ship's computers. He entertained a brief fantasy in which they cruised through space, free from technical issues; the solar cells charging properly, the drink dispenser on the chiller working, the holographic centrepiece not stuck on screensaver and the girl at the stove in the evening, cooking up something better that what Raditz was capable of, or (he shuddered) one of the others.

Ridiculous. He pushed it from his mind. There was no way he was taking a female into space, especially one that was so argumentative and downright defiant. She'd drive him mad, disrupt the peace and probably steal a space pod to get home again. Still, she had pulled Raditz's tail very nicely and that _had_ been very funny.

'I'm not too worried about what schemes children are hatching behind closed doors,' he told Nappa. 'However cunning they attempt to be, we outmatch them outrageously.'

'Well, if you're not worried, I won't worry either, Vegeta. After all, it's not _my_ wish at stake.'

'Hmm.' Vegeta noted the caution. 'We won't leave them to their devices long. Just so you know,' he added. 'The girl misquoted me. I certainly never said that "I feasted my eyes on her" as she slept.'

'Of course, Your Highness.'

'I didn't do any of the filthy things she mentioned. I'm not remotely interested in her. That's all in her head.'

Nappa grunted. 'It doesn't matter one way or the other to me.'

Vegeta looked up at the face of his second, who continued to eat, his face neutral and his eyes on his food. He caught a belligerent glance from Raditz in the kitchen, although Brolly continued wiping the dishes, oblivious.

'It matters to _me_ ,' said Vegeta. 'It matters to me that you know I am not as low-minded and perverted as _you_ are.'

Raditz turned away with a scowl and Nappa rolled his eyes and huffed with long suffering.

'Something to say, Nappa?' Vegeta said icily.

'Give it a rest, Vegeta. Who cares what you do with yourself? Who's to know?'

'When we have coaxed the Saiyan race from the edge of extinction, and I am, at last, King, I will be the only one of you untainted by perversion.'

'Which is completely irrelevant! Who cares? Before the planet was destroyed Saiyans were "tainting" themselves left, right and centre. You come from a race of opportunistic alien-shaggers.'

'Says the man who'll take almost anything and anyone! How convenient that our font of all Saiyan knowledge can justify his every action? Only you can't! Maybe _your_ bloodlines dabbled in corruption, but not mine! I can't believe an elite would have so little self respect.'

Nappa's face clouded over, but instead of answering back he picked up his plate and started walking away. Vegeta watched him leave down the ramp and considered calling him back, but then Tarble came skipping out of the bathroom and over to hover by Vegeta's elbow.

'What is it?' Vegeta asked.

'Do you think I could come with you when you search for the gems today, Prince Vegeta?'

Vegeta eyed him coldly. 'Why would I let you do that? Last time Nappa and I took you anywhere you let yourself be knocked out cold. We had to carry your unconscious body for an hour. You were worse than useless on that occasion.'

Tarble's mouth turned down. 'I didn't know how strong those Gordorian war-camels could kick – I'd never heard of them before that day. But you said yourself that there's nothing on this planet that could worry us. Please, Vegeta! We're going to be leaving soon and I haven't seen anything outside this valley yet.'

Vegeta sighed. He supposed that Tarble needed to toughen up and rub this naivety from his eyes somehow, and though Earth was unlikely to do that, he couldn't think of a softer starting place. The boy was practically as soft as an Earthling himself.

'Very well,' he told him, making Tarble's face transform with delight. 'Get a hold of yourself! Besides, I have a task for you.'

* * *

Bulma was sitting at the small dining table with her wet hair bound in a towel turban, munching through a bowl of almond and cashew cluster crunch muesli while Puar gulped a glass of milk and Krillin stuffed yesterday's mud splattered clothes and pyjamas into the washing machine. Goku wandered in from the bathroom still drying himself with his towel.

'Bulma, where are those clothes you said you had for me?' he asked.

'I'll get them in a minute,' she replied.

'Dude!' exclaimed Krillin. 'Cover up!'

Puar choked on her milk, so Bulma looked over to see what she was looking at. 'Goku, will you never learn?' she cried.

'What?' said Goku, busily drying every crevice of his behind with the towel while everything else bobbled free upfront.

'I'll get you the clothes right now,' said Bulma, abandoning her breakfast.

* * *

Once Goku was dressed in one of Bulma's smallest T-shirts and most unisex styled shorts (belted tight so that they didn't fall from his hips) they gathered around the table to talk.

'So Vegeta still hasn't said what he thinks he'll wish for?' asked Bulma.

Puar shook her head. 'I don't know if he's going to let anything slip, Bulma. He doesn't really chat or talk about important stuff with the other Saiyans when I'm around.'

'Damn it,' she said. 'Perhaps you can suggest things to him? See if he's open to an acceptable wish?'

'I already told him to wish that the space pirate is defeated,' said Puar doubtfully. 'I'll try again though.'

'Something tells me that Vegeta is just going to do whatever he feels is best for Vegeta,' said Krillin.

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the sugar pot in the middle of the table.

'So, I guess we need to have a plan to take things into our own hands,' said Bulma finally. 'We have to wrest the control away from him and the other Saiyans.'

'How?' asked Goku.

'I don't know yet…' she admitted. 'I've got a few ideas-'

A knock sounded at the door, causing them all to jump in fright.

Slowly, Bulma made her way to the door and opened it. Tarble stood outside.

'May I come in?' he asked politely.

He was such an innocent, sweet looking boy she was tempted to say yes, but she reminded herself that he _was_ one of Vegeta's "men" if not his brother.

'Sorry, Tarble, we were just about to pack up,' she lied.

Tarble looked rather deflated. 'Okay then.'

She closed the door and started back to the table when there was another knock. Frowning and half expecting Tarble again, she returned to the door and opened it.

'That's enough time wasting,' said Vegeta. 'Come out.'

Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin with guilty surprise. 'Gosh, you're so rude, you know!' she complained, blushing slightly at having their plotting interrupted by the very person they were plotting about. 'I was just about to get my equipment out to search for the next dragonball. I'll be out in a few minutes when I have some idea where it is.'

'Hurry,' was all he said as she closed the door on him. She had the distinct feeling that he didn't move away from the door – that he was just standing there, right outside, waiting.

'Jerk,' she whispered, as she sat back down at the table, getting the radar out and searching around. The next closest ball was on a different continent. She got out her map too, trying to work out what was ten thousand kilometres away in a South-South-Easterly direction.

'Shit.'

'What is it?' asked Krillin.

'I think it's in South City. Right in the centre of South City. And we'll be taking these goons there.'

'I don't trust them not to hurt people who happen to be in the way,' said Goku. 'Do you think they'll let us go in by ourselves and get it, like we did yesterday?'

'I hope so,' she said quietly. 'Maybe if they did, we could come up with some way of…keeping the ball for ourselves, or at least time to come up with a plan.'

Another knock at the door sounded, so forcefully that the glasses in the cupboard tinkled against each other.

'Have you finished yet?'

* * *

Outside in the sun all the Saiyans stood waiting.

'Where, then?' said Vegeta.

'It's almost on the other side of the planet,' she told them. 'It's going to take all day to get there.'

'We'll just move the ship,' said Vegeta.

'Okay!' she said, momentarily excited by the thought of flying in a space ship. 'But we can't just fly the ship right up to it. It's in the middle of the second largest city on Earth. People will see.'

'We will get as close as is wise, then continue on foot.'

'There's something else,' she said. 'It's a highly populated area. If you want to keep your low profile, perhaps you should let me, Krillin and Goku go in to get it.'

Vegeta levelled a shrewd gaze at her. 'Is that so?' He looked around their little group. 'Daemon,' he said. 'Come here.'

Puar gulped and returned to Vegeta's side.

'Daemon, tell me, what did you four do inside the house? Were you scheming? Conspiring? Thwarting my plans?'

'N-no,' said Puar.

An icy grin spread across Vegeta's face. 'No,' he said, turning back to the others. 'Today I think we shall stick together, Earthling and Saiyan, working as one.'

 _Oh no_ , Bulma wailed internally. 'But…what about your low profile?"

'We will be discrete, and kill the witnesses.'

'No!' the Earthlings all cried.

'We can't have our likenesses, names or uniforms recalled by Earthlings after we're gone. Frieza will know we've been here.'

'Look,' said Bulma, 'even supposing that Frieza _did_ come here, you don't have to kill everyone who meets you! The chances of Frieza finding the few people who saw you out of the billions on the planet are very low, and all you have to do to lower them to nothing is go in disguise, don't fly or blow anything up, or display superhuman strength, and use codenames.'

'Hobble ourselves down to your level, you mean?'

'Yes,' she said, ignoring the insulting tone. 'When on Earth, do as the Earthlings.'

Bulma looked around the group. Raditz looked like he was considering it, Nappa raised his brows in derision, Brolly looked politely disinterested, but Tarble looked downright excited. Vegeta held his chin in one hand while he pondered.

'How tedious,' he said.

'It could be interesting, Your Highness!' said Tarble.

'Very well, we'll try it your way,' Vegeta said to Bulma. 'But if it takes too long we're switching back to my way. Disguises and _codenames_ , for fuck's sake!'

'If we're thinking up codenames,' said Krillin nervously. 'Mine could be Warrior Monk!'

Raditz and Nappa snorted with laughter at this suggestion.

'That's a bit ostentatious, Krillin,' said Bulma casting her eye over the seven motley males around her. 'I know!'

First she pointed to Tarble. 'Bashful.'

Then Brolly. 'Sleepy.'

Vegeta. 'Grumpy!'

Raditz. 'Happy.'

Krillin: 'Doc.'

Goku. 'Dopey. Sorry Goku, someone's got to be Dopey.'

And lastly Nappa. She made a face. 'Ugly.'

Nappa scowled. 'And what do we call you? Bitch?'

She glared back at him. 'I'd prefer Snow White, if you don't mind. It's in theme.'

'I don't care for your theme,' said Vegeta. 'We'll have code names that everyone will remember to use if we use them at all.' He began his own labelling.

To Tarble, 'Runt!'

To Brolly, 'Freak.'

To Goku, 'Dopey fits, that can stay.'

To Raditz, 'Creep.'

To Krillin, 'Baldie.'

To Nappa, 'Bully.'

And to Bulma, 'Bimbo.'

'Bimbo!' she screeched. 'Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?' Krillin flinched at Bulma's uncommon use of the four letter word.

Vegeta gave her a glittering, malicious smile in return. 'How about Harpy?'

'Screw you Vegeta!' she cried, her temper slipping her grasp. She knew she should probably rein herself in, but something about Vegeta pushed all her buttons. Oh man, she wanted to slap him so hard! 'And what should we call you?' she spat, taking a step forward to get in his face, and getting even angrier when she saw that this only made his grin grow wider. 'Wise Master? Divine Leader?'

'If you must.'

'How about Short Stuff?' suggested Nappa.

The gloating smile was shocked right off Vegeta's face, and he rounded on Nappa. 'I _hate_ that nickname, Nappa! I thought I told you I never wanted to hear it again!'

'I know, but it will be easy for me and Raditz to remember, because we used to call you that when you were little.'

'Yeah, like this morning,' muttered Raditz, although Vegeta seemed to miss it under the sound of Krillin and Goku snorting with laughter.

'Laugh again and you'll be checking out the regeneration tank from the inside!' Vegeta roared at them.

'Calm down, Short Stuff!' teased Bulma.

He wheeled back round to her and lifted a single finger, his face trembling with rage. Bulma gulped and regretted that last needling.

'Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean it!'

'Grumpy fits too,' said Goku glibly, deflecting Vegeta's fury onto himself. Without warning, Vegeta launched a kick right at Goku's gut, but Goku was anticipating it and leapt nimbly over his leg. Vegeta caught him on the way back down though, with a back handed slap to his face that sent Goku tumbling through the air for a few metres. Bulma was ready to run to him, but when Goku righted himself, shaking his head, his grin seemed to say the insult was worth the price he paid.

'Fine, whatever, I'll be Grumpy!' shouted Vegeta. 'What the fuck does it matter anyway? Stupid fucking codenames…This is moronic.' He gave Bulma a vicious glare and then said to the rest of them, 'If anyone screws up and gives the real name of Nappa, Raditz or I, or says the word "Saiyan" in front of an Earthling, that Earthling dies. No arguments!'

Krillin, Bulma and Goku exchanged glances. Vegeta sounded like he meant it.

* * *

They all made their way to the flight deck for takeoff. Raditz sat in one pilot's chair while Vegeta sat in the other with his arms crossed, Puar balanced along the headrest above him.

'Right,' said Raditz, pressing buttons and bringing the console to life. A holographic representation of the terrain around the ship sprang up next to them, the ship represented as a little red disk.

'Airlocks sealed, doorway closed…fusion drive charging…and…' he grasped the stick in front of him, pulling it up, 'Lift off!'

The ship rose gently into the air, as quiet and as smooth as a hot air balloon, but much faster, until the entirety of the valley spread below them. Startled deer near the ridge panicked and bounded for cover, but the ship kept ascending, and more than that, it kept accelerating. The press of gravity on Bulma's feet grew more and more. Krillin and Goku pressed closer to the window to watch as the valley became a range below them, and then mountains came into view and plains on the other side, but when Bulma tried to move to join them her knees buckled.

'Woah,' she said, finding herself embarrassingly on all fours. Vegeta threw her an unconcerned look.

'I feel heavy,' said Goku.

'Me too,' agreed Krillin, bouncing on the spot to test his weight.

Bulma couldn't see the ground from where she was, but she could see the dome above her change from sky blue, to deep blue to black. The stars came out around them.

'All right,' said Raditz as the G-forces eased. 'We're out of the atmosphere. Which way, my Lady?'

'Would you stop calling her that?' said Vegeta. 'It's really getting on my nerves.'

'…Bimbo?' Raditz tried.

'No one is calling me Bimbo!' Bulma roared, getting to her feet. Vegeta smiled in the face of her anger. 'I don't really need a codename anyway. It's you that needs the codenames, Grumpy! Or should I say, Short Stuff?'

'The _two_ of you are really testing me now!' snarled Vegeta, his smile all gone again. 'My codename will be Victor! There, it shouldn't be too hard to remember.'

'Victor is an actual name as well,' Puar commented. 'It will draw less attention. Maybe you should all have proper Earth names?'

'Maybe we should, because I don't like _Creep_ ,' complained Raditz.

'How about Randy, then?' suggested Krillin with a snigger.

Raditz looked off into the stars, considering. 'Is that an Earthling name? Yeah, that has a ring about it. Randy…'

People turned to look at Nappa, but he shrugged and said 'I'm fine with Bully.'

'I think you should have an Earthling name too, for the sake of inconspicuousness,' said Vegeta. The Earthlings puzzled for a minute. Nando was the best they could come up with.

'Nando it is,' said Vegeta. 'Girl, where are we going?'

Bulma was so disorientated that she had to use the dragon radar to find the direction. Tentatively she pointed across Raditz. 'That way. I'll let you know when we've gone far enough.'

'Okay. Engaging gravity simulation, and off we go.'

Suddenly Bulma was crushed to the ground. She crashed to her knees between the two pilot seats and then, with a terrified squeal she was pulled further until her chin banged into the floor and she was flat on her face. Goku and Krillin went down too with cries of surprise, while Puar was flattened on the headrest with a gasp and a meow.

'Help!' shrieked Bulma.

'Are you _serious_?' said Vegeta.

'She's about as robust as a cream puff,' chuckled Nappa.

Bulma screamed in frustration and fear. 'Whatever's happening, make it stop!'

'It's just the gravity simulator,' said Raditz. 'I can't turn it off while we're flying. We'd be thrown all around the cabin! Look, Kakarott and the bald kid are up.'

'This feels so weird,' she heard Krillin say.

'Does the spaceship make us heavier?' asked Goku.

'Get up, Girl,' said Vegeta close by her. He was leaning over towards her. 'This can't be more than two or three times your planet's gravity. Even _you_ should be able to withstand it.'

Almost weeping with frustration Bulma put her leaden hands under her and tried to push up. 'I can't!' She got herself a few inches from the ground, her arms shaking with the effort, and brought a knee underneath her to try and push up more. Suddenly she felt a hand hook her under the armpit and lift her, painfully, upright. 'Ow, ow!'

Vegeta was holding her, an expression of exasperation on his face. Bulma burst into tears.

'This is ho-horrible,' she sobbed out. 'I hurt! I can't breathe properly!' She panicked, feeling how heavy her chest was, her own weight pressing down on her. 'I can't- I can't breathe!'

'You can breathe,' said Vegeta. 'I can see you breathing.'

'It's so hard!' she said. Goku and Krillin, shuffled closer.

'Bulma, what's wrong?' asked Goku.

'I'm suffocating!'

'No, you're not,' Vegeta told her, giving her a little shake. 'You're panicking. Stop it!'

'I'm not! I'm _dying_!'

Vegeta growled in irritation. 'Stop the craft and turn the gravity sim off, Raditz.'

'You mean _off_ off? You realise we're in geostationary orbit?'

'Yes.'

In a sudden and disconcerting moment, all the weight was gone from Bulma. _All_ of it. Her stomach fluttered as the contents no longer formed a weight to hold it down. She had the horrible sensation that she was falling though they all stayed still.

'What?' cried Goku. He'd managed to launch himself from the floor with just the power of his surprise. 'I'm not even flying! Why am I _floating_?'

Krillin had turned green, and after stepping forward was now struggling to maintain his upright posture as he bumped into the back of Vegeta's chair and his heels lifted in to the air. He knocked Puar free from the headrest, and with a frightened mewl she tumbled head over tail until she bumped into the glass dome above them.

'Is this weightlessness?' said Krillin. 'I feel sick.'

'Urgh, yes,' muttered Nappa, who looked quite uncomfortable himself.

Bulma was starting to come off the ground. The only thing keeping her there had been Vegeta's grip, but now he was beginning to float a few inches out of his seat.

'Turn the gravity back on, very slowly,' Vegeta instructed Raditz. With a soft bump and a bit of a bounce they all landed back on seats and the floor. 'Try and approximate Earth's gravity.'

Bulma shakily stood up as the world began to feel more like what she was used to. She sniffed and wiped away the tear that had formed. 'You should have checked before slamming on some kind of gravity simulation!'

Vegeta clenched his jaw and stared back at her. 'I do believe I just made things more comfortable for you, frail Earthling. So SHUT UP!'

Nappa shook his head. 'The concessions you're making for these Earthlings!'

'You shut the fuck up too, Nappa! It's a short trip, get over it!'

* * *

They landed a good thirty kilometres from the outskirts of South City. Bulma was surprised by the new line-up today. It seemed like Raditz and Brolly were the ones staying with the ship. Brolly would play sentry outside while Raditz maintained radio contact with the others and scanned for space traffic. The rest of them walked over some farmland until they got to the nearest road. Bulma got out the capsule she'd already decided they were going to use – it was a camper van, meant to be a back up should she lose her capsule house somehow during an adventure (hey, it'd happened before, and it paid to be prepared), but it was the only vehicle she had that was large enough to hold five small people and one massive one. It also had the advantage of privacy in the back if the curtains were closed. She convinced Tarble, Nappa and Vegeta to sit in the back, with Goku to point things out the window and entertain them while she drove them into town. Krillin held the radar for her and gave her directions as they made their way. It was rather difficult and slow, motorway off ramps and interchanges being what they were.

'Grr! I should have loaded maps directly onto the dragonradar when I made it,' she griped as she realised that this last exit had turned her around and they were now going in the opposite direction that they needed to.

'What are you doing?' said Tarble brightly from behind her. Both Krillin and Bulma started at his words. They hadn't noticed he was there.

'Just…getting closer to the Dragonball,' she replied.

'Vegeta wants to know what's taking so long.'

'Traffic,' she replied flatly.

'Okay,' he said. 'What does the beeping mean?' he said, nodding at the radar in Krillin's hands.

'Nothing,' said Krillin at the same time as Bulma said 'It's very complicated and hard to explain.'

'Is it?' said Tarble. 'Because I was watching you just now, and it kind of seems like it might be a kind of proximity locator, which I've used before, and they're quite simple.'

'Ah, well, I can see how you might think that,' blustered Bulma, 'but you'd be wrong.'

'Oh. Okay.'

Goku appeared next to Tarble.

'Goku, can you take Tarble into the back again, it's very distracting having too many people up front,' she said. Goku's eyes sliced over to the radar.

'Okay, Bulma. Come on,' said he to Tarble, who looked very reluctant to go. 'I bet there are snacks in the kitchen! Bulma always has snacks hidden somewhere.'

She pulled up at the edge of a central city park, opposite a wide, squat, glass-fronted building she was mildly familiar with. Zapp Industries HQ. The radar appeared to confirm it. About 50 metres or so into the building was a dragonball. She zoomed in to make sure, and then her heart leapt in her throat. She leaned over to Krillin and whispered very quietly in his ear, 'There are _two_ dragonballs here!' Krillin didn't have time to do anything more than open his eyes wide in surprise before the curtains into the back of the camper van parted and Vegeta stepped through, Puar on his shoulder and Tarble on his heel.

'Are we here?'

'Yes,' she replied. 'Look, I know you want us to be doing this Earthling and Saiyan, hand in hand, but I know this place. It's the company headquarters for one of my father's competitors, but my father is buying them out. I've been inside once before. Maybe if I tell them who I am, they'll just _give_ me the dragonball?'

Vegeta stared her in the eye a moment before saying, 'All right. You will go in alone, and return here.'

Bulma nodded. This would be perfect. She would get two dragonballs, but hand over only one, and Vegeta would be none the wiser.

She crossed he road, wishing she was wearing something a bit more businessy than shorts and singlet, and walked into reception with her head held high.

Zapp Industries had a beautiful reception area, with water flowing over a textured glass backdrop behind the main desk, and light flooding in from a garden courtyard beyond. Leather couches and coffee tables formed a waiting area, and doors lead off in either direction, guarded by security and accessed with key cards. Employees were coming and going through these, forming a nearly constant dribble of traffic in and out of the building.

'Good morning, and how may I help you?' asked one of the two women manning the desk.

'Hi, I was hoping to see Dr Plum,' she said, reaching for the only name she could remember from Zapp Industries. Dr Plum was the head of research, and Bulma had met him once at a conference.

'Do you have an appointment?' asked the woman doubtfully.

'I don't have an appointment, but I was in the area. I know him.'

'Are you a relative?'

'No…I'm Bulma Briefs.'

The woman cocked her head. 'One moment. Let me contact his office.' She pressed some buttons and then spoke into the headset she was wearing. 'This is main reception. I have one "Bulma Briefs" here, saying that she would like to speak to Dr Plum…Yup…' There was a long pause, and then the woman moved herself over to a screen and began typing. 'That's her…Could you put the call through?…Thanks.' There was another long pause where all the woman did was glance up and down between her screen and Bulma and type furiously. 'Understood,' she said at last.

The call evidently ended and the woman looked back up at Bulma with a false smile.

'Dr Plum has a very busy schedule and if you would like an appointment I invite you to make an appointment online.'

'Well, if he's busy, could I talk to someone else, like, someone _important_ and high up?'

'All appointments can be made through our online appointment card system.'

'But I need to speak to someone _right now_.'

'That won't be possible Miss Briefs.'

'You do realise that my father is going to own this company very soon?' Bulma said. Suddenly she caught sight of movement from both sides of her, and looking either way she saw security guards closing in on her. 'Oh, you've got to be kidding!' she said.

'Yes, I'm aware of your connection to Capsule Corporation,' said the woman, 'but the CEO tells me that Zapp Industries are unable to entertain Capsule Corporation employees at this delicate stage of negotiations.'

'I'm not a mere employee!' Bulma snapped, looking back and forth between the two security guards.

'Are you ready to exit the building quietly, Miss?' asked the one on her right.

She took a close look at his name tag. 'Well, I guess so, _Willy!_ ' She then peered over the edge of the desk to see read the name tag of the receptionist. 'See you around, _Miranda!_ ' And then she stomped back out the front doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Kind of an abrupt ending, I know, but this used to be one with the following chapter and I decided to snip them. So, what do you think? Still reading? Think you know what's going to happen?
> 
> I've known several Randys. They were all American. Randy sounds like a funny name for people who live in English speaking countries where 'randy' is mostly used as an alternative word for 'horny'. Like a kid, I have to make an effort not to laugh when they introduce themselves 'Hi, I'm Randy!' Sorry to any Randys reading this :( Yeah, and I know that I recently used the same name for an original character in Monkey Business. when I realised that it was the perfect name for here too I could've kicked myself, but Monkey business was already posted.


	13. Trust and Tricksters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay, so I decided to realease the next chapter even though I told myself I'd finish writing chapeter 15 first. I just can't leave well enough alone. Also, I have discovered my first inconsistency. No one else has mentioned it yet, so I'm going to sneak quietly back and alter the faulty utterance, and then if people think to themselves, "Really? But in chapter 2 he said this, and that doesn't match," and then go back and check they will never find it and think they're going crazy. It's only something minor. I did write and post the first 2 chapters for a challenge deadline before I'd worked out much of the story, so there's my excuse.

'Round two!' announced Bulma.

It was two hours later and she was sitting at the table in the camper van with her laptop. She had managed (eventually) to hack the wifi from Zapp Industries and now she was perusing their project files as well as a hazard map and evacuation plan for the building. She had also made a trip to the nearest electronics shop and returned with a handful of cheap hearing aids and a radio transceiver, which she'd rewired into a DIY communication system controlled from her laptop. She handed one of these to Puar, one to Vegeta, one to Goku and kept one for herself.

'Are we ready?' she asked the others. They nodded, serious expressions on their faces, all except for Nappa, who punched one fist into his other palm and grinned. She gulped. This was her first ever conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and she prayed that it didn't turn into her first case of being an accessory to murder. Vegeta, Nappa and Tarble were dressed in ill-fitting clothes that Krillin had bought for them. Vegeta had black jeans that slouched at his ankles because they were too long, and a navy blue shirt with white pinstripes that he'd thrown on over his usual blue shirt, not even bothering to button it. He'd half throttled Krillin when the poor kid tried to do up the red tie on him. Nappa was in the light grey sweatpants that Krillin said were the largest pants he could find, and still they were too short, only just reaching the top of his black boots. On his top he wore a purple tie-died mumu that strained to conceal muscles and a tail rather than rolls of fat; and over all of it a brown poncho. Bulma thought he looked like a homeless person on steroids. Tarble's clothes fit the best, being children's blue jeans with elastic on the waistband at the back, and a red hooded sweatshirt. If it weren't for the tail wrapped around his waist he'd look just like any other little kid.

Puar, Nappa and Vegeta piled out the back door to take their position in the alley slightly down the road to wait for their prey. A Pizzaria and a Kebab shop flanked either side of the ally, acting as bait. As they left Bulma had misgivings.

'Krillin, go with them and make sure they don't end up killing whoever we pick,' she said.

'Me?' protested Krillin. 'What am _I_ going to do that would stop them?'

'I don't know, but you could try!'

'I think that Vegeta will _try_ not to kill anyone,' said Tarble as Krillin jumped out the back door of the van. 'But not that hard.'

'Maybe you should go with them too?' Bulma suggested again.

'No. I'm staying here like Vegeta ordered,' he said, sitting more firmly in the seat next to her.

 _Drat_ , she thought, exchanging a glance with Goku. Still, she had prepared for the possibility that she wouldn't be able to slip the Saiyan leash. Twitching the curtain she saw that the four were passing the door of the Zapp building. Before they were completely out of sight she activated the radio transceiver and put her own earpiece in. Opening all channels she said, 'Testing the comms, can you all respond, please?'

'Yes,' came Vegeta's gruff response, then Puar's high-pitched 'Affirmative!' and then Goku looking wide-eyed at her across the table.

'Wow, it's like your voice is in my ear!'

'That's the idea, dummy!'

Then she closed all the channels for transmitting except Puar's.

'Puar, can you hear me?'

'Yes, Bulma. Did you not hear me before?'

'Just making sure.'

Trying not to look at Tarble, Bulma brought up a text-to-speech program on the laptop. She made sure the speakers on the laptop were muted and then typed a message just for Puar. Thank god the Saiyans couldn't read their writing!

 _Puar, can you hear this? Just say okay if you can_ , she wrote and then hit enter.

A second later came Puar's hesitant 'Okay?'

_Puar, this is a text to speech program that I'm using so that Tarble can't overhear what I'm communicating to you. You need to know that there are two dragonballs in the building. I want you to find both of them, but not let the Saiyans know about the second one. Say "I'm nervous" if you understand._

After a long pause she heard Puar repeat 'I'm nervous,' and the distant comment from Nappa, relayed through Vegeta and Puar's earpieces saying 'I can't believe we're relying on a _pet_ for something this important.'

'It's not a pet, it's a shape-shifting Daemon,' insisted Vegeta.

 _Okay Puar. Once you're inside I'm going to shield your line from Vegeta so that he can't hear what you're saying. You'll be able to talk freely_ , she wrote.

'Good good, it's all working,' she said aloud.

She heard a very odd puffing explosion across the channel.

'How do I look?' Puar asked.

'Huh,' said Vegeta. 'I guess that'll do.'

'Hey, keep your hands to yourself!' cried the cat.

'What?' she heard Nappa say more distantly. 'I'm just testing how real the illusion feels! I don't know why you don't go around looking like that all the time, Daemon.'

'Because I'm a cat, and I like being a cat!'

'Just sayin'. I can suddenly see how useful a shapeshifting servant might be.' He gave a dirty chuckle. 'The possibilities for entertainment are endless!'

Puar gasped and Vegeta growled.

'What?' Nappa protested. 'Space is big and boring and lonely. Probably this timid thing would make a better plaything than that blue-haired shrew.'

'What!' erupted Bulma over the com link. 'Tell that asshole, in his dreams!'

'Nappa,' said Vegeta, 'shut your filthy mouth. The blue-haired shrew can hear what you're saying, and there's no way I'm taking her into space or letting you despoil my daemon.'

Bulma's face was red with impotent anger.

'What's going on?' asked Tarble.

'Your friend Nappa is a jerk,' said Goku, who had heard everything.

'Hmm,' said Tarble. 'I wouldn't call him a friend.'

Bulma cut off the communications from her and Goku's channels and added, 'So is your dick of a prince.'

'He's not always so bad,' said Tarble defensively. 'You just have to do what he says, not make any mistakes, and keep on the right side of him.'

'And what about Nappa?' she asked.

'I don't think he _has_ a right side. If you don't want to be bullied by Nappa…I think you have to be Vegeta.'

'You don't seem like the others, so much,' said Goku. 'Why do you even hang around with these bastards?'

Tarble shrugged unhappily. 'It's the only place in the universe that I fit.'

'But you _don't,_ ' Goku insisted.

'Yes I do!' Tarble retorted. 'I'm still learning how to be one of them, but I am! More than you are!'

'I not saying I am,' said Goku, unphased by Tarble's outburst. 'But I'm not trying to be either.'

Bulma listened to this exchange and felt some sympathy for Tarble. The poor kid didn't seem to have much choice about his companions.

'Hey, boys, I'm going to turn our com links back on. If you talk, they'll hear you.'

Once she had done that they turned their attention to watching the front doors of the building. As it was lunchtime it was not long before suitable prey presented itself.

'White haired man, grey pants, white shirt, blue pullover coming towards you!' she crowed. 'I think I recognise him, and he sure looks like a lab-dweller!'

'We see him,' said Vegeta.

'I hope he's a pizza guy and not a kebab guy!' she said as the man neared the Lebanese eatery. To her relief he passed it, but was immediately brought up short by a beautiful young woman who stumbled out of the alleyway. The short dress she wore looked painted on. Puar wasn't taking any chances.

'Excuse me,' she heard Puar's little voice say. 'You don't have a moment, do you? I have a scooter and it fell over. I'm afraid I can't pick it up by myself in these heels. You look like a kind man who might lend me a hand.'

'Oh!' Bulma heard faintly. 'Sure. Where is it?'

'Just down this way,' said Puar, leading him into the alley where Bulma lost sight of them. 'Behind this dumpster.'

'What the- OH!'

Bulma cringed as the sounds of an altercation came over the radio. 'Remember, try not to hurt him!'

'Hey, hey, easy now!' she heard Krillin saying.

'We've got him bound, gagged and a bag over his head,' said Vegeta a moment later. 'Daemon, here's the access card, the gem and the watch. Are you ready?'

'Ready, Veg- I mean, Victor.'

Vegeta chuckled. 'Close call there. Now go get me a dragonball, _pet_.'

What appeared to be the white-haired scientist strode out of the alleyway again, examining the access card. 'I seem to be Dr Clovis Nutmegger,' Puar said.

'Okay, Puar,' Bulma acknowledged, getting out her dragon radar. That part had been the most difficult to arrange – getting Vegeta to give Puar his dragonball so that Bulma could track the cat and direct her to the other dragonballs. When she'd explained why, Vegeta had seen the reason, but he also knew that _she_ had a dragonball and wanted her to cough up hers to use as a tracking aid. 'The one I collected is back in the ship,' she had lied.

'So is mine,' he had countered. 'Where is yours? I will have Brolly find it and bring it to us.'

'He could fetch yours instead,' she replied lightly.

'I forget where I put it. Let him find yours instead.'

Sweating, Bulma was very glad she had the dragonball on her. 'I put it in a capsule in my bag of extra capsules,' she lied.

'Which one?'

'I can't remember. I'd know it if I saw it.'

Vegeta had held the clunky radio communicator to his lips. 'I will have Brolly open each one.'

'I wouldn't advise that,' she warned. 'Some of those capsules hold a lot of stuff. If you open the wrong one you'll make your ship explode.'

Vegeta's face grew thunderous, losing the false casualness. 'So we must waste the time to return to the ship for you to find it?'

'Looks that way, doesn't it?'

He growled at her, narrowing his eyes in an unpleasant way and then reached into the same small, black shoulder satchel that he had been carrying the radio unit in and produced the dragonball.

'You lied!' she exclaimed reaching for it.

He snatched it out of reach. 'So I did. You're not touching it. I will give it to my Daemon when the time comes, and not before.' Then his eyes had slid to the bag tied around her waist and a hard smile curved his lips. 'Maybe you lied too?'

'I never lie!' she had said, and turned away, feigning offence though her heart beat wildly in fear.

Now she watched Puar's dragonball blink its way across the radar to towards the other two. Dammit, she could really do with Tarble not breathing down her neck.

'Just walk with confidence, Puar. When you reach the lobby, turn left and march straight towards the glass security door, past the guard. Hold the card over the reader, and when it beeps you can enter.'

'Got it, Bulma.'

Then she typed Puar a message.

 _I've now turned your com link off so that the others can't hear it. You can speak freely, should you need to_.

'Thanks,' said the cat, and then a moment later, 'I'm in.'

'Alright, first go to the men's bathroom. It should be just down the hall on the left. Pick the stall right at the end of the room and then hold still while I calibrate the GPS in that watch and match it to this map I've got.'

'Okay…I'm here.'

Bulma overlaid the GPS satellite position with the map of the building she'd taken, placing Puar's signal in the bathroom and scaling it till her path lined up with the front door.

Tarble leant over to better see what she was doing.

'Do you know, I could really do with being able to concentrate!' she said. 'Why don't you two boys play outside?'

'Okay!' said Goku, jumping up.

'I'll just be extra quiet,' said Tarble.

'But we all need some lunch too,' she tried again. 'I'll give you a bunch of Zeni and you can go hunting around for stuff to buy to eat.'

Now Tarble looked almost panic stricken. 'That sounds…really fun, but I really should stay here.'

Bulma thought of one last thing. She turned her and Goku's com links to be silent to Vegeta's and tried the same text to speech trick with Goku as she had with Puar.

_Don't say anything or make a sudden move, Goku._

Goku jumped in his seat in surprise and looked at Bulma. She glared at him and then down to her keyboard again.

 _I said don't make any sudden moves, numbskull! It's me, Bulma, using a text to speech program_.

'A what?' said Goku out loud, casing Tarble to look up. Bulma barely restrained herself from reaching over and slapping him on the side of the head.

'Er, nothing,' said Goku. 'I was just thinking aloud.'

_Okay, shut up and listen. I need Tarble out of here. You're going to lead him off. We're going to tell Tarble that Vegeta has ordered him to help them. Once you get outside lead him around a bit then tell him that Vegeta only wanted him to help get lunch. You've already got the Zeni I gave you earlier. Try and give me at least half an hour. Okay?_

Goku nodded slightly.

She put her hand to her ear as if hearing something over her earpiece.

'Tarble, Vegeta's saying he needs your help!' she said.

'He is?' said Tarble doubtfully.

'Yeah, he is. And he sounds grumpy, too!' said Goku. 'Oh, what's that? He says he needs both of us for something.'

'Really?' said Tarble.

'Yes, he says "Forget about your previous orders, I'm about to give you new ones,"' said Bulma.

Tarble stood up. 'Tell him we're on our way,' he declared, and rushed to the back door, Goku on his heels.

Bulma laughed as soon as the door shut behind them and turned her attention back to Puar.

'It worries me sometimes how devious you can be,' Puar said.

'Thank you, Puar!'

She directed the cat this way and that through the halls until the radar indicated she was only a few metres from the nearest one. She could hear Goku talking to Tarble on the other line, and turned it down so that she could concentrate.

'My card doesn't get me in,' the cat said.

'It says it's a secure lab. I would have thought they were _all_ secure labs.'

'Well, it kind of looks like a bank vault,' said Puar. 'It's huge and steel…Oh no, someone's coming.'

'Dr Nutmegger,' she heard an older woman's voice speak. 'What are you doing outside our entanglement physics lab?'

'Ah, I just need something from inside,' squeaked Puar in the deepest tones she could manage.

'Is there something wrong with your throat?'

'Just a frog in it. I don't suppose you could let me in?'

'Doctor, you know I can't do that. If you feel you need clearance you need to take it up with Dr Plum.'

'Such a hassle though…I was hoping…someone could just….'

'Absolutely not! I'm not letting someone from materials research in my lab! We're doing highly sensitive and controlled experiments in here! Actually, I'm going straight to Dr Plum. You must know that unauthorised access is a serious matter, and I'm not losing my job over it!'

'No! Don't do that…oh drat. Bulma, that woman's gone to tell on me!'

'Shit.'

'Girl,' Vegeta's voice cut in. 'What is going on?'

'Nothing!' she covered, automatically. 'Puar's hit a speed bump is all. We'll have to find another way to it.'

 _That's a lie,_ she typed _. There is no other way in. Let's get you to the next dragonball asap!_

'Why can't I hear the daemon?' Vegeta asked next, nearly talking over her instruction to Puar.

'Can't you?' Bulma bluffed. 'I can hear her just fine. My the signal isn't strong enough to where you stand.'

'Humph,' he grizzled and Bulma mimed wiping sweat from her brow.

She directed the cat down another series of corridors until Puar reported that she was looking at another locked vault.

'Oh no! Bulma, security guard is coming at me!'

'Leg it, Puar!'

Puar ran around the corner and threw herself into a cleaning closet and then there was an explosion that made Bulma flinch.

'Puar!'

She heard the cupboard door thrown open. 'Professor Alomde?' she heard a gruff man's voice. 'What are you doing in the closet?'

'I didn't know it was against the rules,' she heard Puar say.

'Huh. I guess you're right. Have you seen Dr Nutmegger?'

'Nope.'

'Well, let us know. Doctor Plum wants a word.'

Puar was breathing hard and making her way down the corridor again.

'What happened?' Bulma asked.

'I transformed into that woman scientist,' Puar told her.

'Good thinking, Puar!'

'But I'm still wearing that man's access card. What do I do now?'

'I'm tempted to intervene,' said Vegeta. 'Whatever is going on in there is obviously not working.'

Bulma felt completely frazzled by trying to keep track of all the lies and communications.

'Look, cool it, Vegeta! Puar, I don't know if there's anything else you can do. You'd better come back while we have a think about this. At least we know where it is.'

Disheartened, Bulma turned Puar's com link channel back on so that the others could all hear, and turned Goku's back up.

'Bulma!' she heard Goku yell. 'We're almost back with lunch! Answer me!'

'Oh shit!'

Almost the next moment Tarble and Goku piled into the back of the campervan, laden with pizza, boxes of fried noodles and rice, and supermarket bags of rotisserie chicken, salami, and all manner of things.

'Wow, your planet's food options are extensive!' said Tarble. 'I could spend all day walking up and down those streets eating all the choices on offer. I'm so glad Vegeta would let me go out and get lunch instead of making me stay here.'

And then the penny dropped. Tarble's sweet little face clouded with panic, but he didn't even have time to open his mouth before Vegeta, Nappa, Krillin, and Puar, back in cat form, entered the vehicle.

'You have food already?' said Vegeta.

'I sent Goku to get some lunch for everyone,' Bulma lied. She could see Tarble dealing with the horror of his realisation, looking back and forth between the two of them.

'Huh. Good,' Vegeta said. 'We can eat while we plan out next move.'

Tarble pressed his hands to his face but said nothing, dropping his eyes to the ground. Bulma breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently the kid was more frightened of what Vegeta would do to him than what Bulma did while he was gone.

* * *

'Okay, round three,' Bulma announced, with much less enthusiasm.

It was hours later. Bulma had moved the van into the alley, and Nappa, Krillin and Puar had laid traps for two very specific people. Bulma had scoured the personnel database looking for two look-alikes - one for her and one for Vegeta. They needed at least one Saiyan on the inside, and Vegeta had insisted it be him. After selecting their targets Bulma had found their next of kin records and faked a call from South City Central Hospital to reception saying that there had been a multi car pileup, and that two close relatives of those employees were in critical condition. South Central was only around the corner from Zapp, in the direction of the alley, and so within minutes both the woman and the man had rushed past and been dragged into the alley; bound, gagged and hooded and sat in the dumpster next to Dr Nutmegger.

The young male lab technician was a little taller than Vegeta, and had less heavy eyebrows and much less of a scowl and only a slight widow's peak, but his dark eyes and pointed chin were not dissimilar. The woman accountant was noticeably older than Bulma, and her hair was dark violet, but they were similar builds. Now for their disguises.

Bulma had gone out a bought a purple wig, some hair gel and a skirt suit. She donned the suit in the store and put the wig and some make up on in the camper, trying to do it in the style of the woman they'd kidnapped. Then she had supervised Vegeta.

'What the hell is this stuff?' he complained, examining the hair gel. 'It reeks.'

'It smells nice, like apples,' Bulma corrected. 'It's super hold hair gel. Sit down.' She set to with a comb, daubing gel on his hair line.

'What are you doing?' Vegeta said, pulling away. 'Don't _touch_ me!'

'Vegeta! The dude wears his hair slicked back in a ponytail, so you have to, too. You can do it yourself if you like, if you know what you're doing.'

Vegeta took the comb and slid it into his hair. It immediately jammed.

'Whatever. Do it,' he said.

Bulma began pulling the gel through his hair. For such stiff hair it was surprisingly silky to the touch, but it was no small task forcing it down into something flattish to wrap a hair tie around. Looking up she saw Nappa smirking at Vegeta. By the way Vegeta was holding himself she imagined he was glaring back at the monster-sized Saiyan.

'There,' she said, walking from behind the bench seat to take in the effect from the front. She was momentarily stunned.

With his hair flat, Vegeta was transformed. His skull was sleek and aristocratic. His face was somehow softened despite the look of ill grace on it. It made him look older, but also somehow younger. He looked more human. He looked, all of a sudden, like a prince.

 _So handsome!_ said that part of Bulma that was always looking out for these things.

'And?' said Vegeta.

She shook herself. 'Maybe you could melt your way through the vault door with the heat of your bad temper!' _Or the heat of your smouldering looks,_ she added silently.

Vegeta donned the white lab coat that they'd taken from the technician, then the man's glasses.

'Urgh,' he said, and poked out both the lenses. Even the glasses didn't dim effect. If her dad had lab technicians this handsome Bulma would be putting in sixteen hour days at CC, but not still getting any work done.

'Vegeta, you look like a total square!' said Nappa.

'As long as I don't look as ridiculous as this one,' he said with a nod at Bulma.

Bulma was speechless for a moment. Although she was dressed beyond her years, she thought she'd done a good job of the suit and the makeup.

'All right, let's get on with this, Prince Charming!' she snarled.

Without too much manoeuvring she had arranged for Nappa, Krillin and Tarble to remain in the van and monitor her and Vegeta's progress on the laptop using the GPS. It had taken a little while to train Krillin, and she'd given Goku's earpiece to Krillin. Nappa was happy with this arrangement, having put his feet up and started crunching on chicken bones.

'You're eating the bones?' she had exclaimed when she saw this.

'These little things? It's just extra calcium, and the marrow is pretty tasty.'

Puar and Goku were to guard the alley. Or at least, that's what Bulma had said out loud. The text-to-speech messages she had sent the both of them while searching the personnel records had different instructions altogether.

* * *

'Keep your eyes down. Don't make eye contact with the security guards.'

'I daresay, I've had more experience blagging my way into places I shouldn't be than you have, Girl.'

They passed through the front doors, Vegeta trailing Bulma, and headed straight to the doors to swipe their stolen access cards over the sensor plate.

They marched purposefully down the corridor, Bulma's eyes glancing down at the radar every now and then, while trying to shield it from Vegeta, and trying to remember the way she'd guided Puar. As they approached the vault, Bulma scanned the walls for fire alarms.

'Oh, it's behind glass,' she said. 'How do I…?' She picked up the little hammer hanging from it and tapped the glass, which remained unbroken. Vegeta snorted, reached through the glass with his gloved fingers and flipped the switch inside. Immediately, deafening klaxons split the air. Stunned looking people began to wander out of offices and labs with their hands over their ears.

'You're going the wrong way!' someone told them. They ignored the warning and pressed against the flow until the solid, brushed steel door of the vault was before them. Puar was right, it _did_ look like a bank vault. Disappointingly it remained closed. Bulma examined the sensor point for the door. Maybe if she could open it and see how it was constructed she could figure out how to trigger the release without it checking the database for -

Vegeta grasped the door handle and pulled. It tore off with a metallic screech.

'Good one!' scolded Bulma. 'How are we supposed to get in now?'

Vegeta snarled at her, then lifted his hand, which had started to glow with a blue aura, and plunged it into the small hole the door handle made, ripping it wider. With a grunt of effort he pushed through and then pulled, and with a massive clunk, the door opened. The locking bar fell to the floor with a clang.

'Like that.'

'Show off!'

Inside, a corridor led down a row of immaculate glass fronted labs housing arcane electronic equipment. Zapp Industries was serious about its science! Bulma's interest was sparked, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Following the radar she went to a lab in which a big metal box dominated, a multitude of wires sprouting from it and hooking into a server with a terminal attached. With alarm, Bulma saw that the monitor displayed video feeds from both the six and the three star dragonballs. They were conducting some kind of experiment on the entanglement properties of dragonablls. She spun herself to face Vegeta, putting herself between him and the monitors before he could see both balls.

'In there,' she said.

He made quick work of the box, glass and metal tinkling to the floor, and then stood smiling at the six star dragonball in his palm.

'One step closer,' he said.

'To what?' she asked.

He turned his grin on her, his charm sparkling like the light gleaming on his pearly eyeteeth. The deviousness in the expression was unmissable. She couldn't mistake him for anyone but Vegeta, but damn! He was the prince and the villain and the mad genius all at once.

'It's a surprise!'

Bulma blinked, forgetting what she had asked for a second, and blushing at her distraction.

'Let's go, then,' she said. Vegeta began to rush ahead of her. He waited at the door to the lab.

'Get a hurry on!'

'There's no point in rushing,' she said. 'It's not like there's a real fire.' She had a good reason to drag her feet.

'Fine. But remember…it's _your_ planet.'

'Fine.' She led them at a gentle pace, taking a long cut and getting them "lost". Eventually firemen came pounding down the corridors and rushed them out of the building, shoving them out a fire exit on the other side of the building. As they entered the alley from the opposite side they had left by, Bulma caught sight of Goku and Puar dropping to the ground near the campervan. She stopped in alarm, and Vegeta walked into the back of her.

'What?' he demanded.

'Nothing. Just saw a big rat,' she said.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. 'Pathetic.'

As he swept past her and into the van she looked over at Goku and Puar who were both panting. Goku looked like he had some bruises and burns on his hands.

'Did you get it?' she whispered.

Goku quickly passed her the three star dragonball from his pocket.

'Oh thank god!'

'The rear fire exits unlocked just like you said they would,' Puar whispered.

'Did you have trouble?' Bulma asked, looking at the marks on Goku's arms.

He nodded and whispered, 'Had to tear the lab apart to find it! The man inside wasn't very happy about it.'

'Thank you, Goku! You're my hero!'

* * *

Krillin got the job of releasing the kidnap victims.

'I'm really sorry,' he said to each one as they struggled and whimpered in panic against their bonds. 'I hope you weren't too uncomfortable. But it was in aid of saving the planet!'

One by one, as their bindings untied and their bags lifted from their heads, they turned to Krillin with fear and confusion in their eyes and cried out through their gags before running off into the dusky evening.

'Well that didn't feel very nice,' reflected Krillin to himself. 'Who would want to be a bad guy?'

* * *

Bulma drove them back to the ship where Raditz greeted them cheerfully from his place by a new campfire, over which was rotating a cow and an alpaca. The landing site they had chosen was a derelict farm. The fields around them were overgrown with broom and gorse and the ship was parked in the yard between a mess of trees and a falling-down barn.

Bulma selected a bush and nipped behind it to change out of the constricting skirt suit. When she was done she listened for a while, wondering if this was a good moment to hide the dragonball that was loose in her bag. She took it out, keen to secret it away as soon as possible, but then just stood, turning it over in her hand. It would be safer to do it later in the privacy of her capsule house.

As she slid it back in her bag Vegeta's voice purred from behind her, causing her to jump in fright.

'What are you doing, Girl?' he said.

She spun on the spot, but thankfully Vegeta was still mostly screened from view by the bushes.

'Nothing!' she shouted to cover her nerves. 'I was getting changed. Look, you're doing it again! Don't you have any concept of privacy? I came back here so I could change in peace.'

She stepped out from the bushes to find Vegeta waiting with his arms crossed. Bulma clamped down hard on a bark of laughter that threatened when she saw his hair. He was back in his blue suit and armour, and his hair was out of the ponytail, but the hair gel was still holding it semi-flat at the front and side of his head. At the back the stubborn spikes flared out ridiculously.

'I have a sense of privacy,' he told her. 'And a nose for treachery. I'm just making sure you know you won't get away with any.'

'Jeez, what do I have to do to get you to trust me?' she asked, strutting with exaggerated indignation back towards the others.

'I'll trust you once I have my wish,' he replied. 'Now where is the fifth ball?'

'I don't know,' she said. 'It's getting late - why don't we go for ball number five tomorrow?'

'I'm growing weary of this chase. We will attempt the fifth this evening.'

Bulma's nerves were pulled taut again. He wanted to speed things up, but she needed to slow things down. They had no plan still!

'What about dinner?' she asked. 'I know how hard a Saiyan takes it when he misses his dinner. Those spit roasts aren't ready yet.'

'Don't compare us to that soft, untrained Kakarott,' he warned. 'Besides, you have money. Buy us some Earth food.'

'Oh,' she said. _Uh-oh._

The others all looked at them as they rejoined the group standing near the fire.

'So, are we kicking back now?' asked Krillin.

'No. We're going to find the next dragonball,' Bulma said, gulping a little. 'Krillin, I need your help for a minute.'

'Sure,' he said, and followed her a little way away towards the barn while she fished in her bag for the radar.

'Another ball _today_?' he whispered as she zoomed out on the radar, looking for the blip of another ball.

She nodded. 'Vegeta insists.'

'What are we going to do tomorrow when we find the last one?' he asked urgently.

She shrugged. 'I was thinking something along the lines of drugging them all, but I don't know how or when yet. Then we can make the wish.'

'And then what will they do when they wake up and find that we've used the wish?'

'Ah...'

'Kill us all?' he suggested.

'You and Goku could kill them in their sleep before they wake.'

Krillin looked appalled.

'Would you?' she asked.

'Are you serious?' he said.

'They're bad guys, right?'

'That's stone cold murder! Would _you_ kill them in their sleep, Bulma?'

She thought about it. The Saiyans were terrifying and deadly, but it didn't take long for her to conclude that she would never slit their throats in their sleep. Heck, she was rather fond of Tarble, had no issue with Brolly, still wasn't sure how she felt about Raditz, and couldn't even bring herself to hate Vegeta, especially now that she'd seen how hot he looked in Earth clothes. Even if she had hated them she was pretty sure she could never kill them. She wouldn't cry if Nappa choked to death on a bone at dinnertime though. He was ugly inside and out, and there was no forgiving that in Bulma's book.

'Okay, maybe not then,' she conceded. 'I don't know that I have anything that could work on a Saiyan anyway.'

* * *

The closest ball was a long way to the North East anyway.

'We'll have to move the ship again,' Bulma complained when she told the others this. Vegeta looked unimpressed and stood, looking into the distance with his chin in his fingers.

'Dammit,' he said. 'We'll wait for tomorrow after all.'

Bulma tried not to look too obviously relieved.

She set up her house around the corner from the ship and made hot chocolate for herself and Goku and Krillin, and they sat in the little lounge until Goku's nose informed them that dinner was ready. Then they returned to the campfire for the meat-heavy meal. Bulma was just wondering if there was any vitamin and mineral supplements and perhaps laxatives in one of her capsules to counteract the effects of the Saiyan diet on her intestines, when Raditz stalked over to where she sat by herself, perched on an upturned rusty bucket.

'I forgive you for this morning,' said Raditz, throwing himself casually to the ground next to her. She was nibbling on a piece of roast beef slathered in the smoky sauce she'd discovered the night before last. Raditz was tearing meat straight off the femur of the cattle beast with his teeth, his barbarity completely unconscious. Bulma raised her brows, but Raditz only took this for confusion. 'For pulling my tail?' he clarified. 'It wasn't your fault I startled you.'

'Well, yeah. Sorry if I hurt you.'

'It doesn't really _hurt_. Just feels a little weird when all of a sudden all the strength goes out of you. Never mind that - Tarble was telling me about your day, my Lady. About the dragonball hunt today. As he tells it, you're quite handy with computer systems.'

'I am,' she replied bluntly.

'There's no end to your skills. Are you talented at whatever you turn your hand to?'

'Pretty much,' she told him.

He leaned closer and she looked up from her food to his dark eyes peering up at her. He grinned, showing her his teeth. 'What about if you turned your hand to me?'

'What do you mean-' she started, but then she realised what he meant and a blush heated her face and neck. What could she say to _that?_

'Um, I doubt we're going to find out,' she said primly.

'Where there's a will, there's a way,' he offered.

'I beg to differ; there is _no way_ ,' she replied.

Raditz's tail whipped around and the tip of it hung over her plate, waving lazily.

'I bet you could be gentle if you wanted to be,' he said.

Bulma shook her head.

He sat up straighter, all traces of suggestion leaving his voice. 'It's a measure of trust for Saiyans to let someone else touch their tail,' he said. 'You gave me a shock this morning and I frightened you in return. I just want to know if I can trust you. I want you to know that you can trust me too.' He looked up at her with an earnest expression. 'Do we have a deal?'

Bulma twisted her mouth to one side as she considered. She _did_ want the Saiyans to trust her, and it seemed like an innocent gesture. Reluctantly she reached out and took his tail in her hand and smoothed the soft fur between her fingers. Raditz went gooey eyed and his lips parted with a sigh. Bulma immediately dropped it again - maybe it wasn't that innocent after all.

Raditz was grinning like the cat that got the cream again. _Oh my god, he tricked me!_ she wailed silently in her mind and looked around for Krillin or Goku. Both were a short distance from her, but were talking to each other with their backs to her. Instead she caught Vegeta's eye. It was as if he had been watching her already. Now he stood and began walking towards them.

Raditz followed her gaze and then turned back to her, hunching his shoulders and saying to her quietly 'Ah, here comes the frigid killjoy, Princess Virgin.'

Raditz's scornful put down embarrassed her, and she tried not to blush. Obviously Raditz didn't know she was a virgin herself. Well, of course he didn't – it wasn't stamped across her forehead! If Raditz was correct, then she was actually kind of relived that the Saiyan closest to her in age was not as (she made a face) _unwholesomely experienced_ as Raditz and presumably, Nappa were.

'What are you two muttering about?' asked Vegeta suspiciously as he approached and crossed his arms.

'Only what you lot got up to today, your Highness,' said Raditz. 'Having some pleasant conversation, thank you for interrupting!'

Vegeta pouted. 'I hate to think what passes for pleasant conversation for _you_ , Raditz.'

'What, because you're so pleasant, learning all your airs and graces from Frieza?'

Vegeta's eyes bulged. 'At least I _can_ learn! Brute! Idiot!'

Raditz snarled and slammed his fist into the ground, and Bulma picked up her plate and stepped away before this argument could escalate. To her surprise though, instead of attacking Vegeta, Raditz crouched low into a bow, grovelling before the prince.

'Shit! Okay, I didn't mean it, Your Highness! It was not your fault Frieza took such an interest in educating you.'

'That's damn right, Raditz!'

'But I'm not an idiot!' Raditz said, still breathing hard.

'When you say such things you prove otherwise.'

'I'm sorry! I'm sorry. Forgive me, Prince Vegeta.'

Vegeta's face calmed a little and his eyes flicked to Bulma, a hint of a smile returning. 'I forgive you today. There's a lady present. How's that for "airs and graces?"' He turned and began to walk away again.

'Jeez, Vegeta has a hair trigger,' she said to herself, but Raditz heard and looked up, grinning at her as if the whole confrontation hadn't happened.

'Tell me about it! What a cockhead. Always throwing that high power level around like an asshole.'

Wishing to get away before Raditz decided to flirt with her again she said, 'I can't stand all this macho posturing crap; I'm going to bed. I'll be in my house.'

'Don't be getting too lonely,' said Raditz.

'I don't think I'll get a chance. I'm sure _someone_ will be knocking the door down to get in soon enough,' she replied carelessly as she walked away, thinking Vegeta's knack of disturbing her when she least wanted it.

She dumped her plate of unfinished beef with Tarble who looked thankful enough for it and then headed across the yard. As she rounded the corner to face the red door of the house a rather tall figure detached itself from the shadows and trapped her between itself and the door.

'Knock, knock, I'm here,' said Raditz, his hand resting on the door behind her so that he hulked over her, his great mane blocking out the stars that were beginning to come out. 'Good thinking, my Lady. We could do with some privacy for this.'

'For what?' she scolded, but then he pressed her back against the door, his other hand coming down to softly palm a handful of her chest. 'No!' she yelped. 'Stop!' She pushed back at him with all her might. Still, it wouldn't have budged him an inch if he hadn't stepped back himself, raising both hands in the air to show that her meant no harm.

'What? Stop what?' he said.

'You grabbed me!' she shouted.

'Hey! Shush, not so damn loud! Do you want Vegeta over here?'

'Yes!' she said, trying to dart around him and back to the campfire. Instead Raditz's arm caught her around the waist and his other hand clamped down over her mouth. She felt her heels dragged back along the ground until her head and shoulders bumped into Raditz's plasticy armour. She screamed against his hand and thrashed about in his hold to no avail.

'Hey now, wait a second! Quiet down! Quiet down!' Raditz urged her in a gentling voice. 'Shit! What do you mean, inviting me over and then freaking out on me?'

Bulma began sobbing with panic while she continued to try and fight him. She didn't want to think about what might happen next. She couldn't believe that she'd found this guy attractive a couple of days ago.

He twisted her around and pressed her against the door so that he held her there with one hand on her belly and one still across her face.

'Okay! Okay!' he said, starting to sound worried. 'I'm not going to do anything. I can see this has all been a big misunderstanding! We trust each other, right? I let you touch my tail! Please, please! Just don't make any noise or tell Vegeta I tried to rape you or something like that, or he'll beat me into next week!'

She stopped struggling and glared at him, her heart still hammering in her throat.

'If I take my hand away, please don't scream or shout, I'm begging you! I'm not kidding – Vegeta _might_ kill me, and I swear I thought you _wanted_ me to follow you!' Slowly he took his hand away from her face.

'Get off me,' she croaked. 'You thought wrong.'

He backed off. 'Well, sorry,' he said as she sidled around him. 'But what was with all the flirting?'

'You mean _you_ flirting with _me_?'

'Don't be like that! Don't pretend it was a one way street. I wouldn't be making an ass of myself right now if you hadn't led me on!'

'I...' Still backing away, Bulma paused, too angry and frightened to reason. She gave up and ran back around the corner of the barn, Raditz on her heels. She slowed to a very hasty walk as soon as she had the others in sight and Raditz loomed behind her, whispering, 'Sorry, sorry! Forget I said that. Just don't say anything, alright?'

She marched right up to where Goku and Krillin sat side by side in front of the fire and forcefully jammed herself between them.

'Huh?' said Goku.

'You boys are sleeping with me in the house tonight, okay?' she whispered to them.

'It's a really warm night tonight, though, Bulma, and I bet there are no wolves around here,' Goku said.

'Please!' she said, feeling on the verge of tears again. 'Please don't argue!'

'Sure we will,' Krillin assured her. 'We'll keep you safe.' He looked over his shoulder, and following his glance Bulma saw not Raditz, but Vegeta standing behind them, watching Bulma yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Please leave a comment; it makes my heart go bum-diddy-bum-diddy-bum-diddy-boo...
> 
> *Raditz based on actual teenaged encouters with scum and villany.


	14. Happy Birthday Bulma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, I had a review from a guest saying that they were getting frustrated waiting for the romance to kick in. Yes, let me reassure you, it will happen. But not yet. This is a long story...maybe longer than you're used to.

Despite missing a lot of sleep the night before, Bulma still lay awake quite a long time after Raditz's...whatever-that-was. Goku slumbered in the double bed next to her while Krillin had already been ejected for being a bit too "proactively protective."

She felt like a fool after the scene outside the door.  _I didn't lead Raditz on_ , she fumed to herself.  _Did I?_  Okay, maybe she'd been a bit interested at first, but surely it was his problem if he didn't read the signs that she wasn't interested any more? And in what world did a vaguely and accidentally suggestive phrase equate to 'come on over for a quick screw'? Hmm? Well, in Raditz's world, obviously, but that wasn't the world  _she_  lived in.

She thought of Yamcha with a stab of remorse. He'd always been quite timid of initiating anything in their relationship for fear of putting a foot wrong, so she usually led the way. She'd never had to tell him no – he was more likely to need encouraging and cajoling than reining in. He was tough and he was strong and he came with bags of attitude in the ring, but under all his talk of becoming the strongest fighter in the world one day was a cowardly heart too scared of Bulma to put himself really out there. He might frustrate her at times with his timidity, but at least he would  _never_  act like Raditz had.

She'd been turning over the idea of going all the way with him lately. Considering the whens and the hows. They'd been together nearly a year, other than a brief break up or two, and she thought it was time. Or at least she thought she should think it was time. That was the same thing, right? She thought about sex a lot. Really, it was beginning to irritate her how curious she was, and yet she was still a virgin. She was a little nervous still, but she was determined that it didn't mean she wasn't ready. And she was also determined that Yamcha would be ready too.

There'd already been plenty of opportunities for a spur of the moment deflowering already, but she'd held off because she wanted it to be special. Something she would look back on without regret. In her mind it would begin with a perfect romantic day (and they wouldn't argue with each other once), maybe walking through the park and a dinner date, and slow dancing to her favourite band in her bedroom. They'd have the whole night together (not just a rushed hour or so), full of whispers and candlelight and some specially chosen, virginity-losing-lingerie falling to the floor (not her usual printed cotton numbers), taking the time to explore each other in bed (not the couch or the back of her hovercar)...

And instead she could've gotten herself mauled by a guy who thought 'I'm going to bed' was an invitation to sex. The thought of her earlier flirting with Raditz was so mortifying that she actually blushed in the dark with no one to see her. What a creep! He had scared her a lot, but worse, he'd embarrassed her!

As she ran the whole incident through her mind again though, she was forced to conclude that she actually hadn't been in any danger. It was just his blaming her for the misunderstanding that really got to her. Oh, that and the manhandling!

When she recalled what Raditz had said about Vegeta beating him up for touching her she was now puzzled by the oddness of it.  _Why the hell would Vegeta care what Raditz did to me?_  she asked herself. She'd been mostly kidding about Vegeta being attracted to her this morning, but maybe he really was. In which case...what was Vegeta like if he  _didn't_  fancy you? It was hard going enough for her right now. 'Just don't tell him I tried to rape you or something' Raditz had said. An even more disturbing possibility occurred – maybe Raditz had been  _ordered_  not to sexually assault her? The thought made her shiver in fear and revulsion. And Vegeta being her protector, however unlikely that sounded, didn't make her feel that much better since she was sure he wasn't doing it for her benefit.

Whatever the answer was, she had bigger problems to deal with. What the hell were they going to do when they found balls six and seven and Vegeta ordered them to find the last, not knowing they already had them all already? How were they to get four or possibly five balls off Vegeta? Did he keep them all in that black bag? Maybe Puar could find out. Maybe Puar could steal them? No, that would probably end up with Puar dead. What if she managed to lead the Saiyans back towards West City - maybe Yamcha could help if she managed to send him a message? Or Master Roshi and Launch? Turtle Island was closer than West City, after all. Although if Vegeta suspected she was involving anyone else he would kill them. Could they help without ever being caught?

She belatedly wondered if Yamcha had read the note she left for her parents. She wondered if he was worried, and if her parents were worried. She had deliberately tried to make light of their quest in their note so that they wouldn't worry too much, but it turned out things were even more dire than she'd originally thought. What would Vegeta do if he were allowed to wield the fate of their planet alone?

She fell asleep before an answer came to her and she dreamt again that she stood alone on the top of the world, looking down at it in fear, the wind trying to carry her away. This time the phantom didn't come.

* * *

_Goku, open your eyes._

Goku did, sitting up in the bed next to Bulma.

'Who is that talking?' he whispered.

_It is Kami, your Earth's guardian._

Goku made a grab for Bulma's shoulder, but he couldn't seem to move her, as if she was made of stone. 'Bulma, wake up! Kami is speaking to me again!'

_Leave her, Goku. I have already tried to reach her, but cannot. Come, I have something to show you._

Goku felt himself rise up to the ceiling, and then somehow  _through_  the ceiling and out into the night air above. He floated to a stop on top of the rotten roof of the barn, but he felt as light and as settled as a feather on top of it.

'That was weird. What are you going to show me, Kami?'

'Woah, woah, woah!' he heard from below, and then Krillin also floated into view, struggling against the force that dropped him rather less lightly than Goku on the roof.

'You too?' they said at once.

 _I must show you this,_ said the voice.

Goku turned without his commanding it to look down on the Saiyans sleeping by the fire. In a strange way he seemed to rush towards them, towards Vegeta, and he could see under him at the same time as he couldn't, and he knew that the sleeping prince was wrapped around a bag in which three dragonballs were clutched.

'What the heck?' said Krillin.

Next Goku's gaze swept around and into the capsule house, into the bedroom where Bulma was snoring softly next to... _himself!_  In between them, under the covers lay the bag Bulma kept her capsules in, and Goku could see inside one of the capsules, two dragonballs hidden in bundles of cotton and cardboard. Again he was raised through the ceiling to hover in the starry sky. He could no longer see Krillin.

_Between your two camps you have five dragonballs. Once you have collected the sixth you will come to me. I have the last._

'How will we find you?'

_I'm sure you will find a way. But you've been close before._

Goku found himself flying through the air, North and West, faster and faster until the land and the sea passing below were just a blur, though there was no sense of the air rushing past him, or even of himself having a body for it to rush past. The vista slowed, and Goku saw a forested land bathed in the rosy glow of a setting sun. From the trees rose a thin white spire, carved with symbols and ancient letters.

'The Land of Korin!' he said, and then he changed direction, swooping upwards, following the needle-like tower. He spied the wizened old cat standing at the rail of his tower, and he waved at him he sped past, but couldn't stop. He kept going higher and higher until the sky looked thin above him and a great stone bowl appeared out of the haze and rushed towards him. He shot past the lip of the bowl to see that a huge flagged area covered the top of it, with some buildings that looked like palaces at one side. Some potted palms and plants decorated the area, but the sky was the most eye-catching thing – dark and purple and clear as crystal with diamonds poking through it. The white marble of the flag stones and palaces glowed dimly purple under it.

'What is this place?' he asked, and now the voice spoke quite close to him.

'This is my lookout – where I live and perform my duties.'

Goku turned – he seemed to have a body to control again - and there stood a very old, very  _green_  man in white robes and a rich blue cloak. Goku felt his mouth hanging open and rushed to close it again. Bulma always said it was rude to stare.

'Are you...are you Kami?'

'I am,' said the stern man. He was rather tall and had funny antennae on his head like a snail's.

'I didn't think God would be so  _green_.' He extended his hand and skipped forward. 'Pleased to meet you, Mr Kami!'

Kami looked momentarily shocked, but Goku was not unused to this kind of reaction when meeting someone for the first time, so was not offended.

'Hmm. Pleased to meet you too, Goku,' Kami said, but didn't shake his hand. 'Now listen to me carefully. When you and the others have the sixth dragonball I need you to bring all of them here, to my lookout.' From a fold in his cloak he revealed the seven-star dragonball. 'Then a wish might actually be made.'

'What about Vegeta and the other Saiyans? They'll want to make the wish themselves, and we haven't figured out what they want to wish for yet.'

'I will convince them that they need to listen to me. They don't know all the limitations of the dragonballs yet, and I do. After all, I created them.'

'Oh! Really? Could you teach me how to make some?'

'Could I...?' Kami looked appalled but then laughed out loud. 'No, Goku. I cannot. It's not a skill that can be taught to young Saiyan boys.'

'Huh. Oh well. What are the limity…limations…'

'Limitations?'

'Yeah, limitations of the dragonballs, then?'

'They can't be used to bring back anyone who has been dead for more than a year, or anyone who has died to natural causes. And they can't grant a wish beyond the power of the one who created them. So they cannot kill or contain a foe stronger than I am myself. And unfortunately it means that they can't be used to get rid of this menace Frieza.'

'So then what do we going to do? We'll have to fight him!' Goku felt his heart jump at the thought, partly in fear, but mostly from excitement. Frieza would undoubtedly be the strongest opponent he'd ever faced!

'No, Goku. We can't. Young Vegeta, even his companions Nappa and Raditz are already far stronger than I, and they are fleeing from this Frieza. I suspect that he is a foe, the likes of which this world has never seen. Instead I have a wish in mind, perhaps the only one which will work – to make it so that planet Earth is invisible to Frieza and anyone working for him.'

'I think we should fight him first before making the wish!'

'Fight him first? Did you not listen to what I just said?' said the old man, narrowing his old, yellowed eyes at Goku.

Goku flinched slightly. It was clear he was not pleasing Kami, but he was sure that he could be brought around to Goku's way of thinking. 'Well. It would be impressive to see this guy's power, don't you think? I haven't even seen Vegeta fight properly yet, but I'm hoping I will before they leave. It would be interesting to check out what kind of fight Frieza can put up before we hide from him.'

'No, Goku!' The old man looked rather angry. 'Don't make me regret confiding in you! Bring the Saiyans and all the dragonballs here and help me secure this wish. It might be the Earth's only hope!'

'Okay. Sorry,' he said, and conceded to himself that, as god, Kami might know better in this situation than he did. 'I'll make sure to do that.'

'Right now...back you go...'

* * *

The Saiyans breakfasted before the coals of last night's fire.

Something sat sourly in Vegeta's belly. Maybe it was the report Tarble gave him last night after the Earthlings had retired. Maybe it was the lack of sleep he'd had afterwards, wound tight with the anxiety of his goal being  _this_  close, and bothered by the damn cobblestones that poked randomly through the dirt and grass of the yard beneath his furs to ensure that no position would be comfortable. Or maybe it was Raditz.

He sulked through breakfast. He knew damn well he was sulking. Nappa's attitude radiated disapproval. Tarble and Brolly served him food in silence, sensing the wrath that lurked beneath the surface. When he caught Raditz's eye he hoped the other would give him some excuse to take his temper out on him, but instead Raditz dropped his eyes. He fetched Vegeta a cup of warm Gordorian dog milk without his asking, and placed it before him with even more deference that normal.

Vegeta glowered at the top of the shaggy head. How dare the lowly moron be so... _relaxed_  with the Earth girl? And what had been so private between them that it required slipping away out of sight?

He licked his teeth when the milk left a fatty sourness on them. He drank half of it before becoming so disgusted that he tossed the rest on the ground, and his eyes turned to the edge of the little dome shaped house that could be seen poking around the side of the barn. He bet  _she_  wasn't drinking dog milk with breakfast in her stupid little house.

Nappa saw the direction his eyes were searching and huffed.

'Only one gem for all that debacle yesterday,' he said. 'I'm starting to wonder if the Earthlings are attempting to stall us.'

Vegeta felt a stab of outrage at the thought. He looked around for the daemon and caught it in the act of backing away through the long grass and weeds.

'Cat. Is that the girl's plan?'

'No,' it said. 'Why would we do that? We want you gone as soon as possible, after all.'

'We?' repeated Vegeta, feeling the flapping ends of his displeasure begin to come free from his control. 'You're not part of their "We" any more. You're part of ours!'

The daemon froze, shaking on its stubby legs.

'I'm not going with you when you leave,' it said in a tiny voice.

'Yes, you ARE!' Vegeta roared back at it.

The cat burst into tears.

'SHUT UP!' he commanded.

Instead the daemon turned tail, bounding through the grass. Vegeta was on it before its paws touched down a second time. 'No!' cried the cat as he held her in his fist. 'Don't make me!'

'It's that or death,' he told it, and then threw the bundle of fur to Tarble. He wasn't sure he could resist the urge to crush it to death on the spot. 'Keep hold of that thing until it comes to its senses.'

'Is it really worth it, Vegeta?' Nappa asked. 'I know it could be useful, but if it can't be controlled...'

Vegeta only growled and sat back down, facing the house again, his stomach burning with discontent as the minutes ticked by. Raditz began to organise Brolly and Tarble to clean up the campsite. He was being a real suck-up this morning.

'They're taking their sweet time to show themselves,' said Nappa. 'More delaying tactics?'

Vegeta grunted and got to his feet.

'Their time has just run out.'

* * *

In the morning Bulma was still fuzzy headed and sipping her coffee when Vegeta began his assault on her front door. Goku was just changing back into his freshly laundered gi when he froze in the act.

'Bulma! Krillin! I had a really strange dream last night!'

'I had a strange dream too,' said Bulma, her voice as flat as her spirit at that moment. 'I'm always having them lately.'

'You too?' said Krillin. 'Well, I dreamt that I floated through the ceiling!'

'Yes, I know!' said Goku. 'I did too. But it wasn't just a dream.'

'Huh?' said Krillin.

'It was a message from Kami,' said Goku, but he was interrupted by the furious pounding on the door. As he was standing closest to it, he answered it.

'Hey, Vegeta, we're still having breakfas-'

'I don't care!' Vegeta said. 'Hurry the fuck up. I am over waiting on you Earthlings.'

Bulma choked on her coffee slightly and gave him a flat-eyed stare. 'Well, didn't you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed?'

'I didn't sleep in a bed, you idiotic trollop.'

'Hello, and welcome to morning, with your host Prince Vegeta!' she quiped.

'Shut up and get outside before I lose my temper and kill you all!' he shouted, making Krillin, Goku and Bulma flinch with fright. The look in Vegeta's eyes had them all believing him, and they raced to comply, tumbling out the front door in less than twenty seconds, Krillin still pulling on his pants and Goku stuffing a triple layer of toast and peanut butter in his mouth.

The campsite was all packed up, the ashes from the fire scattered and Nappa crouched in the rampway, waiting for them.

'Get on the ship,' Vegeta ordered. 'Girl, pack up the house or we're leaving it behind.'

Goku and Krillin took off running for the ship while Bulma pressed the button by the front door and the house imploded down to a thumb-sized capsule again.

'Which way are we heading?' Vegeta asked as he marched her towards the open rampway. 'Do you remember, or will we have to go through the whole "dragon radar" charade again?'

 _Charade?_  Bulma's heart started racing faster. He seemed to know more than he should. They hadn't even called it a dragon radar in front to him, had they? Maybe they'd been looser lipped in front of Tarble?

'I don't know what you're talking about, a  _charade_. But yes, I need to check the equipment again,' she told him. She dropped behind him a step to check her bag but found it wasn't there. 'Damn, you had me rush out in such a hurry I left it in the house!'

Vegeta spun on the spot and gave no more response than his furious stare. He must have showered and washed his hair that morning because it was back to its usual obstinate uprightness. She threw the house capsule on the ground again, and when it popped back into being she rushed to the bedroom where she'd left her bag.

God damn it, what were they going to do about the dragonballs? Coming back out of the bedroom with the radar in her hand she decided to write Puar a note asking her to discretely confirm where Vegeta was keeping the balls, and then slip the note to her on the ship. She looked for paper and pen, which took a minute as she was only guessing that there might be some in one of the kitchen drawers, then wrote the hurried note. She stuffed it in her bag and turned the radar on, honing in on the next ball so she could easily find it once she was on the ship's flight deck.

She whirled back towards the door, only to stop in shock. Vegeta was standing  _inside_  the doorway. Only a few inches inside, but she felt like he'd transgressed their agreement. 'Get out of my house,' she said, but there was no fire behind her words, only fear.

'Let me see that,' he said, reaching for the radar as he stepped backwards out the door.

She held it away from him, down by her side while she closed the door behind her. 'No. I don't trust your clumsy mitts,' she said. 'I think you might break it.'

'I would do no such thing,' he said, reaching around her to snatch it. He caught her wrist, but she fought against him as he pulled it up for inspection. She grabbed the doorknob for leverage, but resisting him with all her might rather hurt her wrist and she lost anyway. He brought the radar to his face. Thank goodness she'd turned it off.

'Ow!' she cried. 'See what I mean, you oaf? You're breaking me, never mind the radar!'

He let go of her, scoffing at her pain while she rubbed her wrist.

'Don't tell me that hurt you! Exactly how weak are you? How am I to know how soft I am to handle you without your breaking?'

'How about you  _don't_  handle me?' she said, stuffing the radar in her bag.

'How about you be more tractable and less conniving?' he said, the scowl beginning to slip from his face. His foul temper seemed to be burning off somehow in the face of her own anger.  _What a sick dude!_  she thought to herself.

'Already in the last few days I've had to handle you many times,' he went on. 'Could I have broken you like the twig you are at any point? I should be more careful. How am I to know your breaking point?'

'I'll  _let_  you know, you great, stupid gorilla!' she snarled.

'Stupid gorilla, is it? Well in order to put be out of my ignorance, how about an experiment, then? Give me your hand.'

'Get real.'

'I will be gentle.'

Bulma examined the prince and his slightly worrying expression of curiosity and excitement. His resemblance to Tarble at this moment was pronounced, and perhaps this was why she reluctantly agreed to give him her hand. Perhaps it was worth the risk to pretend that she trusted him for a moment. At least he seemed to have forgotten the radar for now. She held out her hand and sighed with impatience. 'Alright, then.'

His mouth leapt into a grin and his eyes narrowed to merry slits of malice that almost had her snatching her hand away again, but true to his word he took hold of it very gently, and laid her wrist across his gloved palm. 'Does this hurt?'

'Of course not.'

He closed his fingers softly around her hand and wrist.

'This? Are you broken yet, Princess?'

'No. You're just making fun of me now.'

'I am not. I am testing your delicate limits. How about this?' He applied some gentle pressure.

'No!'

'This?' The pressure became quite firm all of a sudden.

'No.' she said, 'But-'

'Now?'

'Hey!' she protested, trying to pull her arm away, but she couldn't loosen the grip he had on her, which was crushing her bones together painfully. 'Cut it out!'

'Are you broken yet?' he asked. 'You did say you would let me know your breaking point!'

'No, but stop it!'

The next increase in pressure made her scream out loud. She pulled back from him with all her might, trying to get free though he didn't even sway an inch, and she looked disbelievingly at his smiling face. The pain in her wrist was building, and with an explosion of anger she realised that this was  _fun_  for him.

'Let me go, you shithead!' she roared at him.

'Is  _this_  your breaking point?''

She hit him as hard as she could in the face, and then tensed with fear of his possible retaliation. He flinched from the blow to his cheek, turning his face away from it, but then he turned back, his grin growing wider. He took a step towards her, bringing her hand up between their bodies, and she fell against the door trying to back away from him.  _No!_   _First Raditz, now Vegeta?_ She could see Nappa still watching from the ramp over Vegeta's shoulder, but he made no move to come to her aid. Not that she would have expected him to.

'You psycho! Leave me alone!' she screamed, and then hit Vegeta again in the chest, and then the face again, and then kicked him in the shin; a desperate protest and display of her fury, but nothing stopped him. Though he loosened his grip he kept advancing, invading her space, and his smile never wavered; it only grew sharper. She thought she had been frightened of Vegeta before, but her fear doubled, tripled now – he was terrifying in his delight.

_What the hell does he think he's doing?_

Something in Vegeta was knocked loose by her first poorly thrown punch. Until then he had merely been infuriated by the girl's resistance, and genuinely curious as to how the much force her frame could take, but then that weak blow had pulsed through his body like the beat of a giant heart. He almost laughed at the lack force of behind it, but her audacity astonished him. Not even Nappa hit Vegeta without Vegeta asking him to. He was surprised. He was…intrigued. Something asleep at the back of his mind suddenly awoke and uttered an irresistible edict –  _make her do it again!_

He pushed himself into her space, his nose suddenly alive to her scent and how it was rapidly acquiring an undertone of adrenalin. He was not disappointed when she hit him again and kicked him. She couldn't hurt him – the little pricks of pain and pressure were like hands beating against the skin of a drum - his skin. It echoed around inside him, jolting his insides pleasantly, making his heart beat faster. She backed into the door and couldn't get away when he took another step forward, holding his body inches from hers. The voice in the back of his mind was gleeful with satisfaction as her eyes went wide in fear and she left behind words for a scream of fear and anger.

 _Fight me, girl,_ urged the voice. _Fight me!_

He bathed in the frantic blows she rained on him and her scream was like an icy thrill travelling down his spine. He pressed both his hands to the door either side of her waist, letting go of her arm altogether so she could attack him with every limb, and when she tried to slither away he whipped his tail around and wound it round her leg, binding her thigh to his. As she shrieked and clawed at his face and kneed him in the groin, he closed his eyes and breathed as he leant in, only wishing she was stronger so that she could actually do him some damage before he-

'Oi! Vegeta!'

Nappa's voice shattered Vegeta's train of thought, and his tail straightened in an unsuppressed expression of guilt and fright. He stood up straighter and pushed himself away from Bulma, suddenly confused as to what he had been about to do. He looked back over his shoulder at Nappa, annoyed at the interruption and also by the feeling that he'd just been caught doing something naughty. Nappa strode across the yard, crossing his arms and smirking. 'I thought we were in a hurry, Your Highness, but you seem to have time to be flirting with your  _girlfriend_.'

Vegeta flushed red at Nappa's use of the newly learnt word, and was so distracted that he was actually caught off guard by Bulma, who shoved him hard enough in the chest to make him take a step back. Her face was red too – with anger he guessed. She encapsulated the house, picked it up and then gave Vegeta a parting slap across the face, but he was too annoyed with Nappa to react to it. He turned to face the older Saiyan.

'Shut the fuck up, Nappa! You've got no idea what's going on,' he bluffed, trying not to follow her with his eyes as she stomped a wide circle around them towards the ship.

'Don't I?'

The girl paused at the bottom of the ramp and turned to shriek back at them, 'I am the furthest thing from his "girlfriend" you can get! He's an A-grade, fucking psycho!'

Nappa chuckled as she disappeared from sight, earning himself a scowl from Vegeta.

'She was defying me Nappa, and I was putting her in her place, nothing more!'

Nappa cocked a brow. 'Calm down, my Prince, I was only joking! Neither you or the silly bitch can take a joke apparently.'

Vegeta gave Nappa his back as he followed Bulma inside. He felt distinctly embarrassed and even shaken by what had just happened, not the least because for a few seconds, he'd had no idea what he was doing. If Nappa hadn't interrupted, exactly where would he have taken the little confrontation? Would he have killed her? It seemed more like he'd wanted her to have a go at killing  _him_.

Joining the others on the flight deck, Bulma placed herself between Kakarott and Krillin against the map table, and turned to pierce him with eyes that were full of all the fire of Hell, and Vegeta felt a warm tingle spread over his skin to see it, excitement fluttering lightly in his belly.

 _I'm going mad_ , he told himself.  _Ignore the idiot, and ignore yourself while you're at it; you're making no sense at all._ He resolved to forget all about it. He had more important things to think about. Like securing his immortality.

* * *

Bulma directed Raditz as he piloted the ship, keeping her distance from Vegeta, who seemed content to hang back away from the pilot seats anyway. The way he restlessly circled behind her had her on edge. She was trying to hide that hands and her voice both shook. Raditz's misunderstanding seemed quite tame to her now. She had no idea what Vegeta had meant by hurting her and frightening her. Was it some method of intimidation? Was it meant to demonstrate her powerlessness before him? Well, if so it worked. She rubbed her wrist where he'd squeezed it. There was a red band about it and she was sure it would bruise. And her hands and knuckles stung too from hitting him. She would have thought belting him like she did would have made her feel better, but it didn't, not when it seemed to please him so much. The memory of his half-lidded eyes and open-mouthed smile chilled her, and the way he had bound her far too intimately to him with his tail, his face close enough to kiss her. In fact, that was what she'd thought he was about to do before they were interrupted...

'Oh hey, happy birthday, Bulma!' said Krillin.

'Yeah, happy birthday,' said Goku, thus reminded.

She looked down at their happy faces and said, 'Thanks guys,' but her voice broke as she spoke and a shudder of a sob ran up her body. Quickly she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. Dammit, she was missing her birthday at home with her parents and Yamcha because of Vegeta and the nightmare he'd brought with him, but she would  _not_  cry now. Not in front of him.

'What's wrong. Bulma?' asked Goku, seeing her distress.

'Nothing,' she managed eventually. 'Just missing home.'

* * *

They crossed the sea and Raditz landed the spaceship on a plain which looked somewhat familiar. Scrubby desert plants and cacti studded the flats and the undulating hills that went nowhere.

'This isn't far from where me and Yamcha used to live!' said Puar, who had eventually been released by Tarble after promising to behave.

They filed out of the ship onto the hot dusty sand. It was lung-scorchingly hot and the sun was almost lost in the shimmering of its own reflected heat and the fine red dust that was caught in the hot wind.

'Hey, Nappa, what does this remind you of?' Raditz asked cheerfully.

Nappa didn't reply at first, just glowered at Raditz and looked out into the distant heat mirages. 'Ghosts,' he said eventually.

'Home,' said Vegeta.

'That's the one,' said Raditz. 'Sweet, old Planet Vegeta.'

'Just think; you could wish it back, if you wanted,' said Nappa. 'All the heat and the dust storms and the insects that suck half your blood and the venomous voles that climb into your bed at night to keep warm...'

'And what use will that be if there are no Saiyans to live on it?' Vegeta said.

Nappa shrugged. 'What use is anything?'

Vegeta stared at the contemplative profile of his second-in-command and then scowled and turned to Bulma. 'Where to now?'

Bulma was still keeping her distance from Vegeta. She motioned now to the West. 'It's that away. And it looks like it's moving.'

'Let's go, then,' said Vegeta.

Goku, Krillin, Tarble and Nappa floated into the air. Bulma clamped her hand on Brolly's shoulder before he could fly away too. 'Will you carry me today?' she asked.

'I'm not going,' he said.

Despairingly she looked towards the last person she wanted to be carried by - Vegeta. He pressed his lips together and looked away.

'Yes, you are, Brolly,' Vegeta said, taking to the air too. 'Carry the girl; Raditz can see to the campsite and the ship alone today.'

Perhaps Vegeta was not comfortable with her, either?

* * *

They were racing a massive dust cloud.

As they got closer, it started to resolve rather worrying into a dinosaur stampede. As they got closer still, she saw that they weren't the only ones who were airborne. A small figure squatted astride a winged dinosaur, a blue cape flying behind her as she screamed 'Kyah! Kyah!' and brandished a short sword as her mount swooped low to shepherd the stragglers back into the pack of long necked, lumbering, braying, 50 ton beasts.

'Brolly, go closer!' Bulma cried. 'I think she might have the dragonball!'

Brolly put on a burst of speed and came level with the girl on the flying dinosaur. The rider turned her head as they entered her peripheral vision, then screeched with fright and fell backwards off her ride.

'Oh, shit!' Bulma screamed. 'Catch her!'

Brolly nosedived, caught the girl around the middle and then pulled out of the dive so sharply that Bulma slid off his skinny back and he had to catch her too, screaming in fear and dangling by one arm. Descending quickly and ungracefully, he landed in the trampled wake of the bellowing animals and dropped Bulma to the dirt.

'Get your hands off me!' yelled the black haired girl, pulling out of his hold and staggering away. She then turned on the spot to flourish the sword in a very competent manner. She had on a weird pink helmet with a vicious looking blade on top, pink gloves and boots, and under her cloak she wore nothing but an outlandish blue, armoured bikini. Bulma realised she knew her. There couldn't be two like this one in the world, that was for sure.

'You're the Ox King's daughter, aren't you?' she asked, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.

'Oh,' said the girl. 'It's  _you_.'

Bulma immediately took issue at the obvious disapproval in the girl's tone.

'Hey, don't thank us or anything! We only saved your life!'

'Only after  _you_  caused me to fall. Anyway, it wasn't you that saved me, it was this boy.' She turned her attention back to Brolly who appeared even more speechless than normal, staring with happy astonishment at the pretty, black-haired girl. 'Hey,' she said coquettishly, a smile and a blush coming into play. 'You're pretty cute, but you shouldn't look at me like that. I'm taken.' And then she gasped, hands flying to her face as she turned back to Bulma. 'Wait a minute! Is  _he_  with you?'

'Who?'

'GOKU!'

Nappa and the boys were landing now, sending up little spurts of dust about them as they made a loose ring around the girl.

'Goku!' cried the girl when he touched down near her. 'Goku, you were flying! And you didn't even have your little cloud!'

Goku looked surprised by this greeting. 'That's right; I don't need it anymore since these guys taught us to fly.'

'Wow! Flying! Wow!'

'Hey, I know you, don't I?' Goku asked.

The girl was shocked for a second, but then she flushed red and screamed, 'How can you not remember me, Goku? It's me, Chichi, your BETROTHED!'

Bulma snorted. What was the girl going on about? Goku hardly knew what a girl was, never mind how to get engaged to one.

'Betrothed?' said Goku. 'Sorry, Chichi. Guess I must've forgot.'

'Well, don't-'

'Hurry it along!' interrupted Vegeta. 'Where is the dragonball?'

'You mean this?' asked Chichi, rummaging in a hidden pocket inside her cloak from which she gleefully produced a dragonball.

'The four star dragonball!' exclaimed Goku. 'My Grandpa's dragonball!'

She handed Goku the ball. 'I found it a while ago. I kept it with me, just in case...you know...' She blushed. 'In case you came looking for it again.'

'Thanks, Chichi! And I did, too!'

Vegeta reached over Goku's shoulder and plucked the dragonball away from him. 'Well at least that one was painless. Where is the next ball?'

Bulma watched the four star ball slip into the black bag with a sinking heart, and lifted the dragon radar again, wandering a few steps away to shield it from Vegeta and Nappa's eyes. This was the last one, and what then? She realised she had forgotten to give Puar the note.

'This is  _Chichi_?' she heard Krillin say. 'You didn't tell me how beautiful she was, Goku!'

'Oh, my!' Chichi said and giggled.

'It's a pleasure to meet you,' she heard Tarble's hushed voice. Curious she looked over again. The four youngest boys clustered around Chichi; the three Saiyans all had their tails lifted high in the air behind them like hopeful question marks, and if he had one, she was sure Krillin's would be too. Krillin took the girl's hand and kissed it, making her coo with the flattery, and then Tarble bowed deeply to her.

'Oh, I like your friends, Goku!' she said, still laughing.

Bulma pursed her lips in disapproval. Of course the silly thing was getting so much attention. That bikini was really quite indecent, especially for a girl as young as Chichi, and made even more so by the fact that the girl was very well endowed for someone barely in their teens.

Nappa was frowning at the scene and fiddling with his scouter, when he jumped in surprise. 'Are we sure she's not a Saiyan kid?' he said. 'Except for the softness of her hair and the lack of tail, she could pass for the spawn of a third class. Her power level is just about on a par with Kakarott and the bald kid's.'

Vegeta began fiddling with his scouter too. 'Huh! How is it that this little female has more than ten times the power that you do, Girl?'

'Do you know what? I HAVE A NAME!' Bulma roared at him.

'Hey, little girl,' Nappa called to Chichi. 'You ever heard of a Saiyan?'

'A Saiyan? No,' she replied from the midst of her throng of admirers.

'What about the name Turles?' he asked. 'Did you ever hear of a dark haired, strong guy named Turles? Your father, maybe?'

'No. My father is the Ox King...He is very strong though, and he has dark hair.'

'Hmm,' said Nappa. 'Coincidence, or something more?'

'You've got pretty hair,' Brolly told her, and reached up to stroke his fingers through it. Chichi stiffened and turned red as his fingers trailed down over her collarbone and onto her decollatage. Then she exploded.

'Heeyah!'

From a standstill she performed a lightning fast roundhouse kick that launched Brolly backwards to slam into Nappa.

'What the blazes!' said Nappa as he stumbled and shoved Brolly away from him.

'Did you see that?' gasped Vegeta. 'Her power level just spiked to about a hundred and twenty!'

'Did your parents never tell you to "look, but don't touch?"' said Chichi, crossing her arms and tapping her toe. 'I already told you; I am promised to another!'

Brolly growled and suddenly lunged back at Chichi with a howl, his fist driving straight for her face. She barely managed to dodge the attack, and as she jumped backwards out of the way, Brolly followed her, hands clawing for her throat. She screamed and Krillin and Tarble pounced on Brolly as he crashed between them.

'Stop it, Brolly,' yelled Tarble, wrapping his skinny arms round Brolly's larger forearms while Krillin grabbed him around the legs. Even when Goku tackled him around the waist Brolly still came at Chichi, who turned and ran a short distance away.

'Is he crazy?' she yelped.

Brolly took to the air with all three boys clinging to him, but then Nappa leapt into the fray, catching Brolly under the shoulders and pulling him into an armlock. Brolly still struggled, growling and snarling like a frantic dog, jerking Nappa about as four of them hauled him back to the ground. Even when they got him there he still managed to take a couple more steps forward. Bulma could only gawp of the display of unhinged temper she was seeing.

'Calm down, you mad little fuck!' Nappa shouted. 'Stop it! Think about what you're doing!'

Even Vegeta looked disturbed as he stepped in to help subdue the boy, getting in front of Brolly and grabbing either side of his head to hold him still. The younger boys had wrapped themselves around Brolly's legs.

'Control yourself, Brolly. That is an order,' he said in a level voice.

'What are you trying to achieve, huh?' Nappa went on, his voice taking a softer tone. 'Trying to kill the little girl? All she did was tap you – no reason to lose your temper – just a little thing, already forgotten...Let it go…Calm down…'

Suddenly the struggle went out of the boy and he went limp in their arms.

'Why'd you attack Chichi, huh?' shouted Krillin.

'That's enough, Baldie,' said Nappa. 'He's calm now, isn't that right, Brolly? Aren't you calm?'

Brolly gave an almighty squirm that nearly threw them all off, but then he relaxed again, the snarl on his face fading into surliness.

'Calm now?'

'Yes,' he said.

'And you're not going to do anything stupid if we let go of you?'

'No.'

They all let go of Brolly, and he slumped to sit in the dirt, contemplating the hems of his pantaloons.

'What was  _that_  about?' said Goku. 'Why were you trying to hurt our friend? I know she kicked you, but not  _that_  hard!'

'Leave him alone, Kakarott!' said Nappa.

'But he looked like he wanted to kill her!' Goku looked back over his shoulder to where Chichi stood now a good 30 metres away.

'It's not a good idea to let Brolly get the bit between his teeth, but I was going to kill the girl anyway,' Vegeta said.

'What?' cried the Earthlings all at once, even Puar on his shoulder, even  _Tarble_.

'Why would you do that?' Bulma said. 'We didn't reveal your names!'

'But Nappa here said the word Saiyan to her. So she dies.'

'Oops,' said Nappa.

Bulma was frozen while she tried to get her brain to cough up a way to stop this murder from happening, but Goku was faster.

'NO!'

* * *

Vegeta reflected that he might've guessed Kakarott would defend the girl. The kid flew to her and picked her up, but Vegeta was not worried – Kakarott's top speed was not even half of his.

'Are you sure?' said Nappa. 'What if she  _is_  a half Saiyan?'

'Pah! There is no such thing as a half Saiyan,' he told Nappa. 'Our blood doesn't mix with any others.'

'We don't know that for sure,' Nappa replied. 'It's not like anyone's done thorough research. Hell, for all I know,  _I'm_  a father.'

'Do we  _want_  mongrels? Either way, I can't let her run off into the wilderness.' Vegeta looked around the little tableau of horrified faces.

'Please don't kill her, Your Highness,' said Tarble. Vegeta curled his lip in disgust at the lily-livered boy.

'"Please don't kill her, Your Highness!"' he imitated him in a whiny, high-pitched voice. 'For that I should make  _you_  kill her, Tarble! It's time we broke you of that crippling sympathetic tendency!'

He took to the air, with Bulma's scream of protest ringing in his ears. He supposed that if he killed the other girl that Bulma would react badly and become even more unmanageable. Well, tough. It was time she knew who she was dealing with.

The thought left him feeling uncomfortable, though. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with her once her usefulness had come to an end. He knew taking her into a space was a bad idea, but unless he wanted to leave her behind as a mile-wide target for Frieza to find and interrogate, it was either that or kill her, and he realised now that he didn't want to kill her. It would be…a waste. He tried to justify his reluctance, but could only come up with reasons such as that she was pretty, and he liked seeing her around, and that her alien ways and acerbic manner created a buzzing dissonance inside him which was not unpleasant. Even her plotting against him, while infuriating, was also in a way, admirable. He found he was looking forward to the challenge of extracting the dragonball from her when the time came – he was sure she'd have some strategy in place to keep it from him, another hurdle to overcome. Their battle of wills made for an interesting game at times (except for when she used her own shamelessness against his sense of propriety!), and he indulged it, confident that he would eventually win the war.

But these were not pragmatic reasons to spare her – in fact they were suspect, and perhaps all the more reason to destroy her. She had uncovered some crack of weakness in him, and  _that_  could not be tolerated. All her potential usefulness from a technical standpoint was struck through by her defiance and unwillingness. He couldn't take someone that clever and that opposed to him on the spaceship – that would be courting disaster. He would have to kill her, and that was the end of that. There was no point thinking on it any longer.

Scowling with displeasure at this conclusion, he saw Kakarott dip over the brow of a low hill and out of sight. He put thoughts of Bulma out of his mind for now. Kakarott's move anticipated an ambush and Vegeta was not disappointed. Kakarott had ditched the girl, and when Vegeta purposely passed overhead, inviting attack, he leapt up and barrelled into Vegeta's stomach with both fists. The impact took Vegeta's breath away for a second, despite the huge difference in power level between them and the fact that he'd been expecting it. Perhaps Kakarott had a bit more to him than he had initially thought?

Vegeta stopped in mid air, clutching his middle theatrically and saw the girl running towards the edge of a ravine hidden at the bottom of the shallow valley. Kakarott took the bait and came flying in from behind for another amazingly slow attack. Vegeta exploded out of his curled pose just before the boy closed the distance and clotheslined him. Kakarott's nose smashed into the back of his forearm. While Kakarott was yelling in pain at that, Vegeta kicked him in the backside and launched him to the far side of the ravine where he landed heavily and didn't move.

'Completely fucking soft,' Vegeta muttered. 'Worse than Tarble.'

He flew over the ravine, looking for the girl, but couldn't see her. It was very rocky, with lots of overhangs – plenty of places to hide. He flew up and down the ravine each way, but couldn't spot her. She couldn't have gotten away – she would simply be too slow on foot. He scanned for her with his scouter and it picked up Kakarott, but couldn't find anything else like the power level 63 she had registered earlier. The largest he could find in the vicinity was a 4. He tracked it down, but it just proved to be a very large iguana. Had the girl tripped on a rock and broken her neck? It was the only explanation he could think of. Well, fine! That proved she was no half Saiyan worth a damn, which would shut Nappa up on the sunject,

He flew back to Kakarott, who was sitting up now, face battered and slightly cut up on the rocks he'd landed head first on. Blood trickled down from his nose.

'You couldn't find her, could you?' Kakarott said. His gloating tone got Vegeta's back up.

'That is enough insubordination from you,' Vegeta said, alighting on the rocky earth before him. 'Either you learn to follow my orders or when we leave you can remain on your beloved Earth – in a grave.'

'What? No!' Kakarott yelled, but Vegeta was through arguing with contrary Earthlings. He launched himself at Kakarott, his foot hitting his chest so fast that Kakarott's head was whipped back and cracked into the rock behind him. The boy slumped and Vegeta gathered a handful of the orange suit he wore, hoisting him up to gather the limp body in his hand.

* * *

'Krillin! Go help Goku!' Bulma screamed as Vegeta took off.

Krillin was standing in apparent indecision, staring after the prince.

'Not if you know what's good for you, kid,' Nappa said. 'Don't think that we haven't noticed that you're entirely disposable. I'll kill you right now, or Vegeta will. Either way.'

Krillin's face fell, pale with fear. Bulma felt her knees going weak and sank to the dust. Puar settled next to her, wringing her paws with worry.

'He's not…he's not really going to kill her, is he?' she asked no one in particular, and no one answered her in return. Tarble sat down next to Brolly, staring at the dirt in front of him, lips tight and shoulders hunched. Brolly began sweeping his hand to and fro in the dust, his face returned to its usual blankness. The six of them waited in silence for Vegeta and the others to return. When he did it was with Goku draped lifelessly from his arm.

Bulma's breath went out of her with so much panic that for a moment she couldn't speak. She heard Krillin's horrified moan before she managed to breathe in and scream, 'Did you kill him? Did you kill him!'

'No,' said Vegeta, calmly, and dropped Goku face down in the dirt.

She rushed over, as did Krillin and Puar, and gently they turned their friend over as Vegeta walked away. Bulma caught his head in her hands before the bloody patch on the back of his skull could roll in the dust, and settled him on her lap.

'Goku? Goku?' she said, and his eyes fluttered and opened a crack.

'Oh, hey!' he said weakly.

'Ah!' said Krillin, his mouth popping open with relief, then he leapt to his feet. 'What about the girl? Did you kill Chichi?' he demanded of Vegeta.

'I didn't need to,' said Vegeta, as calmly as if Krillin had asked him the time. 'It seems as if she slipped into a ravine and took care of herself for me. Either that, or she is a  _very_  fast runner.'

'You fiend!' said Puar.

Irritation passed over Vegeta face. 'You should know better than to try me right now, Daemon. You're walking a fine line as it is.' Next he turned his impatience on Bulma. 'So where is it?'

'Where is what?' she asked dumbly, distracted by the blood trickling between her fingers.

'The next dragonball, of course!'

'We can't go after the next one with Goku like this! We need to go back to the ship so we can treat his head wound!' she cried.

'He's fine.'

'He's not! He's probably severely concussed!'

'He is a Saiyan. He'll be fine.'

'I don't care! We're going back to the ship!'

' _You_  don't give the orders around here.' Suddenly he darted towards her, and Bulma tensed for a blow that didn't come. Instead Vegeta plucked up the dragon radar from where she'd dropped it when she'd cradled Goku's skull.  _No!_  She almost collapsed over Goku from the sudden weight of hopelessness.

'Give that back!' she said, and of course Vegeta ignored her, pressing the button that brought the screen to life. Turning this way and that, he eventually settled on a North Westerly direction and gave a chuckle. 'It is, as I thought, merely a proximity tracker. Here is me, with my dragonballs, and this way lies the next dragonball.' He looked back at her over his shoulder. 'Either you're really stupid or really clever!' Then he fiddled with it, pressing the button multiple times, zooming in and out and frowning. He turned to look at her. 'So how far away from it are we?'

He couldn't read the distance gauge. 'Give it back and I'll tell you.'

Vegeta gave her a small and very nasty smile. 'You're going to be very honest with me now,  _Bulma_. I don't  _really_  need your help. After all, I could just fly in a straight line towards the ball for however long I need to, and I'll get there eventually.' He laid a hand on Krillin's head, who cringed away from him. 'You didn't need an assistant at all. I can only guess that you wished to save his life. You care for your friend. Hold that in mind.'

Bulma gulped at the implied threat. Goku stirred in her lap, sitting up.

'It's okay to tell him, Bulma,' he told her. 'The next dragonball is at Kami's Lookout in the Land of Korin. It's in the sky above Korin's Tower. We need to go there.'

'You're concussed, Goku,' she told him. 'We don't know where the dragonball is yet.'

'I do. I didn't get a chance to tell you that Kami took me to his lookout in a dream last night.'

Vegeta laughed, but Bulma frowned and searched the eyes of her friend. She wasn't sure if he was confused or really in contact with a deity. The boundries between possible and impossible had moved around quite a bit recently, and they could sure use the help of a god on their side.

'It's okay,' Goku told her, in a low voice. 'Kami is expecting us.' Then he hauled himself to his feet and looked Vegeta in the eye. 'I'm ready.'

'The boy that hears the voice of God with every blow to the head has spoken. What a rabble of freaks we're running with, Nappa,' said Vegeta.

Bulma stood and took the radar from Vegeta, trying not to get too close to him as she did so. She read the distance gauge. 'It's eight thousand kilometres away. We'll need to move the ship again.'

'So, we'll move the ship.' He took the blocky com unit form the bag and talked into it.

'Raditz, I hope you haven't unpacked. We're leaving again.'

The boys began to lift off from the ground one by one, and Bulma panicked at the sight of Brolly standing and coming towards her. Everyone was acting like he was back to normal, but she couldn't forget that unexplained moment of psychotic violence. There was something wrong with that kid.

'Brolly, take Kakarott,' said Vegeta. 'He may be too injured to keep up, and I don't trust him.'

'Krillin, Tarble!' Bulma begged, but Vegeta darted in and scooped her roughly into his arms before either of them could come to her rescue, and she screamed.

He glanced down at her, smiling with smugness while all Bulma's plans and schemes fell apart along with her bravery. 'You and I are going to stick very close together from now on,' he promised her.

* * *

As they flew back towards the ship, a small cloud of dust and a glint of metal a way to the North attracted Bulma's attention. It also attracted Vegeta's. His course began to drift towards it.

'What are you doing?' she asked him.

'What is that?' he asked without answering her.

'It's just a car, but it's miles away. They'll never notice us up here.'

'Let's just keep going!' said Puar, who clung to Vegeta's shoulder.

'No.' Instead of turning away, Vegeta stopped and waited for the others to catch up. 'Kakarott, Tarble,' he said, when the others gathered around. 'I'm sick of carrying deadweight. There's just enough time for a little lesson in what it means to be a Saiyan.'

'What are you talking about-' said Bulma, but Vegeta sped off towards the car, coming to a stop in the air in front of it. The blue and silver SUV slowed too.

'They'll see us!' Bulma cried. 'You can't let them see us!'

'It doesn't matter,' Vegeta said.

'Why not?'

Nappa pulled up beside them and Vegeta tossed Bulma into his chest. She screamed as she was launched through the empty air as casually as luggage, and then screamed again as she slammed into Nappa's chest and his massive arms constricted around her and hoisted her up to his smirking face. He laughed and turned her around so she faced the car and the astonished people that were climbing out of it, pointing up at the flying people in the sky. It was a family; a man and a woman, a boy and two little girls.

'No…'

Nappa laughed. 'I wouldn't want you to miss the show!'

'Hold this too,' said Vegeta, flinging Nappa the black bag, which Nappa caught with his tail.

Next Vegeta caught Krillin by the shoulder and the boy cried out in fear. Vegeta looked around for Brolly and said, 'Swap you.' He threw a protesting Krillin at Brolly, who tossed Goku high in return. Goku stopped himself in the air before he made it to Vegeta.

'What do you think you're doing, Vegeta?' he yelled.

'My, my, that's not the right way to talk to your prince,' Vegeta said. 'Tarble, come here.'

Tarble floated closer, his tail down and curled between his legs. He looked sick with worry.

'The two of you – I've had enough of sloppy behaviour, insubordination, the bleeding hearts and the disgrace you both present to your heritage. This is your last chance.' He pointed at Tarble. 'You have consistently failed to kill anyone. Any order to execute you have managed to bungle, and I have no doubt now that it is purposeful, to avoid bloodying your hands.' Then he pointed at Goku. 'Kakarott, have you killed intentionally?'

'When I really had to. When there was nothing else for it. But only bad guys like  _you_ , Vegeta.'

'Well now you're going to learn to kill on demand. You're going to learn to follow a fucking order Kakarott, or else you're no use to me. You're going to kill when I say, or I'll kill you right now. I'll kill you both, do you hear me?'

'No!' Bulma screamed.

Puar gasped and fainted off Vegeta's shoulder. Tarble dipped down and caught her, offering her back to Vegeta. Vegeta shook his head. 'Give it to Nappa.' Tarble came over and Bulma saw he was shaking like a leaf. She reached out and took Puar before Nappa could take hold of her.

'I know what you're planning,' cried Goku. 'Leave these people alone! They've done nothing!'

'So what?' said Vegeta casually. 'They mean nothing to you. They mean nothing to me. They are  _nothing_. A Saiyan kills. A Saiyan kills to order. That's how we lived our lives. A Saiyan is attached to nothing but his hierarchy, and certainly not strangers.'

'You're evil!' screamed Bulma.

Vegeta looked in her direction and lifted a brow. 'You'd be advised to keep a low profile at this time, dragonball-hunter.'

He pointed down at the small figures below, who could now be seen taking pictures on a camera and jumping up and down, waving in excitement to see flying people.

'Get out of here! Drive!' she screamed, but they seemed to be too far away to hear her. Nappa changed his grip on her to crush a huge hand over her lower face. He was holding her so tight she could barely breathe.

'First order of business,' said Vegeta. 'Both of you, get your tails around your waists, and stop flopping them around like babes. No soldier leaves himself so open during action.'

Tarble immediately complied, and Goku growled, but followed suit.

'Second order…kill.'

'It doesn't have to be now, does it?' said Tarble, his voice quaking. 'Please, Vegeta, not these people. Next time there's someone who's actually done us wrong…I'll, I'll kill then, but not these people!'

'YES! These people! This is your last chance! Both of you, kill at least one of these idiots below, or the next death you witness will be your own.'

'I won't do it!' shouted Goku.

'Won't you?' scoffed Vegeta. 'Don't forget we've got the lives of your two friends in our hands right now.'

On cue, Nappa's fingers dug crushingly into Bulma's ribs and she screamed with pain under the hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes darted sideways to where Krillin was similarly crushed in Brolly's arms and they exchanged a look of pure terror.

'Stop it! You sick bastard!' said Goku.

'Hurry up, Kakarott! And Tarble, stop pissing yourself and get going!'

Tarble whimpered and turned towards the family, his hands raising before him.

'Do it, Tarble!' Vegeta shouted. 'I've never seen such a display of cowardice! It's not like they're going to fight back!"

Tarble trembled and dropped his arms again.

'Do it, Tarble, you fucking sack of worms!' yelled Nappa.

The boy gulped and sobbed, bringing his hands back up.

'No, don't give in!' yelled Goku.

'Shut up!' Tarble shouted back at him. 'Shut your Earthling mouth! What do I care about a few Earthlings?'

With a cry of frustration Goku flew down and grabbed Tarble by the wrists. 'DON'T DO IT!'

Tarble weakly struggled in Goku's grasp, his face red and crumpling as the tears began to flow. 'I  _have_  too…' He choked on a sob and snorted snot bubbles of humiliation.

'Revolting!' screamed Vegeta.

Goku growled and turned back to Vegeta. 'We won't do it! You won't make us!'

'Then you'll die,' said Vegeta coldly.

'No!'

'There are only two options, fool.'

'That's where you're wrong!' said Goku. With a great roar he…Bulma couldn't actually tell what he was doing. Grimacing a lot from the looks of it. And then a faint red glow began to form around him. Was that…the chi that they all talked about?

'Here's option three,' Goku said at last, and he launched himself at Vegeta. The prince appeared not to expect this. Goku ploughed into him, swinging fists almost faster than Bulma could follow, hammering them into Vegeta's chest and face. For a few moments her heart swelled with pride and hope, and then, with a single angry swipe, Vegeta knocked Goku back towards the ground.

Goku wasn't beat though. He came roaring back up, only for Tarble to get in the way.

'Don't attack the prince!' he screamed, his fist crashing into Goku's face. Goku cried out in surprise and pain, cartwheeling end over end before managing to right himself. He rubbed his cheek where the right hook had caught him

'Tarble! Why are you even defending him?' he shouted.

Tarble was crying at the same time as he flew at Goku with his fist raised, heaving great breaths into his skinny chest. 'Because I'm a  _Saiyan!_ '

Nappa gave a great guffaw of laughter as the two boys clashed. Tarble was fighting furiously, tooth and nail, with a desperation that was almost overwhelming Goku. The two boys grappled in the air. Tarble looked like he was trying to crush Goku to death, but Goku was pulling out of his holds and hitting Tarble back wherever he could – face, ribs, groin, arms.

'So what if you're a Saiyan?' Goku said. 'I'm a Saiyan too, but no one's going to make me to do anything I know is wrong!'

'No, you're not!' Tarble said. 'I'm a Saiyan like Vegeta! We are cut from the same cloth!' And then he bit Goku on the arm.

'Look at them going at each other!' said Nappa. 'It's like watching two whores fight over a ten credit token!'

At this moment Goku punched Tarble in the face so hard that the other boy let go of him involuntarily to clutch his nose, and Goku put distance between them. Tarble let go of his nose with one hand and pointed at Goku.

'Scallion Shot!' he said in a muffled voice while blood dripped out of his nostrils. A thin beam of light shot from his finger at Goku, but Goku was far enough away and fast enough to dodge it. It crashed into the desert below with an explosive flash, scattering dust, rocks and cacti. It missed the family down below, but to Bulma's great relief they stopped taking photos and hurriedly shoved their kids back in the car. Nappa let go of her mouth at last and Bulma could speak, but she found she couldn't do anything but look on in hopeless horror at the fight before her.

Tarble let off several more 'Scallion shots' before Vegeta intervened. He'd been glowering at that two of them, but now his eyes narrowed on Goku.

'Stand down, Tarble,' he said. 'Kakarott wishes to fight his prince. I will oblige.'

The calmness of his voice after all the screaming and violence only made Bulma more sure that Goku was about to die. He hung in the air with his arms crossed, completely at ease except for the distaste on his face. Suddenly he smiled.

'No! Goku, fly away!' she cried, but either Goku didn't hear her or he ignored her.

'All right, then,' he said to Vegeta, as he squared up to him. Vegeta didn't even uncross his arms, just crooked one finger in a come-hither motion. Goku's face became thunderous at the mocking stance. 'You'd better be taking this seriously.'

'Oh, I'm taking it  _deadly_  seriously, I assure you,' Vegeta replied.

Suddenly Goku disappeared. Bulma couldn't even see where he'd got to, though Vegeta appeared to be moving a little; almost swaying like grass in the wind, though his edges were  _blurry_. Suddenly his arm shot out, and with an alarming explosion of breath, Goku reappeared, curled around Vegeta's fist, which was buried in his midriff.

'Slow, I'd say,' Vegeta purred.

Goku unwrapped himself from Vegeta's arm, unable to catch his breath, and then he plummeted earthwards, landing and trying to catch himself on his feet, but falling to his knees. Vegeta followed gracefully, and Brolly and Nappa followed with their captives in their arms still. Tarble came last, sinking to his haunches in the dirt a little way away, still wiping away tears and blood and hiding his face from the fight. Goku coughed a little and blood bubbled on his lips, but he still managed to stand. Bulma had to blink away tears to see him.

At least the family SUV was just a distant dust cloud, racing away towards the horizon. If the Saiyans killed them all, maybe they'd be too distracted to remember to go after the witnesses.

Goku readied himself again and took a deep breath. As he let it out he became two identical Gokus. 'Huh,' was Vegeta's barest indication of surprise. One clone ran straight at Vegeta while the other jumped high, coming down on him from above. Vegeta jumped, folding himself in half to duck the overhead attack and catching the running Goku in the head with his foot. The crack she heard made Bulma feel ill. The one that had been kicked slid on his back on the ground for a way until Vegeta landed on his chest, making him convulse silently. The Goku that had missed him touched down on the ground and immediately changed direction, coming back at Vegeta, and Bulma couldn't even understand what happened next. It looked like Vegeta didn't even move at all, and yet Goku's second clone ricocheted off Vegeta wildly and bowled into Tarble. Tarble scrambled up, but Goku's clone could only get to his hands and knees and watch as Vegeta hopped up and came crashing down like a jackhammer on one of the first clone's legs. Another crack had Bulma's scream mingling with Krillin and Goku's.

'Splitting your energy before a much superior opponent is not wise,' said Vegeta. 'One could pay the ultimate price for that.' Then he came down on Goku's arm. The other clone disappeared and Goku spasmed in pain under Vegeta. 'How much more can you take?' the prince asked. 'Not much, is my guess. I think we're almost done here.' Bulma shut her eyes, but couldn't not hear Goku's wheezing groan, even over the sound of her own crying.

'Hey, Vegeta,' said Nappa. 'Don't you think that's enough?'

'He's not dead  _yet_ ,' was Vegeta's glib reply as he leapt up and came down on Goku's other leg. Goku let out a hoarse cry and then lost his grip on consciousness, his eyes drifting closed.

'Let him go!  _Please_ , don't kill him!' Bulma begged.

'You're not serious about killing him?' said Nappa, sounding shocked at the thought. 'We came all this way out to Earth to find him! He's one of our own kind!'

'He's not _my_ kind,' said Vegeta, with a sneer.

'Yes, he is! He may not be all we hoped for, but this is wasteful. It's not like there are so many Saiyans left that you can go around  _killing_  them.'

'How dare you talk to me that way!' Vegeta said, turning to face Nappa properly.

'I'm sorry, Your Highness, but it's the truth.  _You_  wanted to come all the way out to Earth to find him, and I know I thought it wasn't worth it, but we did and we found him, so to kill him now would be a huge waste of effort.'

'The wish will more than make up for the loss.'

'Even so...a Saiyan life...'

Vegeta pouted, glancing down at the crumpled body underneath him and then back at Nappa. 'If you're so keen on keeping him alive, perhaps he should be  _your_  responsibility. You're good at playing the nanny goat after all!' The two Saiyans locked eyes and the silent moment between them filled with the promise of yet more violence. But the moment was shattered by another voice, small and tinny sounding.

'Vegeta! Vegeta! Answer me!' she heard Raditz saying.

Vegeta's furious expression softened into a pout. 'Well, answer it then, Nappa!'

'Hell, what's  _this_  about?' said Nappa, shifting Bulma to one arm while he held up the black bag in his tail and fished around in it with his other hand.

'Somebody, please, say you're listening!' Raditz was shouting.

Nappa produced the blocky coms unit from the bag and spoke into it.

'What is it, Raditz? I'm busy trying to talk our prince out of killing your little brother.'

Vegeta folded his arms, listening impatiently for whatever Raditz had to say.

'Are you serious?' she heard Raditz cry. 'Why does he want to...? Oh fuck, it doesn't matter; there's no time! Frieza's ship is only 5 light minutes away, inside the solar system!'


	15. The Weight of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some slack time at work and a week off with a rotten illness have given me enough time to get a bit more of this done.
> 
> Anyway, that you all for your kind reviews so far! I usually thank everyone for their reviews personally, unless I forget, or they slip through the cracks.
> 
> Thank you to Adli once more for all your helpful suggestions and for being my grammar and slang watchdog. You are the bestest!

Kami was concentrating on the scene in the desert when he sensed something that touched him with such unease that his mind's eye was pulled from the trials of Goku, Krillin and Bulma. He looked around for Mr Popo who was not far away, frozen in the act of sweeping the flagstones.

'Do you feel that?' he asked him.

'Yes, Kami. Though I wish I didn't.'

Dread rolled over Kami. It wasn't even here yet, and he could already feel it – a black, cloying, oily chi of immense power. There was no doubting its evil when the slightest sense of it bristled with malevolence. Could Goku possibly lead the others here in time? How could he when Vegeta seemed intent on killing him? Were they down to luck and prayer?

Assuming they were, Kami closed his eyes and prayed, speaking his plight across the mortal barrier to the Next World

'Holy Kai, hear my prayer for guidance. A terrible unknown force is approaching planet Earth and we are defenceless. Guide my hand as I act now blindly, with hope as my tool and not much else besides.'

_Oh, hey there, Kami._

Kami started in surprise, astonished to hear a telepathic reply.

'Who is this?'

_King Kai of the Northern galaxy. You were just praying to the Kaioshin just now, right?_

'Yes, I was...' Kami had been praying as his predecessor had taught him to, but the old guardian never mentioned any of the Kaioshin  _replying_  to his prayers. The voice, even telepathically, was nasal and had trouble with hard "R"s. He had not expected his superior in the Otherworld to have a speech impediment.

'King Kai, it is an honour! I thought that my prayers would be answered with inner certainty...or...'

_Inner certainty? Ha! Wouldn't we all like to have that! No, I usually try to respond personally, but I've had quite a backlog for the last five hundred years or so. Lately I check into Earth every couple of decades just to make sure the place hasn't burnt down._

Kami gasped. He couldn't believe his superior would have such a lax attitude to the Earth's fate.

_Hey, don't be so quick to judge! I gotta lot of planets and a lot of galaxy in far worse shape than Earth. Well, until recently that is. Oh, Kami, you're not going to like this. I really dropped the ball on this one._

'What is it? Frieza?'

_Oh, you've heard of him?_

'Only the name, and the fact that there is a gang of super-powered hellions here, on the run from him…and that he is nearly here now!'

_Well, he's bad news. He's the most freakishly powerful tyrant, conqueror, warlord, what you will, that this galaxy has ever seen. He's most of my problem closer to the centre of the Milky Way. I didn't expect to see him this far out from the centre. I thought he'd gone to ground lately. I didn't realise he was on his way to you._

'No!'

_Yeah, sorry about that._

'Well, what can we do to protect the Earth from him?'

_You're a Namekian, right? You don't happen to have any of those dragonballs?_

'Other Nameks make dragonballs?'

_Well, yeah. You didn't know that?_

'I only found out I was  _Namekian_  a few days ago from the Saiyans.'

_Oh. I wish I'd checked in sooner – I could have helped you out there. But that's beside the point right now. You have dragonballs?_

'The Saiyans have most of them right now. I have the last.'

_Well, unless you all get together in about the next half an hour or so I'd say the Earth is kinda done for._

Kami fell to his knees. 'Then there's nothing?'

 _Well, we can't stop Frieza arriving, but I wouldn't say there was_ nothing _we could do. I think I might have a plan..._

* * *

Vegeta stood over Kakarott, his foot still resting on his broken femur. Raditz's words...could not be true! He could not be  _this_  close and fail again! He stood, gripped by rage, wanting to carry on as if he hadn't heard what Raditz said, wanting to find the last two dragonballs and claim his wish, but he knew that if he did, Frieza would catch him, and he'd be dead, not immortal.

_How did he always find them? This wasn't fair!_

'Vegeta!' Nappa shouted. 'Didn't you hear?'

'I heard.'

'Either kill the brat of bring him with us, but we've got to move it!'

He could hear the panic in the other's gruff voice, and it pushed him over his hurdle of rage, and into the necessary fear for survival. The screams and shouts from the two Earthlings began to filter through.

'Dammit!'

He looked down at Kakarott's pale form. Kill him or...fuck, who knew? Perhaps even this sack of shit could be useful on the run. If the Earth was about to go off like a firework, maybe that would be the end of Kakarott's heroism. He picked the kid up by a handful of his gi and said to the others, 'Get back to the ship, as fast as you can.'

Vegeta flew faster than anyone, and so he was the first to touch down on the rampway where Raditz was wide eyed and on edge.

'Is he dead?' he said as his eyes fell on his brother.

'Is that the first thing you say?' asked Vegeta. 'How far off is Frieza?'

'Minutes away,' said Raditz, his eyes still on Kakarott. Vegeta thrust the boy at him.

'He's not dead yet. Put him in the tank,' he said, looking out to see that Nappa and Brolly were almost to the ship. He ran towards the stairs up to the flight deck, then shouted over his shoulder. 'No sedatives or painkillers though! That little turd is not off the hook, yet!' Kakarott might one day be useful, but Vegeta was going to make sure he was not spared the rod in the meantime.

Slamming himself into a pilot's seat and hearing Nappa and the girl's voice below, Vegeta powered up the ship and hit the button to close the rampway. No sooner had he done so than he saw Tarble still dashing across the desert. Vegeta was tempted to pretend he hadn't noticed and take off anyway, but Nappa shouted from below 'Vegeta, Tarble's still out there!' The boy stopped a short way from the ship, a stricken look of betrayal on his face as he looked right at Vegeta through the glass of the dome, and with a snarl, Vegeta opened the rampway again for a few seconds and got back to prepping for take off.

Tarble leapt in the rampway as it hinged shut again, panting with exertion and still crying a bit between gulps of air. He dropped onto a couch behind the others, curling himself into a ball trying to make himself not exist.

The Earthlings sat on the floor of the sunken lounge, clinging to each other. The daemon, or cat or whatever it was, Puar, had come round and now wept to see Kakarott's bent, broken and limp form slumped at the bottom of the tank, Raditz covering him with the diodes and the mask. He closed the door and liquid started rushing in.

'Will he be okay?' Puar asked.

'He should be,' said Raditz. 'Assuming Frieza doesn't catch us and we  _all_  die.'

Tarble almost wished that Frieza did catch them before Vegeta had another chance to show how little he really cared for him. He'd seen Vegeta hesitate when he'd noticed him stuck outside the ship, considering whether to open the door or just take off. The prince had made more of an effort to make sure  _Kakarott_  was on board the ship than he did himself!

Tarble glared at Kakarott's messed up body, trying to make himself hate the other boy, but he couldn't. The pain of not belonging, the hollowness of not being wanted or needed that he'd fought back against all his life with the Tech-Techies had followed him into his life with the Saiyans, and only seemed to be growing. If Frieza finally caught up to them and Tarble was killed before Vegeta's eyes, would Vegeta mourn him? Would Vegeta even care? Tarble knew he wouldn't. Not the man who was threatening to kill him only minutes ago. Not the one that was so ashamed of the thought they might be brothers that he wouldn't even admit the possibility.

'Is Kakarott in the tank yet?' Vegeta screamed from upstairs.

'Yes!' shouted Raditz in return.

'Then I'm taking off now!'

The G forces when Vegeta took off were devastating. Bulma and Krillin were crushed backwards onto the cushions and furs that the pit of the lounge was strewn with. Even Raditz and Nappa stumbled for a second. Vegeta must be panicking. Bulma could see the fear in the two oldest Saiyans, and that scared her even more. Not once until now had any of the cocky men displayed any fear. In about a minute flat she could see stars out of the window, and then the artificial gravity switched on, returning them all jarringly to normal. Nappa and Raditz raced up the stairs, and Bulma and Krillin scrambled after them, Puar clinging to Bulma's shoulder and Brolly on their heels, and last came Tarble, dragging his feet.

In the dome of the flight deck all was stars until Vegeta tilted the craft and the Earth dawned over the console and rose to fill most of the dome above them. It was beautiful and huge and hung over Bulma's head with such weight that her knees trembled. She sank back against the map table, fearing that whatever came next was partly her own fault because delaying the finding of dragonballs now looked like it might've been a worse decision than letting Vegeta have his wish, whatever it was.

Krillin grasped her wrist, his eyes going wide. Bulma looked down at him but couldn't see anything wrong.

'What is it?' she asked.

'Something...I can feel  _something_...and it's  _bad_.'

'What do you mean?' she said, fearing he was hurt.

'I don't know, Bulma! It's like when I'm controlling my chi and I can feel it, but it's outside of me, and so enormous and...dark!' His round face was blanched white. 'I just have a feeling it's that Captain Ice Cream guy.'

Bulma gave a short sob of panic. And she had been beginning to doubt this "Frieza" even existed!

Vegeta was flitting anxiously over the controls, pressing things on the screen and hurriedly typing commands. A rank of four screens lit up next to him, showing various images of space, the outside of the ship and the surface of the Earth.

'Where the fuck is it, where the fuck is it?' he muttered, still typing, making mistakes in his haste and having to try again. One of the images on the screen suddenly panned around to face out into the stars, and then zoomed in on what appeared to be an empty patch of space. Then a tiny speck enlarged until it filled most of the screen. It was a space ship, saucer shaped like this one, but with many more windows and many more domes on top around a larger central one. It looked massive.

'Is that Frieza's ship?' Bulma asked.

Vegeta didn't answer her; he was too busy.

'Shit, Vegeta,' said Raditz. 'They're less than ten thousand GMs away! Are they aiming right at us?' He dumped himself into the empty pilot seat next to the younger Saiyan. For a tense moment the two of them stared at a vector graphic projected holographically above the console.

'No,' said Vegeta. 'If they keep on that course, they'll slide right past us. They're heading down to the desert we just left.'

'Did they know we were there?' asked Nappa. 'How?'

'How should I know?' said Vegeta. 'But we can't stay here. Even a casual sweep of the aerospace will reveal us. I'm surprised they haven't found us yet.' He lifted his hands to the controls, but Raditz held his hand up.

'Wait! If you fire up the engines they could pick up a power spike from the fusion drive!'

Vegeta froze over the controls. 'Crap! Maybe that's how they knew where we were! But we absolutely must move or we're done for!'

He began looking up and down the dashboard, and hesitantly flicked a few switches. The lights around the edge of the floor went out on the flight deck, and a hum that Bulma hadn't even been aware she was hearing, stopped. The only light came from the screens in the console and the reflection from the planet

'Did you just turn the life supporting systems off?' said Raditz.

'Yes. For now,' replied Vegeta. 'Let's see if we survive the hour before we fuss over oxygen levels.'

'How does that help us?'

'I powered the fusion drive off. We're running on solar power only now. I'm making our power footprint as low as possible so we look like any other passive Earth satellite to their sensors. Brace yourselves, I'm turning the gravity off.'

He and Raditz quickly strapped themselves into their seats and Nappa stretched up to brace himself against the dome, but Bulma and the others had nothing to hold onto but the smooth contours of the map table. She and Krillin whimpered as they came unglued from their sense of up and down. Looking up at the Earth, her perspective suddenly shifted and she realised she was looking  _down_  at it through an invisible barrier of the dome, not up. Even more unnerving, was that she knew they were in orbit, so she knew they really were  _falling_  towards Earth, but travelling sideways so fast they were always missing, keeping pace with the turning of the planet.

'I'm going to drive us out of here, slowly,' announced Vegeta. He eased on the stick in front of him and at first nothing seemed to happen, but then at last she could perceive the surface of the planet rolling away underneath them. 'Come on, come on...' he muttered.

'Where are you taking us?' she demanded, afraid that the next thing he would do would be blast off into outer space.

'Out of eyeshot.'

'Vegeta!' alerted Nappa, pointing at the screen that was tracking the other ship. A slipstream of atmosphere was being torn up and burnt around as it headed in lower to the Earth. She could see the ocean underneath it, and then the red wilderness of the desert.

'Are they landing?' she asked.

'Sure looks that way, doesn't it?' said Nappa.

As they watched the screen, the slipstream eased off and the ship was obscured by clouds before bursting back into view. It slowed, and then descended almost vertically to the ground.

'What will they do?' asked Bulma. Her stomach palpitated nervously.

'I don't know,' admitted Vegeta. 'Look for us, probably. They seem to know where to start looking.'

'And if they don't find you?'

'I suppose that depends on what kind of mood Frieza is in today, and if he's in a hurry.'

'And what are  _we_  going to do?' asked Krillin. He'd lost his grip on the map table and was now hanging awkwardly and uncomfortably in the air.

Vegeta gave him an irritated glance over his shoulder. ' _We_ are going to do wait this out and hope there are still dragonballs to make a wish with when they've gone.  _You_  are going to be still, quiet and not interfere if you value you life.'

Tiny figures began to pour out of the ship in the desert. Bulma gasped in fear and wonder at the varied hues of them. Aliens. Very alien-looking aliens on her planet. She pushed herself off from the map tale to grab hold of the back of Vegeta's chair so that she could see better.

'Is one of them Frieza?' she asked.

'Raditz, get another of those cameras trained on the people outside the ship,' Vegeta ordered.

'Vegeta!' exclaimed Nappa, clutching the scouter over his ear.

'Yes, I know!' Vegeta snapped. 'We can all hear it.'

'I can't!' objected Bulma.

'What part of be quiet and don't interfere did you not understand?' he said, suddenly turning on her.

Bulma bit her lip, wanting to argue with him, but too frightened of him after what he'd done to Goku.

' _Now_  you're suddenly capable of silence?' Vegeta rolled his eyes, then reached out and pulled the scouter off Raditz, who protested with a weak, 'Hey!' He fiddled with it, pressing an almost invisible button concealed in a moulded seam, and the tiny buzz coming through the earphone piece suddenly became tinny voices that filled the breathless silence of the flight deck.

'-finished the perimeter sweep start an expanding circle sweep of the area. You're not just looking for Saiyans – anything sentient, capable of speech should be brought back for questioning.'

Bulma retreated slightly, not sure if she should be thankful or just relieved that Vegeta didn't hurt her. Another of the screens moved about and zoomed in tighter on the area outside the ship where men could be seen flying from. They were almost overhead still, making it impossible to see faces properly, but even so, the monstrosity of some of the aliens could already be seen. Horns, scales, green skin, red skin, tails, protrusions...

'There they are,' commented Nappa quietly. 'Frieza and his favourite pals, Dodoria and Zarbon.'

'Which one's which?' Bulma blurted before she could stop herself, then hunched her shoulders as she attracted the gaze of Nappa and Vegeta.

'Frieza is the loathsome one with pink skin and a white helmet with shiny purple patches,' Vegeta said. 'Dodoria is the bloated pink haemorrhoid of a man. Zarbon is the prissy green one with the dark green hair braid.'

'So  _that's_  Frieza,' said Tarble. 'He looks...small.'

Bulma could tell exactly who was who by those descriptions. A shudder ran up her spine and she prayed  _Please just let them find nothing and leave! Please just let them find nothing and leave!_  She felt hands grasping her shoulders and looked up to see Krillin and Tarble hanging on to her to get a good view of the screens too. Brolly pulled himself alongside Nappa and used the oldest Saiyan's arms and tail as handholds.

'Ah! Hands, Brolly!' Nappa complained. 'Watch your fucking hands, you clumsy dope!'

'Shush, Nappa, and listen,' Vegeta admonished.

They all lapsed into silence for many long minutes, watching the coming and goings from the ship and listening to soldiers reporting back to their officers; many variations on 'We searched arc 1, at five to ten GM, nothing to report.' Frieza, Dodoria and Zarbon stood around apparently chatting and taking in the air.

'Guys,' whispered Krillin. 'I'm going to be sick in zero gravity. What should I do about that?'

Raditz moved swiftly, reaching under the console to a small cupboard like a glove box and whipping out a handful of plastic bags. 'Here. And go downstairs, no one wants to hear you up-chucking.'

It must've been nearly half an hour before anything changed. Krillin dragged himself up the stairs again just in time to hear a soldier report, 'Got a live one here! She's feisty, too!'

'Good, bring her in.'

Bulma clutched Puar to her in anxiety, and the cat gave a little squeak. What poor person did they have?

A few minutes later she could see who it was. Twisting and jerking between the arms of two colourfully ugly soldiers, was Chichi.

'No!' moaned Bulma and Krillin.

'Fuck, it's the idiot girl!' hissed Vegeta.

'Oh...shit,' mumbled Nappa.

Over her shoulder, almost in her ear, she could hear Tarble's suddenly broken breathing, but he said nothing.

'We could be fucked, Vegeta,' said Nappa solemnly. 'Time to cut and run?'

'Not yet!' said Vegeta, leaning in closer to the screen. 'Maybe she won't remember! Or maybe...maybe there'll still be time to get to the last dragonballs...Shit!' He clutched his temples in abject dismay. 'How the fuck does he always find us?'

'Can't we do anything to help her?' asked Puar.

'What do  _you_  think, Daemon?' Vegeta snarled, still hiding his face behind his wrists.

Frieza moved laconically to stand before the girl, waving his thick, sectioned tail from side to side. The tip of it was blunt as if it had been torn off, and as he began talking the severed end shook like a rattlesnake's. They were now sufficiently far away that slightly more of their expressions could be read. Chichi was obviously terrified and crying; Frieza just looked slightly irritated. This changed though after they began talking, Frieza leaning forward looking more and more intent. His arm suddenly shot out and grabbed the girl by the front of her armoured bra, hauling her close to his face.

Vegeta jumped in his seat.

'Oh, no!' yelped Tarble.

' _This_ is why we kill the witnesses!' Vegeta said, turning his ire on Bulma suddenly.

Bulma held her tears in, not sure how this was somehow her fault, and managed to whisper, 'But you didn't kill her.'

Vegeta growled in fury and turned back to the screen.

Frieza was talking to his cohorts now, and the one called Zarbon lifted his hand to his scouter. Suddenly a silky, urbane man's voice emitted from the scouter.

'All units await new orders. Stay alert for any sign of the fugitives, although we expect they have left the area.'

Frieza dropped the girl back to the ground. It looked like they were shouting at one another. Suddenly the girl sprang into attack, jumping in the air to pummel one fist, then another into Frieza's unmoving face, before spinning and landing a mighty kick. But she just bounced off and fell back to the ground while Frieza laughed. So fast that Bulma couldn't see him move, he was standing over the girl, grasping her by the neck with one claw-like foot and pressing her flat to the dirt. Her back arched and they had a clear view of her face bulging in pain and fear while she clawed at the foot desperately. And then blood fountained from her mouth and she went still.

'Ah...?' said Bulma, her brain refusing to understand what just happened even while Krillin, Tarble and Puar exclaimed in horror. Puar turned her face into Bulma's shoulder and clung to her hair, sobbing. Chichi's eyes stared blankly at the sky, her pretty face marred by splatters of blood. Then Frieza leaned back and tossed her away with his foot, and she landed a short distance away, her head settling at an unnatural angle from her body. Her neck was a bloody pulp, almost severed.

'Hurgh,' said Bulma, and Raditz was trying to stuff a plastic bag over her mouth before she realised she was even going to hurl.

'Get it...in the...bag!' he said, and then recoiled as she did just that.

'That's...just awful,' said Krillin, his voice shaking.

'I know,' said Raditz. 'You humans have weak stomachs.'

'No! I mean...Chichi! How could he?' he wailed.

Bulma puked again, her eyes watering, her head turned upside down by the lack of gravity and the horror of seeing someone she knew killed. She closed her eyes and willed this not to be, and yet when she opened them it all remained; the Saiyans, the weightlessness, Tarble and Krillin turned away and weeping, Puar's death grip on her hair.

'Why did Frieza do that?' asked Brolly, his voice touched with detectable emotion for once.

'Nappa,' said Vegeta in a low voice.

'I'm on it,' the older man said. He took hold of the boy gently by the back of the neck and began pulling him towards the stairs. 'Come on, kid, let's go downstairs for a while and look at the stars.' Brolly reluctantly followed, turning back to look at the screen again before Nappa pulled him through the narrow exit.

Krillin reached out and grabbed Bulma's hand, squeezing it hard. His whey-pallored face was slack with shock and Bulma knew exactly how he felt. All their adventures so far, no matter how hair raising and deadly, had not prepared them for this moment. It was the farthest from comfort, happiness and home she had ever been.

Goku was downstairs fighting for his life in the tank. The girl, Chichi, was dead. No one knew were they were, and she had no way to warn the world about the ruthless aliens that had just landed. She gave in to hopeless tears.

* * *

Vegeta felt cold sweat prickling on his temples as he stared intently at his old master having a jolly chin wag with his generals. He felt sick himself, and the whiff of vomit wasn't helping, nor did the sound of sniffles and weeping help his nerves.

 _Why couldn't I find that girl?_  he asked himself over and over.  _Why was I not more thorough? Why?_

Zarbon's hand moved up to his face again and Vegeta barked, 'Quiet, now, all of you!'

'Squad leaders, ready your units for deployment,' came Zarbon's voice over the scouter. Even more troops began piling out of the ship. Before long there were hundreds forming ranks in the dust before the ship. Frieza's hovering chair was floated out and the lizard climbed aboard. The smaller landing vessels that formed six smaller domes around the edge of the top of the spaceship lifted from their cradles and floated out into the desert behind the troops.  _What did it mean?_

The view through the camera had become more and more oblique, and was now rather obscured by the depth of atmosphere they were looking through. Though it was good that they were drifting further out of range of casual detection, Vegeta felt anxious that very soon he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes on Frieza.

The scouter came to life again, and this time it was the lizard's voice itself, sending a shudder down Vegeta's back. Oh, how he loathed those rasping, self-satisfied tones.

'Greetings, my precious and loyal footsoldiers. As you know, we are in pursuit of that  _terrorist_ , Vegeta, who, rather than be grateful that he was spared the fate of the rest of his flea-ridden race, turned against me. He has recently been on this planet, and might even still be now if he has been stupid enough to linger. I wish you to spread out across this globe now and start turning over rocks looking for Saiyan vermin, but before you do I want to ask you to please mind my new property.

'My science officers have been ebullient with excitement over this planet since we came within medium range sensor distance. It is apparently teeming with all manner of life forms, and its atmosphere and oceans happily life-supporting for all the major sentient species in the galaxy. Now we are here, I taste the air with my own mouth and smell its innocent freshness, and I tell you, it smells like profit! I am claiming this planet for the Planet Trade Organisation.

'Go out, my minions, kill all you encounter, raze the cities to the ground, flush out those Saiyans if they're still here, but preserve the natural beauty of this planet, as it is  _mine_.'

A few breaths of silence followed before Bulma shrieked, 'Quick, we've got to do something!'

'Do what?' Vegeta shouted back at her, swivelling in his seat. 'There's nothing to do!'

'Yes, there is!' she retorted. 'You're just saying that because it's not your planet!'

'If there was something I could do, I would do it!' he said, standing up and snapping the webbing of the seat harness. 'My wish is down there!' he screamed, bouncing from the floor and ricocheting into the dome. He pushed himself away again, roaring with wordless fury. Nappa grabbed him with his free arm and held him steady.

'Calm down, Vegeta!' he said. 'You don't know that the last dragonballs will be destroyed. They might still be there after Frieza is gone.'

Vegeta threw Nappa's hand off his arm. 'You stupid, old fart! How easy was it to find that old Namek who told us about the dragonballs? Do you think they will miss that lone spike of energy? They'll either kill him, and cause the dragonballs to die, or worse yet, try and take the wish for Frieza!'

'What?' said the bald-headed Krillin kid. 'What's this about the dragonballs dying? What's a Namek?'

'You Earthlings know less than we do!' shouted Vegeta.

'I don't care about your wish!' said Bulma, grabbing hold of Vegeta's shoulder before his momentum could bring him any closer. She bounced backwards into the map table and they turned over in the air. She pointed down at the planet under their feet.

'That's my home! My people! Do something! At least let us land so that me and Krillin can go warn people!'

'And what good will that do?' snarled Vegeta. 'Any one of Frieza's men could make minced meat of your armies. Your people are doomed!'

'Let us down,' insisted Krillin. 'We can't just watch from space while our people are slaughtered!'

'You'd rather die with them?' said Vegeta. 'Well, I wouldn't!'

'Yamcha!' cried Puar, still tangled in Bulma's hair. 'I need to go to Yamcha!'

Silence followed as a tiny orange blossom appeared under their feet on the edge of the desert.

'What's that?' gasped Bulma.

'An explosive chi blast,' said Vegeta. 'Some village or town just bit the dust.'

'Vegeta, those landing ships are taking off everywhere,' said Raditz. 'Now we've got seven ships to dodge!'

'We can't be fucking around,' warned Nappa. 'We need to get out of here.'

'But we can't even fire up the engines right now!' said Vegeta. 'Don't worry about those ships. They'll go to land soon, spread out over the planet. They're only delivering soldiers to the major centres to begin the purge.'

'Purge!' the girl screamed, and let go of him, bracing her feet on the map table till she could press herself slightly closer to her planet against the glass that trapped her here. Her breath was heaving in an out in panic.

'It's what he does,' Vegeta told her. 'At least he's leaving the planet and not blowing that up too!'

'As if that matters if they kill everyone on it!'

'Keep it to yourself! It's not like you're the first person to ever lose their people!'

'Shut up!' she shouted at him. 'You don't care! It's not your home! It's not your parents! Oh, Kami, my Mom and Dad!' she wailed.

'No, Master Roshi!' cried Krillin.

'Yamcha!' bleated the Daemon, and for some reason this made the flame of Vegeta's anger lick his insides painfully.

'Your former master is as good as dead, Daemon – start getting used to it!'

'No!' it wailed in return. 'No, not Yamcha!' It turned its back on him again and clung to the girl around her throat and he watched them cry for a few moments. The pathetic noise was tearing at him, making him angrier by the second. It was such a sound of futility! Such a snivelling! Such a stamp of weakness! When all else was lost the losers of this universe pulled one more useless thing out of the bag – weeping! He just hung there with his jaw clenched on his fury, curling and uncurling his hands, feeling electric sparks of rage-born chi pop across his hands. He caught Nappa watching him with concern and Vegeta growled aloud at him, baring his teeth. Nappa held his hands up in surrender.

'I'm just wondering if you have a plan, Vegeta?'

He glared back at Nappa, not gracing that insolent question with an answer, because, fuck, he had no plan!

'Maybe you should go sit down stairs with Brolly while you think of something?' the older soldier suggested.

'I don't need calming down, you interfering dolt!'

Nappa wisely shut up and Vegeta turned his back on them all, pulling himself to the opposite side of the dome to stare out and wrack his brain for some way of turning this situation around.

* * *

Another flash of white followed by a fading orange glow lit the land below them. Then a barrage of smaller flashes crossed a small city. Bulma gasped.

'Was that…was that Nashi City?' asked Krillin.

She nodded, more tears welling up. So many people dead in just a few minutes! She looked up and her mouth went dry. West City had come into view over the horizon, sliding serenely through the day on the belly of the planet, heading straight into peril. She let her tied-up bag of vomit hang in the air and pushed herself down to the seat Vegeta had vacated.

'Raditz,' she hiccupped, 'Can you train one of those cameras on that city up there?' she asked, pointing with a shaking finger.

Raditz looked back over his shoulder at Vegeta, but the prince was turned away.

'Yeah,' he said, and began manipulating it with a touch screen control that sprang up under his hand. The image on the screen skewed around until the Eastern side of West city came into view.

'They're already there!' she cried as one of those smaller space ships came into view above it. It hovered there, a ramp opening on its underside. Raditz zoomed in as a handful of soldiers leapt out like paratroopers with no parachutes, disappearing into the city.

Puar was hyperventilating. 'Oh-no, oh-no!'

'Are you sure you want to see this?' Raditz asked.

'Yes!' she said. 'Because maybe my Mom and Dad will get away! Maybe they'll escape! They've got hoverjets…they can, they can get away and we can pick them up later!'

Krillin joined her again. 'Do you think Master Roshi will survive?' he asked. 'His island is so remote – they probably won't even notice it!'

'I kinda doubt it,' said Raditz quietly.

'Yes, they will!' Bulma contradicted him. 'Now move that camera, keep it going West! Into the heart of the city! West more…a bit North…Now zoom in on that big dome building there!'

Her house came into focus, though for a terrifying second it was obscured by a flash of light and a billow of smoke, but then it cleared and the house was fine. Her parents and Yamcha ran out of the patio door of the downstairs lounge.

'Yamcha!' she and Puar screamed together. He would keep her parents safe! He would get them to safety! Just the sight of that orange gi with Master Roshi's symbol on it was enough to make her feel more hopeful.

They ran a little way out onto the lawn and looked up into the sky. They were talking excitedly, obviously panicked.

'Where's your hoverjet, Daddy?' Bulma cried. 'Get your hoverjet out already, and get out of there!'

And then to her frustration her mother turned and ran back into the house. Her father followed more slowly, but then he froze near the door, cowering as a nearby explosion rained debris around. Yamcha was yelling, and then Bulma saw one of Frieza's soldiers slide into view of the camera, hovering in the air facing Yamcha.

'Oh my God, no! Don't fight him, Yamcha! Run!'

But the soldier raised his hand and it was too late.

'Your boy is toast,' observed Raditz unhelpfully.

'Shut up, asshole!' Bulma roared at him.

Yamcha must've known it was too late too, and he ran forward, leaping into the air to strike at the airborne soldier. He unleashed a flurry of kicks on the snout-faced alien, who fell back, clumsily trying to block them, then used the alien's body to jump even higher in the air. He came falling back down, pulling his arm back to deliver his own technique, the Wolf Fang Fist. The soldier attempted to lash out with his own punch, but the Wolf Fang Fist overpowered him, the seemingly ordinary punch packing many times Yamcha's usual strength, the ghost of the invoked wolf spirit flowing over them both.

'What the hell was that?' murmured Nappa, beginning to take an interest in the show on the screen.

'My boyfriend!' gasped Bulma, as Yamcha landed on the ground near the body of his foe. 'He's fighting them off!' But then she saw her mother come rushing back out of the house towards him. Yamcha shouted something at her, and she backed up until her husband grasped her by her arm. And then a beam of pink light smashed down and obliterated the spot Yamcha had been standing on.

Bulma screamed, and Puar covered her face, but then she saw him land a short distance away. 'Puar, he dodged! Yamcha's not dead!'

'No, I just can't…' said Puar.

She saw his attacker loom into view – a blue-skinned, yellow-haired, whippet-like man. A ball of pink light started to glow in his hand. Yamcha took a fighting stance and pulled his hands to one side of his body.

'He's powering up a Kamehameha wave!' said Krillin.

The blue man fired first, and Yamcha followed through with the Kamehameha wave only just in time to stop the burst of pink energy overwhelming him. The pure white light of his Kamehameha wave pushed back up against the other attack, wavering on the edge of collapsing back on him.

'Yamcha, you can do it!' shouted Krillin, while Bulma and Puar just moaned with anxiety. The camera wasn't zoomed in far enough to make out any expressions, but Bulma could see the tension in Yamcha, the shaking as he nearly succumbed. With a last outpouring of effort, the Kamehameha shattered the pink energy wave. Yamcha fell gasping to his knees and Bulma left herself breathe again.

'He did it-argh!'

The three Earthlings recoiled as the alien immediately sent down another faster, larger blast that slammed into the exhausted Yamcha. There was an explosion, and for a second they couldn't see past it.

'Yamcha!' screamed Puar and Bulma at once.

'He must have dodged, he must have dodged!' cried Puar.

When the light and the dust died down there was a crater on the lawn, and spread-eagle at the bottom of it was Yamcha…his gi burnt and rent apart…a dark stain…a dark hole.

'No,' moaned Bulma. This couldn't be! This couldn't possibly be what she was seeing. Puar immediately broke down into wailing. 'Get up, Yamcha!' Bulma screamed. 'Don't just lie there! Get up,  _please,_  get up!'

'Don't look,' said Krillin, crying too, pulling on her arm, but Bulma couldn't tear her eyes away.

'He's going to get up!' she told him. 'He has to! Mom!'

Her mother came running out from the shelter of the house and stumbled into the crater that Yamcha lay in. Her father rushed after her, and together they bent over her boyfriend, laying their hands on his neck and his face. Seeing her mother's shoulders shaking with tears undid her last hope.

'No…'

Puar fainted again, and Bulma felt not so far behind. And then she screamed, shocked beyond all words and thought as the whole screen was obliterated with light and fire and smoke.

'Mom, Dad!' she screamed over and over, and found herself fighting Krillin who was crying while pulling her away from the monitor. Large hands tried to trap her and cover her mouth. Her heel smashed into something on the console, her fists connected with flesh, but all she felt was her soul being torn to pieces. 'No! No! NO!'

Vegeta watched, unable all this time to throw his thoughts beyond this tin can of a spaceship while the shrill voices of the cat and the girl cut through him. His best chance for revenge was slipping through his fingers and he couldn't think! Their panic and fear seemed to fill the flight deck, and it had weight, rolling over him oppressively until there was no room for anything else except his fury that he was having to witness and listen to it. He covered his ears, knowing exactly what sort of scene they were watching. Bulma's scream made him cringe, and then she began crying for her parents, and he felt the flames of anger whipped higher and higher. How dare she force such raw emotion on them all?

'Watch out, she's going to break something!' said Nappa unhelpfully.

'No! No, my mom! My dad! I have to go!' Bulma screamed, and finally Vegeta could take it no more.

'Shut up!' He pushed himself from the other side of the room and tangled with Raditz, who was out of his seat now and trying to hold her down, and Krillin, who had given up trying to hold her down and was only holding her around the waist, crying into her shirt. Raditz looked up, but the rest ignored him. 'SHUT UP!' he roared.

Bulma paused for just a second, her eyes shocked back open and swimming with tears. ' _You_  shut the fuck up!' she shouted back at him. 'My parents are…My parents are…' She broke down again, her face twisting up in an ugly way, and then her wailing turned into another scream of despair.

Vegeta snarled and grabbed her by the front of her t-shirt. 'Stop that!' But she didn't listen, just twisted away from him, tearing the neck of her shirt, and swinging a fist out and hitting him in the chin. Vegeta's eyes went wide with insult and he let go of her shirt and took hold of her arms instead. She screamed anew and he shook her in temper, and she finally stopped, staring up at him, looking dazed, her mouth open in pain.

'I don't care!' he shouted at her. ''I don't care! No one cares! No one has any parents! We don't care! So shut up and let me think!'

For the span of a few breaths she did nothing but stare at him, and then she closed her eyes again, receding back into grief, shaking now with silent tears which squeezed from her eyelids and make perfect spheres of water hanging in the air between them. Vegeta still held her, breathing through his teeth, wanting direly to break something and feeling on the verge of doing something very bloody.

'Leave h-her alone,' squeaked the baldie, his voice pathetically weak.

Vegeta jerked, shoving the girl back into the kid and crashing them both into Raditz who bounced back into the controls of the ship. The ship rolled and the Earth spun out of view and then back again.

'Vegeta!' said Nappa, his hand coming down on his shoulder. 'Watch what you're doing! You don't want to break the ship at a time like this!'

Vegeta turned on him seeing red, his fists clenched. And then he realised he had to get out of here before the thing that he destroyed  _was_  the ship and their chances of getting away alive. He turned shot down the stairs, seeing his chi flare around him like a mantle of rage.

He startled Brolly who was lounging in the bubble of the window nearest the airlock. Charging over, he pushed the entry button on the air lock control panel and screamed at it while he waited for it to allow him in. This was not fair! He'd been so close! So close! How did Frieza keep finding him? He barely restrained himself from cuffing Brolly in temper, and when the control panel flashed green to say that it was now safe to open the door, he pulled himself in and straight into a space pod, slamming the door and telling the pod to detach from the ship before the airlock had even been evacuated. The blast of air into the vacuum of space made the pod shoot away from the side of the ship, and Vegeta barely let it fly a second before he pressed the emergency door release button. He was sucked out of his seat and into the furious, stabbing coldness of nothing, his chi wrapped hard and hot around him like a shield to keep his fluids inside his body, and he screamed, flinging his arms and legs out in a wild tantrum, his chi stuttering into unstable blue light.

His scream turned to ice crystals and shot away from him soundlessly, and he closed his mouth again, feeling like his lungs were going to be sucked out after it. Turning to the continent below him he channelled his frothing energy into a barrage of blasts, ripping down through the atmosphere to hit the surface of the Earth where they would. Something should die! Something should break and go to hell along with his hope!

He was burning with the need to breathe when the first of those blasts finally hit the ground, far below. Enormous mushroom clouds of obliteration added his own touch to the Earthling's tragedy below, but it offered no satisfaction. He threw himself back in the pod and closed the door, his consciousness starting to dim a little before the air filled the cabin again.

'Fuck it,' he said aloud, when he had the breath to. He didn't want to get this close to his goal and then lose it. He only needed a little more time, and maybe there was just enough of it before Frieza's men caught him, and by then it might be too late to stop him. The pod was stealthy enough that he might get down there unnoticed – they weren't called attack balls for nothing.

'Pod Zero Four Delta, set course for the planets surface, fastest trajectory that's safe and hits land.'

As the pod shuddered through the top layers of the atmosphere he began to calm down and have second thoughts. He could get stuck down there if he was unlucky. Only a handful of Frieza's men could go toe to toe with him, but if Dodoria or Zarbon or one of those other few cornered him…He knew he was taking a big risk. He knew it was desperate. He opened his mouth to tell the pod to change course back to the ship when he realised that if was too late. The pod smashed into the ground, throwing up a crater around it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know how you love cliffhangers (not).


	16. The Landing Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after the last chapter someone asked me if I was a Chichi hater. The answer is no. Neither am I a Yamcha-hater, before anyone asks. I quite like both of them, actually. Chichi was adorable and hilariously silly in Dragonball, and pretty funny in DBZ too, though dedicated to her child when the rest of the world was determined to throw him under a bus. Let's not forget that one of the first things Gohan says in Dragonball Z is 'I don't want to be a fighter! I want to be a great scholar!' Poor woman gets hate from fans because she insists that Gohan not be training or fighting when she doesn't see it as absolutely necessary - because he doesn't want to fight. So my killing off Chichi and Yamcha was nothing personal. They were just selected to die in this round. No one's accusing me or being a Dr and Mrs Briefs hater, and I killed them too :)
> 
> I'm actually hard pressed to think of a character that I didn't enjoy from the series. Except Tien who seems to have a stick up his arse. But perhaps I shouldn't tell you that...
> 
> Okay, clear all that from your mind. Move your mind into a place of stillness and clarity. Now remember that we left Vegeta slamming into the surface of the Earth...

'What the hell is he doing?' shouted a man's voice.

'What?' said a deeper gruffer voice.

'The airlock just opened!'

'What's he playing at? I'm going down to see what he's done.'

They were distant and the words meaningless to Bulma. It was all so far away. So unreal. She could barely feel Krillin's arms around her. He was crying. Something terrible had happened. Something terrible, but it was so far away. She felt on the verge of waking up…waking in her own bed with her mother telling her she was going to be late for school again…

Another small hand touched her on the shoulder.

'I'm so sorry,' said the voice attached to the hand.

She couldn't muster the wits to reply. She was falling, spinning, and when she opened her eyes she saw her planet too far away and fear shot through her. She was still in the dream.

'I don't know what the stupid fucker thinks he's doing,' said Nappa, 'but he's taken a pod!'

'Look, there he is! What's he…? Is he out there having a hissy fit?'

'Huh. Well, be thankful that he took it outside…Come on, Vegeta, get back in the pod!'

Bulma's head bumped softly into the dome and she raised her hand to push herself away again. Her eyes opened and she looked down on the heads of the two grown men who were staring out the glass anxiously. She tried to figure out what they were talking about, but instead a rising panic gripped her again. She wasn't waking up! Second by second this was seeming more real and she needed it to not be because…

_No, it couldn't be! It couldn't have!_

'Vegeta, what the fuck are you doing now?' roared Nappa. 'Don't make us us the scouter to call you!'

'He's going down to Earth!' cried Raditz.

Finally, their words connected properly to Bulma and she stirred from her daze. Earth. Vegeta was going back to Earth.

'Why?' she asked, making the two men below her jump with surprise.

'Cause the kid's got something seriously wrong with his noodle,' said Raditz, and Nappa clipped him around the side of the head.

'Hey! Stow that crap,' he told the younger man.

'Don't pretend you don't think he's crazy!' snarled Raditz.

'Even if he's crazy, he's still our prince!'

'He's gone to get the last dragonball,' she gasped, connecting the dots far faster then the Saiyans. As the words past her lips she realised - there was still a chance to undo their tragedy if they could get the last dragonball! Hope pierced through her fog like a needle, and her eyes flew wide as her brain leapt into motion again. With all her attention on this moment she saw that the chance was very slim, and it was the last chance. The hope was as sharp and as slender as a needle also. She started to shake.

Puar gasped and looked up at Bulma, making the same realisation. Krillin brought his tear streaked face up and let go of her, looking down at the monitors where a small sphere of a craft was being tracked as it plunged away towards the planet's surface.

Nappa looked dismayed. 'Fuck, she's probably right. Doesn't he know when to cut his loses? This wish thing would have been useful, but not worth risking all our lives over!'

'Can he do it?' Krillin asked. 'Does he have enough time?'

'He has until Frieza's men notice him and Frieza or one of his heavy-hitters catch up to him. So who knows?' replied Nappa. 'How long does it take to find two dragonballs?'

'One,' corrected Bulma, judging that now was the time to tell the truth.

'One?' said Nappa, tilting his head to look at her. 'There are seven balls, and I've got four of them in this bag,' he lifted the black mesh bag that he still held with the tip of his tail, 'and you've got one of them hidden somewhere on this ship, so that leaves two balls.'

'I've got two balls,' she said.

Nappa's brows came down and made his dark eyes into slits of fury. 'You lying, little bitch! I knew you were trouble! Hand them over! NOW!'

She pushed herself away from the dome and Nappa, away towards the floor on the other side of the map table. Krillin valiantly held his position between the two.

'It doesn't matter,' she told Nappa in a rush. 'He needs them down  _there_  if he's going to summon the dragon! He can't summon it on the ship – the dragon is massive!'

The scouter that was now floating a few inches above the console crackled to life at that moment and brought them all to a halt.

'Nappa! Raditz! I've just landed the pod on Earth. Do you have the girl with you?' said Vegeta tersely.

'Vegeta!' said Nappa, turning away from Bulma and touching the button on the side of his own scouter. 'What are you doing? Frieza's people are bound to be scanning for our scouter activity!'

'They're going to find you for sure!' added Raditz, putting his face close to his scouter so he would be heard.

'I know that very well, Raditz, but I need to talk to the girl and this is the only way, so hurry up! Is she there?'

'I'm here!' shouted Bulma, pushing off from the floor and rebounding off the top of the dome before managing to get close enough to catch hold of Raditz's shoulder and pull herself to the scouter.

'Where is the next dragonball?' he asked, as she knew he would.

'It was eight thousand kilometres to the North West of where we were in the desert.'

'That means nothing to me.'

'Well, where are you now?'

'How should I know!  _You_  tell me where I am!'

Raditz began scrabbling around on the console. 'Shit! Wait a minute! Which pod was it? Zero four dee. How do I…?'

'Press that!' said Nappa, pointing at the screen in front of Raditz.

'What?'

'The H.U.D. button–'

'No, that's…oh.'

Suddenly the map table behind them came to life with a hologram of the Earth. The portion of the Earth they were orbiting over was rendered in high detail and colour, and a red arrow blinked over it. Bulma grabbed the scouter and pushed herself to the table, Raditz and Nappa bumping into her back and Krillin and Tarble kicking around in space trying to get out of the hologram they were interrupting with their bodies.

'Fly, you idiots!' growled Nappa, and the two boys moved smoothly out of the way.

'It looks like you landed not that far from my city,' said Bulma. 'You need to go further North West…but Vegeta, you need the radar or you'll never find it! You need the other balls too – you have to make the wish on Earth. I don't know what will happen if you make the wish in the space ship.'

'Then someone needs to bring me – oh crap!'

'What?' she almost screeched.

There was no answer for a long time from Vegeta. Nappa said his name several times while the rest of them exchanged strained looks.

Raditz was wide eyed with fear. As the seconds turned to minutes he asked, 'Have they got him? What do we do? Do we wait or should we get the hell out of here?'

'Wait!' ordered Nappa.

Finally the scouter came to life again and Bulma let out the breath she'd been holding.

'That was some of Frieza's men. You'd better hurry up, I think they might know I'm here!' he said, panting.

'Vegeta,' said Nappa. 'Are you sure you want to be doing this? We should be getting out of this solar system as soon as possible!'

'I am not giving up this time!' Vegeta shouted over the scouter link. 'We've been running and hiding for too long. Today we're going to turn and fight – like Saiyans!'

'Huh,' said Nappa, and then he grinned. 'Like Saiyans. You're damn right. Then count me in.'

'I wasn't giving you a choice! I was giving you an order! Now get down here with the radar and the dragonballs. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can leave.'

'Well, here's some luck - you know your treacherous little princess here has  _two_  of the balls?' said Nappa. 'You only need one more ball after all, as she was planning to double cross us!'

Bulma glared at Nappa, too desperate to be scared of him, and he glared right back at her.

There was a pause from Vegeta, and then a chuckle of laughter. 'Of course! I would have expected nothing less!' he said.

'What about me?' said Raditz. 'I'll come in the last pod!'

'No,' said Vegeta. 'You need to pilot the ship. We might need a fast get away or a pick-up.'

'But you might need all the help you can get!'

'Then send Tarble and Brolly!'

Tarble gasped in shock, and Nappa and Raditz looked at each other in surprise.

'Vegeta, is that wise?' asked Nappa.

'What use are they, if not as cannon fodder?' was Vegeta's cold response.

'But Brolly-'

'Just hurry!'

Bulma was already opening her belt bag, but there was no dragon radar inside. Where was it? She'd had it when Nappa brought her on board, didn't she? Clumsily she pushed herself towards the stairs and pulled herself down along the hand rail. She felt ill again, but there was no time for that. Brolly was waiting at the bottom in the room lit very dimly by the stars and an emergency light over the kitchen area. He looked up at her with faint concern on his features.

'What's happening?' he asked and she launched herself off the rail into the pit of the lounge.

'You're going on a field trip with Tarble and me,' Nappa told him as he followed her down the steps. 'We're going to blood you on some of Frieza's men.'

'Vegeta said we're going to be cannon fodder,' said Tarble from farther up the stairs, his voice shaking. Nappa reached up and grabbed the little boy round the back of the neck with his massive hand, pulling him down before him. His glaring face softened a tiny bit, and the shake he gave Tarble was not as violent as it could have been. 'It was just a turn of phrase, Tarble. Keep your wits about you, remember your training, and don't hesitate to use lethal force, and you'll survive. And if not, I'll see you in Hell.'

Meanwhile Bulma was searching the mess of the lounge for the radar. Everything was floating slightly off the ground, including her. As she overturned cushions and furs they spun away and bounced off the walls, and trying to move to search a different area, she found she had nothing to cling to, push against or away from. She cycled her arms and legs wildly in the air like a drowning person, but got nowhere, stranded in space.

'Oh my god!' she screamed. 'Where is it?'

Then Krillin flew to her side and pulled her down to the floor. He sifted through the cushions with her and very soon he had found the radar. As he handed it over to Bulma she lifted the scouter in her other hand to her mouth,

'Vegeta. I need you to promise something,' she said, her throat tight with near panic because she knew this might be the only chance to save her planet. 'If I give you my two dragonballs, I need you to use them to make a wish that will save the people of Earth!'

'Are you kidding me?' roared Nappa who swooped up behind them. 'You are in no position to be negotiating, you uppity piece of Earth trash! Just hand them over before I rip your fucking arms off!'

He snatched her up closer to his face, her t-shirt twisting in his hands, stitches popping while she screamed in despair and kicked out at his chest and face. Krillin jumped up, striking Nappa in the side of the head with his loafer encased foot. Even Puar turned on him, leaping from Bulma's shoulder to Nappa's forearm, tearing at the skin with her teeth and claws for all she was worth.

'Ah! You little shits, I'll kill you!' Nappa yelled, throwing Puar off himself violently. Luckily she slammed into a sofa cushion and bounced off, tumbling through the air, winded. Still holding Bulma with one arm he turned his attention to Krillin, wrapping his tail around the boy's neck and pulling him away. Krillin's face began turning red as he tried to pull, tear and snap the furry constrictor. Nappa bore Bulma down to the floor and pinned her there with his knee and he roughly tore the belt bag off her. Bulma screamed in pain as the belt snapped, and then Nappa was rifling the contents.

'What do we have here?' he said, pulling out a capsule at random.

'Stop!' yelled Bulma, but Nappa pressed the button on the capsule and threw the item into the middle of the room. With a popping explosion, Bulma's second best hoverbike appeared in mid air, spinning around its long axis.

'You fucking moron!' Bulma shouted at Nappa. 'If that had been my capsule house, you would have killed us all!'

'Don't call me a moron, you viperous shrew!' he replied, glaring down to where she was still struggling under his massive knee. 'You obviously don't want to have arms anymore, so say goodbye to them!'

But before he could make good on his threat Vegeta's voice halted him.

'Nappa, stop. I'll do as the girl says.'

'You'll  _what_?' yelped Nappa.

'Leave her be. Bulma, you have my word I will make a wish that will save the Earthlings.'

Heart pounding with fear, Bulma almost cried aloud with relief.  _Could it be that easy?_  she asked herself. 'Really? Do you swear, Vegeta?'

'On my father's grave, you have my oath.'

He sounded serious and earnest. She had to believe him. She had no other choice. 'Thank you! Thank you, Vegeta!'

'I told you he's gone mad,' muttered Raditz from where he watched near the stairs.

'Just give Nappa the balls,' Vegeta added.

She pushed Nappa's knee again, and this time he released her, and she snatched back her bag, rooting to the bottom to find the capsule she had hidden them in. Capsules were spinning out of the bag, forming an ever-expanding cloud around her. Getting to the bottom she realised she must have missed the capsule and looked desperately amongst the cloud around her, snatching at capsules before they could get too far away, reading the label and stuffing them back in the bag.

'Crap, crap, crap,' she chanted, frustrated to tears that this task that should take seconds was taking minutes in zero gravity.

'For fuck's sake!' complained Nappa, watching her flailing at floating capsules. He and the others started to catch them too, handing the increasingly far-flung ones back to her to check.

'Got it!' she yelled at last, and pressing the button on the capsule, she threw it into the centre of the room with the hoverbike. 'No!' she cried in despair the next moment as boxes and packets of tampons, panty shields and pads exploded in all directions, pelting them with sanitary products. Cotton, rayon and card plapped against the ceiling, the glass of the windows and Nappa's increasingly impatient face. How long would it take her to find them in this mess? And then she remembered the radar in her hand.

'Krillin, help me!' She turned the radar on, and clinging to Krillin's shoulders he flew across the room at her direction and she located one particularly over-stuffed packet of pads.

'Here!' she said, tumbling them out and offering the radar and the balls to Nappa.

'At last!' he said, snatching them up. 'Into the airlock!'

He and the two Saiyan boys flew to the air lock. Tarble was white faced and trembling. Bulma watched them go and wondered if she had done the right thing. She had just placed Earth's last hope in the hands of  _Vegeta_.

'You'd better come back,' said Raditz. 'I don't want to be the last Saiyan left alive!'

'Wouldn't that be a joke and a half?' said Nappa as he folded himself into a pod. Brolly and Tarble climbed in the other. 'Don't forget your soft-headed brother!'

The pod hatches closed and Raditz closed the airlock door, looking as nervous as if he was about to go down and do battle rather than wait up here. Then he turned and hurried up to the flight deck again, leaving Krillin, Puar and Bulma clustered around the air lock door. Bulma looked though the tiny porthole in time to see both 'pods' detach with a burst of vapour, and then a metal door slide over the opening they'd left.

'He looks in pain,' she heard Krillin say, and she turned to follow his gaze to the tank where Goku hung suspended, some blood still seeping from his partly healed wounds. Under his floating spikes of hair he wore a frown. 'Hang in there, Buddy.'

* * *

Vegeta could barely believe the stupidity of both Nappa and the girl. Nappa had almost destroyed the ship in hastiness, when the solution was merely a lie. And the girl had swallowed the lie like she was gulping down sherbet. Swearing on his father's grave indeed! His father didn't have a grave, and if he did, Vegeta would have spat on it for his father's weakness in allowing the Saiyan race to become the patsies of the Cold family.

Now he returned to scanning his surroundings. And handful of lesser soldiers were scattered around the town square of the seaside town where his pod had crashed down. He'd made quick work of them, but his scouter was telling him that there were a few more in the vicinity. He hid just inside the door of a butcher's shop, ignoring the frightened and confused squawkings of the butcher and customers who were huddled at the back of the room in the traditional poses of the utterly helpless. One man, the butcher in the apron, stood hesitantly and took a step towards him. Vegeta spared him a brief glance and then went back to his vigilance.

'Son,' said the man. 'I dunno who you are, but thank you for saving us from those monsters.'

'Huh,' said Vegeta. 'In any other circumstance I would have been killing you, not "saving" you.'

The man hunched down again and the rest of the Earthlings whimpered in fright.

Sweat prickled down his back. "Stay near the pod," indeed. He was a duck perched on a bull's eye until the others arrived.

'Hurry up, hurry up,' he chanted. The scouter showed three others a short way away. They'd been coming closer, but now they converged and stopped. They must have been picking up on him also.

'Damn.' He decided to come out of hiding and rumble them before they could come to any conclusions about who he was. Taking off at speed, he flew through the streets just above the ground. It was hard to surprise someone with a scouter, but it was possible if you moved fast enough, as they took a little time to lock on to the persons they tracked. He circled their signals and then exploded up out of the streets from the opposite side to where he'd been hiding, catching them with their backs to him as they stood on the slate roof of a stone-spired building. He had the satisfaction of seeing the shock on their three ugly faces before his first energy wave exploded the first purple-faced cretin. But the second one put up a fight, and as they engaged, he saw from the corner of his eye the third fleeing, shouting into his scouter, 'It's him! It's Vegeta, he's here!'

Vegeta shot the man through the back with an energy beam and took a blow to the side of the chest from the soldier he was fighting. He swore, and turned back to the fight, grabbing the next fist that came his way and flicking the man towards the ground. He followed through, and before the soldier could recover, Vegeta hit him with both feet on his chest and drove him into the ground with a snapping and crunching and popping of bones and lungs.

Well, Frieza  _definitely_  knew he was on the planet now.

Bulma gasped with shock as she watched this encounter from the screen on board the spaceship. Raditz had sent one camera to follow Vegeta while another tracked the two pods containing Nappa and the boys. Vegeta was so fast and so brutal! The three soldiers had died so swiftly and efficiently that it was hard to have time to register that they were dead. Vegeta wasn't all talk. After today she would never doubt his deadliness or dangerousness again. But at the same time there was something almost admirable about his clinical violence at this moment. After all, he held the Earth's only hope, and he was fighting for them as well as himself now, wasn't he?

'Dude is one cold customer,' murmured Krillin.

* * *

Frieza was touring a small portion of his new property. He lounged in his chair while he and his entourage coasted along a beach. Sparkling turquoise water lapped at a white sand shore, and lush green jungle tumbled right down to the beach, barely held back by a picket of tall palms. The air was balmy and sweet. It did nothing for him personally, but Frieza knew that such idylls were valued by warm-blooded customers whose races evolved on planets where chlorophyll was the dominant agent of photosynthesis. It would fetch a good price.

'Charming,' he drawled to the clerk beside him. 'Mark this spot as a potential location for the brochure's hologram shoot.' The man obediently nodded and scribbled away at and electronic tablet.

His general Dodoria was swooping down over the water, acting in a manner unbecoming to his position, but Frieza despaired of teaching him any better after fifty years of service.

'Hey, Lord Frieza!' he shouted, coming up from the waves clutching the tail of something positively enormous, ugly, grey and lumpy which thrashed around underneath him. 'Look at the size of this fish!'

Frieza rolled his eyes. 'It is not a fish, you imbecile. It has a blow-hole, not gills. Really, did they not teach basic zoology in the schools of Dorgoron?'

'Oh, so it does.' The girthy, pink and spike-festooned man dropped the creature again, which fell with an audible groan back into the sea, causing a wall of water to explode outwards and up the beach. The creature bobbed to the surface, apparently dead.

'My Lord, I've just received word that Vegeta is still here on the planet,' said another of his entourage. Frieza immediately sat up straighter. Here was the main business of this trip – to have the little monkey back in his grasp!

'Tell me more!'

'One of your men sent a message over the scouters that Vegeta was here before he was apparently killed. We can't get though to him or the other men in that squadron, but we have dispatched one of the landing ships loaded with more troops to locate and track Vegeta. We understand he is dangerous. They have orders not to engage unless ordered to.'

'He  _is_  dangerous,' said Frieza, flicking the severed end of his tail with ire, 'though not as dangerous as he thinks he is. I will send Zarbon to collect him. In the meantime, those men had better not lose Vegeta.'

'Understood, my Lord.'

Frieza pressed the button on his chair that would patch his scouter through to his other general.

'Zarbon, drop what you're doing; Vegeta has been spotted,' he said, without preamble.

'Of course my Lord,' said the silky voice on the other end, not flustered in the slightest by his master's interruption. 'But perhaps you might reconsider when I tell you what I am doing.'

'Which is?'

'Interrogating a Namek.'

Frieza frowned. 'A Namek? On Earth? I haven't seen a Namek in so long, I was starting to think they were extinct. And good riddance – they were a species of self-righteous, interfering goody-goods.'

'That's not even the most interesting part, My Lord. The Namek says that he can grant wishes using some items he calls "dragonballs". He says as long as he's alive, you can use these balls to give you anything you want.'

'Anything?'

'Anything?' Zarbon paused and a howl of pain was heard over his scouter. A man's anguished voice could be heard in the distance. ' _Almost_  anything,' Zarbon clarified.

Frieza pondered for a moment, smiling at this unbelievable piece of news. 'Immortality?' he asked.

'Yes, My Lord.'

Frieza laughed. 'It sounds like so much hogwash to me, Zarbon. I think your Namek friend is having you on. The "Magic Namek" is a myth as old as the planets.'

'Well, Vegeta believed it,' said Zarbon, sounding put out. 'According to the Namekian, Vegeta's crew are dead set on collecting them and making a wish. The Earthlings I found with the Namek claim to have seen the dragonballs used before. If it's not just a myth and Vegeta succeeds in gathering all seven of these "dragonballs" he might wish for the power to destroy you.'

Frieza narrowed his eyes in displeasure. He couldn't allow that, even if the odds were slim that these dragonballs existed. 'And if  _I_  get the wish, I could live forever,' he told Zarbon. 'You're right. This is a line that requires further inquiry. Keep at it, Zarbon. I will send Dodoria after Vegeta.'

* * *

Hearing two nearly simultaneous explosions, Vegeta raced back to the town square to see Nappa, Tarble and Brolly climbing out of the craters their pods had made.

Nappa held out the black bag to him.

'One radar and six dragonball gems.'

'Good,' Vegeta said, taking the bag off him. 'Now get back in your pods and follow me.'

He leapt into the crater his own pod made and climbed in the hatch, already turning on the radar to get a direction.

'Pod Zero Four Delta, rise to an altitude of half a GM.'

He directed the pod to turn until it faced the blip on the radar and then ordered it forward, adjusting its direction slightly when it began to get off course. It was slower than the ship, but faster than flying. They crossed a sea, and then as they passed over a forest, the blip on the radar began to swing around and Vegeta had problems getting the radar to line up before the pod shot past it. He landed the pod in the forest but while he waited for the other two to land, Radtiz jarred his already tight nerves.

'Vegeta, one of those landing ships is on your tail! Why did you stop?'

'Because the dragonball is somewhere close by. Shit!'

Even as the other pods crashed down the saucer shaped ship in question passed overhead, skimming low of the treetops.

'Out of the pods!' screamed Vegeta, before the hatches were even fully open. He flew down into the crater of the first one and physically hauled Tarble and Brolly out by random limbs. Tarble protested, but Vegeta shoved him under his arm and looked around for Nappa. Leaping out of the crater again he almost collided with the bigger man.

'We've got to move it! A ship full of Frieza's men is on our heels,' he told him. Then he rocketed away, lifting the radar to his face with a shaking hand. This was  _too_  close. This was bad.

Keeping under the canopy level he dodged and weaved and smashed though the branches until the forest started to thin out. Ahead there was some kind of small settlement of tents with smoke rising from the peaks of them, and in the middle of the clearing was a...Well, he wasn't sure what it was. His first thought was it was a tower, but it just rose straight into the sky like a big white finger that never ended, carved with lumpy decorations and symbols. The radar led him closer and closer, and then when he was in the shadow of the thing, it showed he was there.

'What the...?'

He looked around himself but could see nothing. Nappa and Brolly touched down next to him. 'Can you see it?' he demanded. He dropped Tarble and the others made a show of looking here and there in the bushes and around the base of the white thing.

Vegeta pressed the button on the radar again, making the grid zoom in, and then again and again, but even when the ball was in front of him again, when he took a step forward it showed he was right on top of it.

'Is it underground?' he asked himself. 'Is it in the air?'

Tarble looked up. 'Didn't Kakarott say it was on a lookout above a tower?' He pointed upwards, and Vegeta looked up to where the white pillar was lost in cloud. 'Is this the tower?'

Vegeta opened his mouth to tell Tarble off for believing the boy who thought he talked to a god, but then thought better of it. Up made sense with what the radar was telling him, and Vegeta was desperate enough to believe anything right at that moment.

'We're going up!'

The four of them blasted off, straight up, following the line of the pillar, but as they rose higher over the treetops, a group of Frieza's multicoloured minions could be seen hovering over the forest less than a mile away, and if the Saiyans could see them, that meant they could also see the Saiyans.

Vegeta swore and then dropped back slightly so that he was amongst Tarble, Brolly and Nappa.

'They have us in sights!' he yelled. 'You two,' he said, pointing at the confused looking Brolly and the terrified looking Tarble. 'Guard my back and hold them off should they catch up to us. Nappa, try and keep up with me.'

He tore ahead before any of them had a chance to ask questions. He flew as fast as he ever had in his life, the wind making his eyes water and leaving Nappa struggling behind him. At last he saw something up ahead. The tower widened out like a minaret, and as he drew level with it he saw a squat figure standing at a balcony cut from the side of the bulbous building.

'Where's the dragonball?' he yelled.

The figure jumped with fright, its white fur standing out from its body.

'I don't have any dragonball!' it yelled back at him. It was another talking cat, stocky and bigger than the daemon. Vegeta checked the radar and came closer to the tower. The cat appeared to be telling the truth, as Vegeta was still a metre short of the railing when the radar told him he was on top of it.

'Are you the one they call "Kami"?' he asked the cat as Nappa caught up to him him, panting a little.

'No,' it replied as it regarded him through slitted eyes. 'I know I look divine, but I'm no god.'

'Is he near?'

'He is, but you'll never find him if he doesn't want to be found. He doesn't like visitors.'

'I've been told he's expecting me.'

'I'm not telling you the way – I don't like to get in trouble with the boss.'

'I heard he was above this tower,' said Vegeta. 'But I don't see anything up there. Is this true?'

'My lips are sealed – what the heck?'

Suddenly the tower lurched like a daisy in the wind and the cat was left hanging onto the rail of the balcony. And then it began to sink, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. Vegeta looked down and saw explosions of chi below – Tarble and Brolly must be fighting Frieza's men, but as the tower fell he saw two specks hurtling up.

'My tower!' the cat was shouting. He floated in the air, having abandoned the falling structure. 'That stood for eight hundred years! What have you done?'

With a snarl, Vegeta lunged at the tubby feline and caught him by the scruff of the neck.

'What?' it roared. 'How did you...? How could you catch  _me_?'

'Very easily,' Vegeta replied, tucking the radar under his other arm and charging a ball of angry blue chi in his free hand. He held it to the cat's frightened face. 'Now tell me if there is anything above this tower.'

The cat's face was rigid for a second, but then he said, 'Yes. There's a lookout above. You can't see it from here, but if you go higher...'

Vegeta flung him away and turned skywards again, breathless with panic, until at last he made a shape out in the ozone above. A circular disk that resolved into a half sphere as he got closer, painted in colourful bands and carved with mystical symbols. He skirted the edge of it and surveyed the scene on top.

It was a massive stone-flagged area with grandiose, stone-wrought pagoda-roofed buildings to one side, some towers, conifers and palm trees for decoration. Not far from the edge, standing to face him, was another old Namek.

'Welcome, Vegeta,' he said. 'You were right – I  _have_  been expecting you.'


	17. Kami and Vegeta

'You're the "Kami" that Kakarott talked of,' said Vegeta, gliding to a stop before the tall Namek. He was a carbon copy of the one who had told them about the dragonballs in the first place, but for his clothes. He wore a white robe with a large, red seal embroidered on the front, a blue cloak and a sage's staff – an overtly mystical and utterly pretentious getup. Vegeta doubted the Namek was up to much, but he tensed for a fight anyway.

'Correct,' replied Kami. 'I am the Guardian of this planet, and the creator of the dragonballs. And you are here for a wish.'

Vegeta hesitated, considering the keen, age-yellowed eyes of the Guardian. 'I thought that the _other_ old Namek created them. That's what he said.'

'He is taking credit where none is due. We were once one person and our lives are tied to each others. He is my other half. My evil twin, I suppose you could say. That is his only claim on the dragonballs.'

Vegeta made a face. 'What creepy things you Nameks are. But it doesn't matter. Hand over the last dragonball; I need my wish.' He took a step forward, and the Namek took one backwards. The old man was trying not to show it, but Vegeta could tell he was afraid of him.

'Before a wish is made, I must discuss some things with you,' he said.

'No,' said Vegeta. 'There is nothing to discuss. And don't think you can put up a fight against me, either. I don't care if you _are_ a "god".'

'The dragonballs have limits!' said the old man, backing up further. 'There are some things which can't be wished for.'

'Vegeta!' called a high-pitched voice behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Brolly and Tarble leap onto the marble concourse behind him. Tarble was white faced and trembling and Brolly's eyes were wide.

'Where's Nappa?' he shouted.

'He's just behind us, holding off Frieza's men!' said Tarble.

'That's what I asked _you_ to do!'

'I know,' said Tarble, simply. Then the ground that they stood on rocked and rumbled from some impact on its underside.

'Frieza's men are here,' said Kami, snapping Vegeta's focus back to him. 'There is not much time, and you must listen!'

'There is not much time, you must give me the dragonball!' contradicted Vegeta. He leapt forward, his hands reaching for the Namek's throat, but the old man was surprisingly fast, and his hands passed through an after image left behind by his fleeing. Still, he was not as fast as Vegeta himself, who perceived movement to his left and hit the ground, springing up and backwards, flipping himself over in the air to land in front of the surprised Namek. Kami collided with him and fell to his elbows and haunches on the floor. Before he could rise, Vegeta had planted himself on his chest, one hand twisting in the blue mantle he wore and hauling the old man's face up to his snarling one.

'I will give you the ball,' gasped the Namek, 'but first, you _must_ listen! The dragonballs cannot be used to defeat Frieza!'

On the flight deck of the ship this brought a gasp of dismay from everyone watching the screen and listening to the exchange over Vegeta's scouter.

'Then, what _can_ the balls be used for?' cried Krillin.

'The balls can't grant any wish beyond the power of their maker.' Kami continued, far below, while Bulma, Krillin, Puar and Raditz held their breaths in case they missed a word. 'They can't be used to kill or defeat or bind a foe stronger than I am. They can't revive anyone dead of natural causes, or who has been dead for more than a year. They can't grant the same wish twice. For instance, they can't bring back someone from death twice,' they heard the Namek say.

'That doesn't matter,' said Vegeta, 'because that's not what I'm here to wish for.'

'He's right!' said Bulma, and then snatched up the scouter to speak into it, so she could be sure Vegeta heard her. 'Vegeta, you're right. Even if we could wish Frieza defeated, all the Earthlings he's already killed will still be dead. The dragonballs would go dormant for a year, and we'd only have a window of a single day to collect the dragonballs before the dead would be lost forever! You must wish for everyone Frieza kills to be revived after Frieza and his men have left Earth!'

'Bulma Briefs speaks truthfully,' said Kami. 'You mustn't make a hasty wish.'

'I _must_ or _must not_ do this and that?' said Vegeta, scornfully. 'Just hand over the ball before I kill you – it'll save me the time it takes to search your body.'

'There is one more thing,' said the old man, fumbling in his cloak. 'If I die, the dragonballs die with me.'

Vegeta growled in annoyance. This was the same thing the other old Namek had told them.

'Of course they do-' he began, and then a scorching ball of chi slammed into the back of his armour, folding him over the Namek and pushing them both along the marble slabs towards the palace with its force.

'Vegeta!' he heard Tarble calling. 'They're here already!'

Vegeta leapt up from the ground, trying to shake off the pain of that unexpected energy wave to face the enemy. More than a dozen soldiers hovered off the edge of the lookout, and as he watched, Nappa barrelled up through them, scattering surprised bodies, but more followed in his wake. Two more energy waves were loosed in his direction, and Vegeta deflected them carefully, mindful that his ticket to immortality was behind him. The two boys came running towards him.

'What the fuck are you doing?' he roared at them. 'Stand and fight!'

Nappa was being swarmed. More and more soldiers were coming up from below, and six men at once were fighting him hand to hand. One got on his back, and then another, and another round his legs, and then with a desperate roar Nappa cast himself onto the flagstones, rolling to try and crush his assailants off him. Energy beams began flying in thick and fast.

'Okay!' said Tarble. 'Okay, okay! I'm fighting!' Giving the thinnest and most unconvincing battle cry Vegeta had ever heard, Tarble rushed towards Nappa, picking one of the men off his back with a Scallion Shot on the way. Nappa leapt back up, shooting chi in all directions, blowing the remaining soldiers off him and even knocking Tarble over.

Kami screamed behind him, and Vegeta glanced back only to see more soldiers landing on the other side of the lookout. Vegeta reached out for Brolly, who still stood by, looking indecisive.

'Fight, you bonehead!' he said, shoving him towards them men coming towards them.

'I...What do I do?' protested Brolly.

'You're a fucking Saiyan! It's in your blood,' he insisted, giving him another shove into the path of an energy wave. Brolly instinctively brought his hands in front of his face and the beam shattered against him, spraying the area with shards of hot light. Turning, Vegeta saw that the Namek had managed to fend off the ricocheting energy – just. He stood with his staff held up to deflect it, trembling with the effort. Brolly had fallen to his knees with a grunt of surprise.

More beams came flying in from both directions and Vegeta was overwhelmed, trying to knock them away. He sent a few of his own flying back wildly, inefficient scatter shots, hoping for a target rather than aiming for one. He had never had to defend something weaker than him before, and it was so much harder than fighting for himself!

In the next free second he threw himself at Brolly and ripped the diadem and necklace from the kid. Brolly was as good as useless with them on, and he was desperate.

'Now fight!' he said, kicking Brolly forwards again. The boy leapt to his feet and turned on Vegeta with a snarl, his face twisted up in sudden temper.

'Not me!' Vegeta cried. 'The enemy!'

An attack slammed into Brolly's back, and that caught his attention. He spun and rushed that the advancing soldiers with a roar of rage, laying into them raw fury and no finesse. Vegeta didn't have time to watch him; pot shots were still flying in.

'Dammit!' He took to the air and hovered over the old man, deflecting blasts one after another. Not a single one of them was powerful enough be a threat to Vegeta, but he was terrified that the weaker Namek would be destroyed.

'The dragonball!' he yelled down at the guardian. Kami was wielding his staff with some martial art competency, but Vegeta interceded and knocked back a blast that surely would have flattened the old fool. The Namek dropped his staff and reached into his cloak again, but then Nappa's shout of shock had Vegeta looking back over his shoulder. Nappa's body was hurtling at him and before he could move, the bigger man crashed into his back and the both went tumbling along the floor.

'Vegeta!' The jubilant baritone had Vegeta's heart in his throat. He and Nappa staggered to their feet to face the new threat.

'Hold your fire, men! He's got nowhere to go now that I'm here!' Dodoria crowed.

Thankfully the rain of energy blasts ceased. Vegeta had a second to look around and see that Tarble was pinned down by three soldiers – still struggling. Brolly didn't cease his assault. Vegeta could hear his screams and those of the men he was attacking. Turning he saw one soldier land a kick in Brolly's face. Brolly leapt right back at the man, grabbing him by the foot, placing both of his own in the man's crotch and pulling until the man's leg tore from its socket. Blood splashed up Brolly's white pantaloons and splattered his naked chest. Vegeta could do no more than blink in surprise before turning back to Dodoria. His heart was hammering in his chest, but he tried to master himself. Dodoria was leagues stronger than Nappa and Vegeta. Even together and with Brolly and Tarble they had no hope of overpowering him. But Dodoria was not the sharpest tool in Frieza's toolshed.

Vegeta looked up at Nappa. 'Tell me you brought one,' he asked quietly, but Nappa was already reaching underneath his armour.

'Way ahead of you, boss. Just need a distraction so he doesn't blow it up before it can be useful.'

Vegeta nodded understanding and called out to Dodoria.

'You always rate yourself very highly, Dodoria, but I'm not worried,' he lied. 'You do know that you're a joke compared to Zarbon? Everyone in the PTO says so.'

Dodoria's grin fell, but was then replaced with a cruel sneer. 'Even if that were true, it hardly matters when _you're_ the joke compared to me. Besides, Zarbon will never be able to hold a flame to my good looks.'

'Yes, you are the most beautiful blimp in the PTO. Your hoary, spiked pate and overstuffed paunch makes all the pretty boys _swoon,_ ' said Vegeta. 'That is why no one wants to be assigned to your detail, and the clerks draw straws to see who will have to work with your over-fragrant bloat.'

But Dodoria was being remarkably sanguine and not taking the bait. He smiled. 'Don't be jealous, Vegeta. Just because I've never been able to stomach the sight of your grubby, little monkey features.'

'Monkey...?'

Dodoria came closer, lowering himself to the flagstones. 'Come quietly. Or not. Either way, I can't wait to see Frieza have his revenge on you.'

Vegeta streaked away, making a dash for the edge of the lookout. Predictably, Dodoria blocked his way. He turned and sped back the other way, and Dodoria was there too.

Vegeta smiled. 'You're fast, Dodoria, but still a little slow, if you know what I mean,' he said and looked up into the sky where Nappa had thrown the bauble of Blutz wave loaded light – a fake moon.

'Huh?' said Dodoria, but then he was pushed backwards by Vegeta exploding out of his skin, swelling and growing and sprouting hair obscenely with a scream of release and primal joy. In the centre of the lookout another giant ape had grown, wearing Nappa's armour.

'Oh, yes!' it roared. 'Tarble, Brolly, look up!'

Dodoria backed up as Vegeta's suddenly massive foot came crashing down where he had been standing, crunching the flagstones under him.

'It's bug stomping time!' announced Vegeta in a voice massive enough to make the lookout tremble. From up here he could see Kami scrambling out from under Nappa's shadow, but Kami would have to fend for himself for a minute. Two more massive apes sprang up on either side of the lookout; Tarble, who was clothed in one of Vegeta's old and incredibly stretchy battlesuits, adorned with the three shrieking footsoldiers who had had him pinned down; and Brolly, who ripped out of his pantaloons, his red, Ouzaru eyes even madder than the others' as he swatted and stomped and squished the soldiers around him. The four of them only just fit on the floating platform. Tarble plucked the soldiers from his fur and tossed them still screaming into his mouth, chomping down and licking his bloodied fangs before reaching down for more.

Vegeta laughed. In Oozaru form he felt massive and unassailable and near-on uncontrollable. He snatched at Dodoria's tiny form, and when he missed, opened his mouth and fired a thick stream of raw chi at him. Dodoria ran, tripped and rolled off the edge of the lookout. Seeing the pink monster fleeing like an ant was deeply satisfying. In less than a minute every one of Freiza's men was either dead or following Dodoria's example and flying away, but the sounds of booming Oozaru roars still filled the air. Deprived of a target, Tarble was beating his fists into the side of the lookout, shattering huge hunks of stone off the side of the structure. Vegeta staggered as a bolt of Chi from Brolly slammed into his chest.

'Oh crap, these brats have no control at all,' said Nappa as Brolly followed his attack and lunged at Vegeta. Already off balance, Vegeta fell backwards and landed with his head and shoulders hanging off the edge of the lookout and grappled with the biting, scratching, mad Oozaru above him. He fired a beam of his own into Brolly's face. Brolly roared and gave it straight back, and Vegeta felt his head snap back over empty air, eyes burning, fur singeing.

'Nappa! Do something, Nappa!' Vegeta screamed.

Brolly jerked, and to Vegeta's relief he started shrinking rapidly until he was just a tiny, naked boy passed out on his chest. Vegeta pitched him off and rolled to his feet again. Tarble was wading into the palace and other buildings on the other side of the lookout and Nappa was standing there holding Brolly's giant tail. He'd pulled it off. Vegeta looked about wildly for Kami.

'Namek! Where are you?'

'Here!'

Vegeta looked down and saw the old man lying in the footprint of smashed marble, his lower body crushed.

'No! Don't you dare die, old man!' he shouted, crouching down, but his body was impossibly massive and his hands and fingers uselessly large. He looked up at the fake moon and fired a beam from his mouth to obliterate it. As soon as he did he shrank rapidly, coming to a dizzying stop, slumped in front of Kami. Instantly the exhaustion that followed the Oozaru transformation was upon him, but he forced himself into the air. Nappa struggled to his feet too, but Tarble crashed into the rubble he'd been creating and lay still.

'Was that wise, Vegeta?' Nappa asked. 'Dodoria and the others are not far away.'

'Can't be helped,' replied Vegeta, looking about for the bag that held the six dragonballs. 'If they come back we'll just use another artificial moon.'

'No, we won't' said Nappa. 'That was the only one I had left.'

Realising it was too late to argue about now, Vegeta spied the bag and swooped down, then ran back to the Namek.

'The ball!' he cried.

The Namek looked even worse close up. Purple blood was oozing through the white robe, and he was panting, breathing shallowly. He lifted a shaking hand with the seven-star dragonball in it.

'Here. Hurry,' he gasped. 'I'm not going to…make it.'

Vegeta didn't need to be told twice. He snatched the ball and tumbled the rest out amongst the rubble of broken marble. They pulsed with an energy he'd never seen before; the stars within leaping into life for a fraction of a second, each in turn, the amber around them glowing warmly. But nothing happened.

He looked up at Kami again and flinched in shock. Another man appeared out of nowhere, with no sense of movement or shifting air to precede his arrival. He was black as pitch and wore a white turban and trousers, and his eyes were round and staring as he knelt beside the Namek.

'Kami! No!' he cried.

'I'm sorry…Mr Popo,' said Kami. 'I'm afraid it's…all on you now.'

The newcomer reached down and gasped one of the withered green hands.

'Don't leave, Kami!'

'Do what…you can.'

'Enough of that,' cried Vegeta. 'How do I get the wish? How do I make this work?'

The black-skinned man looked up with just a hint of anger on his face. 'You must summon the dragon by asking Shenron to come forth.'

'Vegeta!' shouted Nappa in warning.

Something, Vegeta could not be sure what, buzzed in his awareness, and he turned to look behind him. In this fraction of a second he managed to pull back from the bolt of crackling pink energy that had been streaking straight at him. It passed him at waist height, grazing him with heat before it slammed into the lookout next to him with a sound like a mortar explosion. His eyes followed it to where the Namek should have been, but now there was just a hole, belching smoke and stone dust.

He looked down at the ground where his dragonballs were now just grey balls of rock and there were screams ringing in his ear. Then he looked up at where the bolt had come from. Dodoria hung in the air near the edge of the lookout, grinning again.

'No…'

He was done. It was over. No wish, no immortality, and now he would be delivered back into Frieza's hand at last and he would die gruesomely.

'You Saiyans make me laugh,' said Dodoria. 'Your special ability is to transform into something so monumentally stupid that you're a liability even to each other.'

Vegeta could feel something warm trickling down his legs and he glanced down, fearing that he'd pissed himself like a coward, but instead he saw blood splashing down from a rent in the abdomen of his armour. He covered it with his forearm, and the prickling heat he had felt from the graze turned into the breathtaking burn of fiery knives. Dodoria hadn't really missed at all.

'Now, I daresay you'll come with me quietly. I'll throw you in a regen tank to freshen up before Frieza has his fun with you.'

Vegeta fell to his knees, gasping as every breath shot him through with pain so consuming that the world was going black and dim around the edges. He felt a hand clap him on the shoulder.

'Oh, fuck, Vegeta!' he heard Nappa growl by his ear. 'Don't die now – I want to live!'

Vegeta fell forward, holding himself up with one arm while he held his guts in with the other and his blood dripped thick and fast on the useless dragonballs. He couldn't die now. He had a destiny! To become a Super Saiyan and destroy Frieza! He couldn't die yet, or it would mean his destiny was a lie. And he was scared!

* * *

'No!' they all cried at once as Vegeta crumpled facedown over the lifeless dragonballs. The last few minutes none of them had dared speak, or hardly breathe while the scene had played out.

'He's dead!' said Raditz. 'How can _Vegeta_ be dead?'

Bulma felt herself almost outside her own body as she realised that with Kami and Vegeta gone, so were all hopes for the people of Earth. And how could that be? How could her story end like that? This was meant to be an adventure, not a horror story or a tragedy! And yet there was Vegeta's pitiable form bleeding out in the dust and debris. She started crying; a shaking, nervous, hiccupping sobbing on the edge of panic.

'Just like Yamcha,' said Puar, hyperventilating. 'Even _Vegeta_ is gone!'

They were still glued to the screen as Nappa lent over the prince and felt around for the telltale flutter of his jugular.

'He's not dead yet,' he told them through his scouter, turning him over. 'Though he and I may as well be at this point. Raditz; looks like you and Kakarott get to be the last Saiyans after all, kiddo!' Despite the bravado, Bulma thought she heard a tremor in his voice.

In the screen next to the one showing Vegeta and Nappa they could see a wide view of the crumbling lookout. The pink blob of Dodoria was approaching. A third camera panned around until it caught Dodoria in close up.

Then the strange, black-skinned man who had appeared so suddenly, disappeared just as suddenly, reappearing in front of Dodoria, his rotund form looking small compared to the alien's. He spoke and Dodoria laughed in return.

'What's that guy doing?' said Krillin. 'That pink monster is going to kill him!'

Mr Popo made a strange gesture, like he was blowing Dodoria a kiss, and mid laugh, Dodoria paused to yawn and rub his eyes. And then his eyes slid shut and he fell.

'What the Hell?' they heard Nappa exclaim as Dodoria plummeted away out of sight. 'What was that?'

'I don't know,' gabbled Raditz, 'but get out of there, Nappa! There's still about two dozen soldiers just out of sight!'

'I'm not arguing with ya!' said the big man. He reached into his armour and pulled out a tiny remote. 'Gods, I hope those pods make it here quick!'

They watched him as he pulled the blue cloak from the pit that had swallowed Kami whole, tore a long strip off it and bundled the rest up press against Vegeta's wound. The strip he bound tightly around Vegeta's middle to hold the bundle in place.

Vegeta flopped, boneless and tiny in his hands. He looked like a little boy, pale and close to death, Bulma thought. Had he really been close to killing Goku just that morning? She felt sorry for him now, because she was sure he wouldn't survive that gory wound. In the end he had been going to save the world. He didn't deserve to die.

The man that had defeated Dodoria with a single breath jumped down to the edge of the lookout and walked towards Nappa who stood up and raised his hands.

'Hey, I ain't got not problem with you!' Nappa said. 'I was just leaving.'

'This boy needs to live,' said the man. 'Get him away from here.'

'Buddy, I was just doing that.'

Next Nappa ran around the lookout, finding and picking up the limp forms of Tarble and Brolly and bringing them back to lay beside Vegeta. The three pods appeared from under the lip of the lookout and came to rest before him. Nappa carefully picked Vegeta up and placed him inside one, then more roughly shoved Tarble and Brolly inside another.

'Oh, what the…? Brolly doesn't have his baubles on!' Nappa shouted over the scouter.

'Does it matter that much?' Raditz said. 'Just get back here and we'll worry about it later.'

'We can't have Brolly on the ship without his circlet and necklace, you idiot! I need them or I'll have to leave him here! Where are they?'

'They should be somewhere near the centre. Vegeta took them off Brolly to get him to fight.'

Nappa raced to the centre of the lookout, then took to the air to see if he could spot the pieces of gold amongst the ruins.

'Got them,' he announced, swooped down to pick the bits from the crushed marble and then darted back to his own pod. The pods took off and Raditz alone breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up from the screen Bulma could see the Earth. Tiny flashes of light still lit up on it here and there, and smudges of dark smoke columns were everywhere. It was like her dream was coming true. The world was ending and she was looking down, all alone. Where was her phantom now? Then she realised she was not quite alone. Puar clung to her, weeping, and Krillin and reached out and grasped her hand tight. She could feel herself slipping away to the place of horror again, feeling denial start to elude her.

'N-no,' said Krillin, gulping tears. 'There must be something else we can try! There must be something we haven't thought of!'

Nappa's voice cut over him. 'Raditz, get the tank ready for Vegeta.'

'Right,' said Raditz, pushing himself out of his chair and flying down the stairs.

'Goku!' said Bulma, remembering their friend downstairs.

'He's in the tank still!' said Krillin. 'He's not healed!'

He took off down the stairs too, towing her and Puar after him. Downstairs was a nightmare. All the furniture was floating. Bulma's hoverbike still spun slowly in the centre of the lounge. Sanitary products were everywhere. Crockery and utensils where suspended about the kitchen and some had escaped over the lounge. The regeneration tank itself was a few inches off the floor and Raditz was pressing a button over and over.

'Dammit, why won't you drain!' he shouted at the machine.

'Goku is still hurt!' objected Krillin.

'Yeah,' said Raditz. 'And if Vegeta doesn't get in this tank straight away he's going to be _dead_ , and that trumps hurt.'

'All his arms and legs and half his ribs were broken! If you take him out now, he'll be in agony.'

Raditz turned to look at him. 'Look who knows so much about regen technology!' he scathingly. 'For a start, he's already _in_ agony because he's in there with no sedative or painkillers. And to finish, he's been in there for a few hours. He'll be out of the danger zone. He can finish healing after Vegeta.'

'But-'

'He's right, Krillin,' said Bulma.

'I don't care about Vegeta,' Krillin said hotly. 'He's the one that put Goku in that tank!'

'He doesn't deserve to die, though!' she protested. 'I'll treat Goku's pain. Maybe he'll even be better off this way.'

Krillin regarded her with suspicion.

'We shouldn't just let Vegeta die,' she said. 'He tried to help us!'

'There are already so many dead,' said Puar, weakly.

Krillin glowered at them both. 'Okay, then. I suppose you're right.'

'It fucking doesn't matter if I can't get this tank to drain!' said Raditz. 'Hunk of junk! Why is that error light flashing?'

Bulma let go of Krillin and pushed herself closer. There was indeed a red light flashing on the control panel and some lit text underneath it.

'What does that say?' she asked.

'Pump malfunction,' he replied.

'Well, probably the pump isn't designed to work in zero gravity,' she told him.

'Uh. That could be it,' he said and disappeared upstairs again.

'Look out, guys!' said Bulma, realising what he was about to do. A few moments later the lights came back on and so did the gravity. With crashes, clatters, thuds and shattering, the contents of the ship settled back on the floor, including Bulma who landed heavily on her butt on the wooden step.

Raditz jogged back down the steps and stopped at the bottom to survey the damage. 'Woah, what a freaking mess!'

Just then a subtle bump and a soft clank could be heard that reverberated right around the ship. Then it repeated twice more.

'What's that?' asked Bulma in alarm.

'Pods docking,' said Raditz, rushing to the airlock. He held the doorlock ready, and as the warning light on the door turned form red to green, he pulled it open. Nappa hauled himself out the pod's hatch, almost filling the space of the airlock and immediately turned to the hatch next to his. Opening it he reached in gently and pulled Vegeta out head first.

'Oh gods,' he muttered, then turned to Raditz. 'Stop goggling and get this ship out of here!' he barked at Raditz. 'We'll be lucky if they haven't locked onto us already!'

Raditz turned tail and fled back upstairs again, and Bulma got her first up-close sight of Vegeta's injury. Blood had soaked through most of the bundle of fabric and dripped steadily to the floor. His face was so pale he already looked dead, but as Nappa laid him on the wooden floor next to the tank he moaned and his eyes opened a moment and locked onto Bulma's tear filled ones. Then they drifted shut again.

Nappa pulled aside the sodden cloak. Bulma felt her already queasy stomach clench at the sight of the hole in his armour and skin. Puar gave a cry and withdrew, closing her eyes to it. A hint of yellow fat, torn muscle, and the greyish shine of intestine were gleaming through the coat of slippery red. And then the hole started to fill up with blood as the pressure came off it. Nappa hurriedly pressed the cloth back in place.

'Vegeta,' he groaned. 'He'll bleed out in the tank before it heals him at this rate!'

Bulma began to cry harder. Would there be no end to their losses today? Would the rest of them also die one by one, starting with Vegeta?

'What the fuck was this all for if he dies?' asked Nappa.

'I think can help,' she said. 'I don't know if I might do some long term harm, but I might be able to stop the bleeding enough to put him in the tank!'

Nappa looked up at her with surprise.

'Then do it!' he shouted.

She ran to the bedroom, nearly tripping on mess the whole way, then came back with her satchel marked with the biohazard symbol. She pulled out the capsule with the medical supplies and opened it, tearing through them looking for the flesh glue.

 _Oh god, please work_ , she prayed, before remembering that god was dead. _Just work, then!_ she screamed in her head.

She lifted the sodden cloth and whimpered with distress. The smell of blood was overpowering and she thought she might hurl again. The chunk of missing skin and muscle was two inches at its widest and about nine inches long. As soon as the cloth was lifted extra blood began to pool in. She reached out and grabbed a box of sanitary napkins where they'd fallen nearby and tore it open, spilling the shields onto Vegeta's chest. Then she used one to soak up the blood fast, pulled it away and observed where it sprang from fastest. A thin red line pumped bright red from just under his ribs. She stuck her finger over it to plug it while she reached for the glue with her other hand. It was hot and slippery and twitching.

'Ah!' Vegeta moaned, jumping slightly as she put her finger in his wound.

'I'm sorry!' she said, surprised he was even conscious enough to react. She sprayed the blood vessel with glue and paused for a second that felt like minutes, watching to see if that would hold back the flow. It seemed to, so she reached for another napkin to mop the blood and search for the next big gusher.

The pain was incredible. Vegeta couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten this injury, but it seemed like perhaps his worst yet. Was he going to die? Was he dead already? Perhaps this was Hell, and the torment the Saiyan ballads had promised in the afterlife had begun already? He opened his eyes, but he saw no demons, only Nappa's anxious face and that of Bulma leaning over him. She was crying. She looked fearful. She ripped aside a dressing, her hands smeared with blood, and then plunged her fingers back into the fire of his wound. He couldn't help crying out at it as he felt her touch things _inside_ him that had no business being prodded by fingers. Was she torturing him? But she glanced up at his face, aghast, and sobbed anew.

'Just hold on, Vegeta!' she said.

She was saving him, he realised with surprise. She ordered Nappa to pass her a bottle, and then squirted the contents over his abdomen. The pain lessened by some degree, and Vegeta felt himself start to drift back again to wherever he'd been before he'd woken to this scene. He watched her, feeling a little detached, but highly invested in her success. The girl saving him again? First his tail, and now his life? It didn't make sense to him. And yet the way she cried over him it seemed like she cared more that he lived than even Nappa did. She had no reason to care, and yet she did.

'Why?' he asked.

She looked him in the eyes for a second, shocked. 'Because!' she said.

He was suddenly very grateful she was there. Did it matter what oddity in her caused her to protect him? Whether she was mentally defective or an angel sent by the gods, he realised he trusted her to do everything she could not to let him die. She would not kill him. If he survived this he decided he would not kill her either.

He closed his eyes again, unable to keep them open a moment longer.

Bulma gasped as he relaxed again under her hands, fearing that he had died, but no – from somewhere blood was still pulsing out in time with his thready pulse. He was only unconscious again. She plugged another vessel and another tear and another, hoping that she didn't end up permanently gluing his intestines to each other or something. Hopefully the nanobots in the tank were clever enough to remove foreign material as they healed, but who knew?

 _Why DO I care so much?_ she wondered of herself. _Why do I care at all?_ He had nearly killed Goku earlier, he had ordered the execution of a perfectly innocent family, and he was a self-confessed murderer. But in the rush of this moment, with his blood all over her, these things didn't seem to matter as much as they would have before. Some less vengeful part of her was telling her that there was more to him than that; that there was something about Vegeta worth saving. Maybe it was just that she couldn't let _anyone_ die while she was able to save them?

There was more one reason though - one she almost wouldn't acknowledge to herself because it was so silly and unlikely. Even though he was insane and murderous and an asshole…if he was also her phantom...like in her dream…

As bad as things were, she was afraid they might be even worse without him.

'That's good enough,' said Nappa. 'We'll put him in the tank now.'

He lifted the prince, turned to the tank and stopped in his tracks.

'Kakarott's still in there!'

Feeling dizzy, Bulma stood up. 'We'll take him out!' she said.

Krillin went to grab a fur while Nappa awkwardly pressed the buttons to drain the tank with Vegeta still draped over his forearms.

As the water gushed out, Goku felt relief, even as he settled on the floor of the tank with lances of electric pain shooting through his bones. He had been holding on so long, afraid that if he lost consciousness again that he would forget the message he'd been given, and it was a very important message. When he'd first come around he'd been frightened. He couldn't move or speak or barely move his eyelids, but he could _feel_ , though all he had felt was pain in many flavours. It had felt like endless hours he had endured it. Eventually he had realised that he must be in the healing tank on the ship. It might be healing, but it was also torture.

And then he'd become aware of a sense of something even more wrong. He hadn't been sure what, just a sense of creeping night, of cold and emptiness where something had once been warm and full. When the muffled voices of the others had come downstairs he could tell something was afoot. The stress and fear they spoke and shouted with were unmistakeable. Bulma and Krillin screamed and shouted with Nappa. And then things had quieted again. He'd drifted until a voice had woken him again – not muffled from the water, but a clear voice, inside his head.

_Goku, I have an important message…_

Goku's eyes were finally able to open properly as he felt hands reach in and pull the funny sucker things off his skin and lift the mask.

'Sorry if this hurts, buddy, but we gotta move you for now!' he heard Krillin say.

And then the hands were lifting him and it did hurt, very much, but Goku growled through it, looking around until he saw who he needed. As he was lifted out of the tank he saw a pallid Vegeta hanging from Nappa's massive arms, and Goku snatched at him, grabbing hold of one of his dangling hands. Vegeta's eyes flew open.

'We need to go to N-Namek,' said Goku, coughing on the words as they provoked his broken ribs. 'There are more dragonb-balls on Namek!'

Nappa pulled away from him and Goku was forced to drop Vegeta's hand. Those dull black eyes had given no sign of understanding, but for the most part the message was delivered. Goku gratefully sank into the fur he was placed in and opened his mouth when Bulma said to, and at last escaped to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, this is kind of a turning point. In fact, if you were to be reading this as a book instead of a fan fiction you'd turn the page and there'd be white page with the words Book II in the middle of it, and then you'd quickly turn the page again and start the next chapter, because who has time to pause where the author wants you to, huh? 'No, just give me the damn story!' you say. Don't worry, the next chapter and all subsequent ones will be posted in this story, not separated into individual books, so there'll be no need for you to follow another story.
> 
> You may have noticed that I posted 3 chapters in two weeks, eh? Aren't I good to you? I must admit, that though I promised myself and said at the beginning of this story that I would try not to get obsessed with this story, I kind of am becoming obsessed, which is good news for the readers, but bad news for me and my other goals in life. Damn. That said, the next update will be on Monkey Business while I try and get further out on this story before posting anything more.
> 
> In the meantime, please review! You know I love it!


	18. The Aftermath

'Here?' Frieza questioned his technician.

'Yes, my Lord. Very close by according to the instruments.'

Pursing his lips, Frieza manoeuvred his floating chair across the treetops to get a closer look at the small mountain of broken white rock. Squinting, he made out something he could hardly believe, and pushed his chair up the slope of rubble. It was sprinkled here and there with his dead soldiers, but at the apex, sitting like a bloated pink cherry on top of the largest sundae in the universe, was an unmoving Dodoria.

Frieza drew along side and checked his scouter just to make sure that Dodoria wasn't dead. His good day had already turned bad enough without a dead general to add to it.

'Dodoria! Wake up!'

The blob of a warrior jerked upright, then fell groggily back on his elbows.

'Lord Frieza! What are you doing here?'

'What are you doing asleep is the better question. Tell me you have better news that Zarbon!'

Zarbon himself hung in the air behind Frieza, keeping circumspectly quiet after having reported that the Namek _disappeared_ into thin air mid-interrogation.

Dodoria shook himself and lurched to his feet, groaning.

'There was a guy up there, knocked me out somehow.' He looked up, where there was nothing to see but blue sky. 'Oh hell, I must've fallen all the way down while I was unconscious.'

'Vegeta! Where is _Vegeta?_ '

'Ah...' Dodoria's jaw hung slack for a second while he thought it over. 'I injured him, but...I don't know. I was about to take him in hand when that wizard interfered. He must have put a sleeping spell on me or something.'

'A spell? I _hate_ magic, Dodoria,' Frieza snarled, which was true, except for when the magic in question promised to give him eternal life. What good was it to be the most powerful being in the galaxy if someone could _cast a spell_ to get around you?

'I'm sorry, my Lord,' said Dodoria. 'I had no defence against it.'

'Was this wizard by any chance a Namekian?'

Dodoria's eyebrows shot up. 'No, but now that you mention it, there was a green skinned old guy up there. I turned him into a crater though.'

Frieza and Zarbon gasped in horror.

'He's dead?'

'Very, my Lord.'

'Dodoria, you idiot!' Frieza turned to his other General. 'This would have been the Guardian twin that your Namek talked of? The one who also needed to be alive for the dragonballs to remain useful?'

'It sounds like it, my Lord,' replied Zarbon. 'Based on what he told us, when Dodoria killed his twin, the balls and the Namekian himself would've died also. Perhaps that's why he disappeared right out of my hands.'

Frieza growled aloud and his entourage took a step backwards. 'My father warned me there would be days like this,' he muttered. 'I can't believe it! I suppose we have lost that monkey-spawn again as well?' His eyes fell on the technician and the man flinched and stammered.

'It'll b-be at least another day before the next signal burst, my Lord. Until then we won't know for sure if Vegeta is still on the planet.'

Frieza scowled. 'The sky didn't go black all over the planet, so at least Vegeta couldn't have made his wish before Dodoria _killed_ the dragonballs. Very well, we shall wait a day to see if he is still here. Zarbon, tell the men to keep searching. If it turns out that he has left already we will leave a detachment of soldiers here to finish the purge clean up and guard the planet against squatters. We'll call for replacements to rendezvous with us, and then...I think it will be time to go Namek-hunting.'

* * *

**BOOK II**

** **

* * *

Bulma took another shuddering sigh and rested her face against the window. Stars slid by fluidly. She kept wondering how the ship managed to travel faster than the speed of light, but then realising that this was not particularly relevant in the face of her mind-destroying loss. That loss kept coming back at her, rolling over her in dizzying waves of confusion, for _how could this be?_ How could this have happened and not killed her outright with the shock of her peoples' destruction? How did she still have her sanity? And that question was always followed by the spiralling sense that she was losing her sanity after all. And then it would fade...and she'd wonder what she had in her capsules to eat and how the ship was propelled, almost as if she'd forgotten what she had been crying about. Her mind refused what had happened.

Guiltily, now she caught it thinking about how she needed to go to the bathroom and how hungry she was, and with a wave of dislocation it all washed back over her. What did it matter when all of Earth's people were gone? Her parents! Her Yamcha! Her hunger turned to sickness and she hugged Krillin tighter.

He was curled under her arm. Before today she'd almost never even hugged Krillin, but now he was her rock, and she his, and they clung together as if afraid the other would also be torn from them. Goku slept at their feet, wrapped in a fur, exhausted and twitching a little as the healing process continued. Puar was collapsed in her lap. It felt wrong that they should still be alive when everyone else was dead. It felt like it was a mistake that might be corrected at any moment.

'What do you think dying feels like?' Bulma asked.

'Horrible,' replied Puar.

Krillin was more philosophical. 'I think it depends how much pain you go through to get there,' he said. 'They always said at Orin Temple that dying didn't hurt at all. It was just slipping away from this world to the next. From one state to the next.'

'Do you think their deaths were painless?' scolded Puar.

'No,' Krillin admitted. 'I know they probably weren't. But they were quick, I hope.'

'Quick...' echoed Bulma, all her horror that they should be hoping their friends and families had a quick death thickening her voice and bringing tears to her eyes.

'Krillin, why would you say that?' said Puar.

'S-Sorry,' he stammered. 'But that's the most we can hope for them.'

Puar began to shake all over again with sobs. 'Yamcha!' she mewled. 'The only thing keeping me alive right now is the hope that what Goku said is true!'

'It's true,' said Bulma. 'It's absolutely true.'

'How can you be sure?' said Puar, struggling to sit up in her lap. 'He's really injured! He could have been hallucinating or something.'

'I know,' said Bulma. 'It sounds crazy, but everything that Goku said came true. He said that the last dragonball was in the Land of Korin, on a lookout above Korin's tower. And that's where Vegeta and the others went. That green guy was Kami, just like Goku said, I'm sure of it.'

'You'd better be right!'

'Let me put it this way, Puar – would you feel better if it wasn't true?'

'No, of course not!'

'Well then, don't question it!'

'Bulma!' the cat gasped, dissolving into tears again. 'You _know_ that's not what I meant!'

'Guys,' whispered Krillin before they could start arguing. 'We've got to keep it together. The whole _world_ is relying on us now.'

Bulma looked down at Puar, the fur on her face wet from crying. The cat looked back at her, lower lip clamped tightly against its trembling. The whole world on the four of them. The _whole world_. She remembered the way the massive globe hung above them while Frieza's men slaughtered every soul, its weight pressing down on her. All that responsibility, all the unthinkable cost of failure. Bulma started shaking too.

'How are we going to do it?' asked Puar.

'I don't know.' said Bulma. 'But we have to.' She realised then that this crushing responsibility had been on her this whole time. She'd run off with Puar, Goku and Krillin, lightly taking on something that had seemed like a scary, but private, adventure. But it wasn't. It had always been the four of them to save to world from the moment they'd jumped out the nursery window. The only difference now was that they had failed, and witnessed the consequences of their failure, and they only had one chance left to put things right again.

'So now were going to Namek...with the Saiyans?' asked Krillin.

'If they want to go. If they believe Goku. Then I guess we're in the same boat as we were before,' she said quietly. 'Get the dragonballs and make the wish before they do. But they're our ride to Namek.'

 _And how well had that worked before?_ she asked herself. And now they were out of their element, at the mercy of the Saiyans more than ever.

'Do you think we're prisoners or what?' asked Krillin.

Bulma glanced over to where Vegeta hung in the tank, a faint haze of blood still tinting the blue liquid a dirty green. She hoped he would wake soon. It wasn't that she missed his company, but their original deal had been cut with Vegeta. She didn't like the idea that right now Nappa was in charge.

'I don't know. I guess we'll find out when Vegeta wakes up,' she said. 'Puar, I'm guessing that you and Goku are safe as long as you do as Vegeta wants. But I don't know what they'll do with Krillin and me.'

Finally she couldn't ignore her bladder any longer. She had to go pee or else she'd make a puddle on the floor. Nappa was out of sight – she thought he was in the bedroom, but wasn't sure. Raditz was upstairs. Tarble and Brolly were unconscious, dumped face down amongst the furs and cushions on the lounge floor.

'I'm going to the bathroom,' she whispered.

As she stood up, Krillin clung to her wrist. 'Let me come too,' he said. 'It might not be safe, and I need to go also.'

Bulma would have suspected Roshi-style perversion behind this request under any other circumstance, but not today. She nodded, and the two of them crept to the bathroom. She'd discovered another lavatory in the main bathroom, hidden behind a low partition wall, and she led them to that one, as it was marginally cleaner. They took their turns and came out of the bathroom into the corridor, but found that Raditz was in the kitchen. They both paused, looked at each other and wordlessly agreed to creep out of the corridor the other way, but the instant they turned, the bedroom door opened and Nappa stepped out, stripped down to his skin tight black shorts and t-shirt.

'You cooking, Raddish-boy?' Then his eyes fell on the humans and his expression brightened with anticipation. Krillin grabbed Bulma's arm and hurried towards the kitchen as Raditz turned around.

'Yes, I'm fucking starving after missing lunch…oh, there you are,' he finished, looking down at the two of them.

'Just using the bathroom,' mumbled Bulma as they turned to exit the kitchen into the lounge, but Nappa's huge leg shot in front of them. He propped his foot against the breakfast bar, blocking their way out.

'What are you cooking, Raditz?' asked Nappa, and grinned. 'Earthlings?'

'Don't be stupid,' said Raditz. 'Vegeta would have a fit.'

'Vegeta doesn't need these urchins any more,' said Nappa. 'They're free for all, as far I'm concerned.' Moving faster than she could follow, he grabbed each of them by an arm and they both shouted with fright. Puar leapt up onto the breakfast bar but could do no more than watch as Nappa lifted Krillin into the air.

'Let's cook the boy,' he said with a grin, and Bulma believed that he was serious. 'I'll have the girl first. You can have her after me it you want, Raditz, and then we'll cook her too.'

Bulma screamed and Krillin yelled, both of them fighting for their lives against Nappa's hold.

'What's wrong with your face, Raditz?' Nappa asked over the din.

Bulma turned her wild gaze at Raditz, hoping desperately for salvation from that quarter. He was scowling. 'I don't want your sloppy seconds,' he said, and her hope immediately fizzled out.

'Fine,' said Nappa. 'Then don't.'

Raditz pouted. 'You know what I mean, Nappa. I've been doing the spadework on her for days. I should have her first, and I don't eat people I've had sex with as a matter of principle!'

'No one should have her!' screamed Puar. 'No one's cooking Krillin, either!'

Nappa laughed at the little cat. 'That sure put me in my place! Anyway, I was just joking about cooking them. We'll put them out the airlock. This one would probably give us indigestion anyway,' he said with a shake of Bulma.

'You can't do this!' she screamed, even as her teeth clacked together in her head from his vicious manhandling.

'Really? Who's stopping me, huh?'

'Vegeta would if he were awake!'

Nappa's lip curled in contempt. 'Oh, and you know his mind so much better than I, who has known him from a tiny cub?'

'You stupid oaf!' she cried. 'Didn't you hear what Goku said? There are more dragonballs on Namek! Vegeta is dead set on getting a wish. Where do you think the first place he'll want to go is when he gets out of that tank?' She prayed that she was right, but it did seem likely.

Nappa glared at her with hatred.

'You know, she's probably right,' offered Raditz.

'So fucking what?' replied Nappa. 'Even if we go dragonball hunting on Namek, we don't need this mouthy little whore to do it now we have the radar.'

'Really?' said Bulma. 'Where is the radar, _Nappa_?'

'It's…' he paused.

She knew it was still on Kami's Lookout. Though she hadn't been focused in it at the time, she didn't remember seeing him pick it up when he was packing the boys into the pods. After he had dumped Brolly and Tarble in the lounge and retired to the bedroom, the first thing she had done was look for it in case it had somehow made it up here onto the ship. If there were more balls on Namek she wanted as many aces up her sleeve as possible, but she hadn't found it in the pods, airlock or lounge.

Nappa's face clouded with anger. 'Well, if there's no radar, then we need your help even less, _dragonball-hunter_.'

'You don't get it, do you, you fucking baboon?' she roared, both scared and furious. 'I didn't just _read_ the dragon radar – I invented it! And if I'm _alive_ then I can build you a new one!'

Nappa was breathing hard, thoroughly provoked. He shoved her backwards into the kitchen counter and made her grimace with pain. 'Well, that may be, but that doesn't save baldie or stop me screwing that attitude out of you.' He passed Krillin to Raditz, who looked like he didn't want to particularly want him, and then hauled Bulma into the corridor, pushing her in front of him.

'No! No!' she cried, snatching at doorknobs and frames on the way, but he was way too strong, and his fingers felt like rebar digging into her shoulders. 'Vegeta won't like it!' she screamed in desperation, thinking of what Raditz had said after he'd accosted her the night before. 'He'll kill you for this!'

'No he won't,' said Nappa. 'He'll forgive me, eventually.'

Raditz followed them down the corridor. 'Nappa, she's got a point! If Vegeta still needs her, his orders stand. We're not allowed to force her.'

Nappa stopped and turned on Raditz now. 'Keep dipping your oar in, weakling, and you'll regret it.'

Raditz backed off a step, holding Krillin in front of him like a trembling bag of potatoes. 'Just trying to help, Nappa! You know Vegeta is going to wake up in a stonking bad mood as it is. But whatever. It's your life.'

Nappa's face grew even more thunderous, but he let go of Bulma. Muttering under his breath he stormed through the bedroom door and slammed it so hard that it bounced back open. 'Cook me some fucking dinner!' he yelled out before he closed the door a second time.

Bulma ran to Krillin and grabbed hold of his legs as if she could pull him out of Raditz's hold. Raditz looked like he wasn't sure what to do and let go of him anyway. Krillin fell into her arms and she staggered under his weight until he hopped down to the floor.

'You're not going to put me out the airlock,' he said to Raditz.

Raditz crossed his arms and lifted his chin to look down his nose at them both. 'I still could. There's nothing to stop me killing _you_.'

'Except that he's my assistant,' Bulma said, hoping the same lie would work on Raditz as Vegeta.

'Vegeta won't like it!' chimed in Puar, hovering over Raditz's shoulder in the narrow corridor.

'Whatever,' said Raditz. 'I'll let Vegeta decide for himself when he wakes up.' And then he went back to the cluttered and filthy kitchen.

'Crap, that was close!' muttered Krillin, his voice trembling. 'Do you think Vegeta will…want to keep me alive?'

Bulma grabbed him into a hug. 'I won't let him kill you!' she said.

* * *

The Earthlings retreated to their window. The light in the lounge seemed to be getting dimmer and pinker, and Bulma started to feel sleepy, worn out by too much adrenalin being used up during the day. Raditz cooked something that looked like grilled snake cut into chunks and threw it into yet another big pot of beans. When Nappa came through they both took their massive bowls upstairs. The smell seemed to wake Goku who groaned and complained that he was hungry. Bulma broke out some of the emergency food from the satchel to feed him. One capsule said it contained 100 microwave dinners and a battery powered microwave. After cooking trays of lasagne and pork cassolette for Goku she started to feel pretty damn hungry herself. They had to prop Goku up and spoon-feed him because his arms were still too broken to use. It was the most restrained she'd ever seen Goku while eating, though he kept bleating 'More!' if she hesitated even a moment between mouthfuls. Krillin heated up some randomly selected meals for himself, Bulma and Puar while Bulma kept up the continual stream of food going into Goku's mouth.

'Goku,' she asked, almost afraid to ask in case she didn't like the answer. 'Do you remember what you said when we took you out of the regen tank?'

'About Planet Namek?' he asked. She nodded. 'Yes,' he confirmed. 'There are more dragonballs there.'

'So you talked to Kami again?'

'Yeah.'

'You definitely didn't dream it?' she whispered.

'No,' he said. 'I wasn't even asleep! I mean, once I woke up in there I was awake until I got out. I'm sure it was Kami. He told me he was dying, and that if Vegeta failed to help us that we should go to Planet Namek where Kami was born, to use their dragonballs to wish back the people of Earth.'

Bulma had to believe him. She fed him another spoonful of sloppy lasagne, but he hesitated over this one.

'Bulma, is it true then? Vegeta failed and all the people of the earth are dead?'

Bulma shrugged, her throat clenching with tears again as they brimmed up in her eyes. How could there still be more? She'd cried a waterfall since this morning. 'Vegeta never got to make a wish. Kami died first. We left while the purge was still going on,' she said, her voice starting to fail her. 'We saw Chichi, Yamcha…and my parents…'

'What?' asked Goku when she couldn't go on.

Bulma shook her head, but Goku figured it out.

'No way!' he said, and then has jaw snapped closed in anger and he let out a ferocious growl. 'We've got to stop this guy, Frieza, whoever he is! I'll kill him for what he's done!'

Bulma smiled through her tears. Somehow it was good to hear Goku say that, even if she didn't believe he was capable.

'Was Vegeta really going to make a wish that would have helped us?' Goku asked.

'I don't know,' she admitted. 'I think so.'

'I'd like to think so, but I doubt it,' said Goku. 'He is not a good guy, Bulma.'

For the first time it occurred to her that maybe it was a good thing that Vegeta hadn't gotten a wish. If he'd gotten something he'd always wanted and ignored the plight of the Earthlings, then there would be no chance of them going to Namek with the Saiyans, and no bargaining chips in her hand at this moment.

Then Goku looked over her shoulder and frowned. Bulma turned to look too – she was pretty jumpy after everything that had happened. Tarble was sitting up, watching them, but he turned away. Bulma remembered the poor treatment he'd gotten today. It seemed like the Earthlings weren't the only ones whose existence on this ship was marginal.

'Tarble, do you want something to eat?' she asked.

He glanced back at her, surprised. 'No. It's okay. I should be hungry, but for some reason I'm not.'

Krillin gave a grim chuckle and said, 'I'm not surprised you're full after you ate about six of Frieza's soldiers!'

'Krillin!' squeaked Puar, appalled by him finding that funny.

'I did what?' gasped Tarble.

'Six guys!' exclaimed Goku, looking at the skinny little boy like he couldn't figure out where they'd all fit.

Tarble made a face. 'I don't remember eating any people.'

'Well we watched you do it after you turned into a giant, monster monkey!' Krillin told him. 'We could see it all from space.'

'Eurgh,' said Tarble, sticking out his tongue and clutching his stomach. 'I _ate_ people? That's horrible!'

'A giant monkey?' asked Goku. 'You turned into a _giant monkey_? How?'

Puar turned to Bulma with a grimace of panic and Bulma rounded on Krillin and hissed at him, 'Moron!'

Tarble stood up, looking puzzled, and then he put on a scornful expression as if he were doing a bad impression of Vegeta. 'Don't tell me you've never made the transformation to Oozaru form? The Earth has a moon, so I don't see why not,' he said to Goku. 'Have you no idea about your Saiyan heritage at all?'

Goku looked shocked. 'No! I can transform into a monster?' and then he got angry. 'Hey, wait! My grandpa was killed by a giant monkey-looking monster! Have you guys been spying on me? Did you come to Earth before and kill my grandpa?'

'That's ridiculous,' said Tarble. 'The only Saiyan on Earth until recently was _you_.'

'Well I didn't kill my grandpa!' said Goku confidently, but Bulma saw the exact moment when doubt struck him.

'Let's talk about something else,' she suggested.

'No,' said Goku. 'I want to know about this Oozaru thing. How does it happen?'

'When a Saiyan looks at a full moon,' said Tarble. 'Or when they look at an artificial blutz wave generator, which simulates the full moon's rays.'

'Well, I've seen the full moon before, and I didn't turn into anything.'

'Really?' said Tarble. 'I think the only way that can happen is if you lose your tail.'

'Huh,' said Goku, but Bulma could see how disturbed he was by that. He'd lost his tail when Puar had cut it off the first time she'd seen him "go ape", and he'd lost it again after Jackie Chun blasted it off during the World Martial Arts Tournament. Not that Goku knew that. All he knew was that twice he'd had an injury and lost his tail, and she guessed that he was now trying to remember if the times he'd seen the full moon he'd had a tail or not.

'What happens when you transform?' Goku asked.

'Well, unless you're really good at it like Nappa and Vegeta, you kind of go crazy and try and destroy everything. Afterwards you don't remember anything, or maybe just a bit of a dream about what happened…' Tarble trailed off, still rubbing his stomach as he mumbled, 'And then you wake up in the morning and find out what damage you've done.'

Goku's face blanched in horror. 'So I wouldn't even remember?'

Tarble shook his head. 'Probably not.'

'No!' Goku cried. 'I couldn't have! I couldn't have killed Grandpa Gohan!' He looked more distressed by this possibility than by the news that everyone on Earth was dead. Bulma tried to get closer to him to comfort him, but really, there wasn't much part of his body that wasn't injured. She ended up just squeezing his shoulder.

'If you did, Goku, it wasn't your fault!'

'Yes it was!' Goku glared down at his tail, which he lifted from the floor. 'If I didn't have this thing, it wouldn't have happened! When I lost my tail I missed it, but I can do without it if I never turn into a mindless monster!' He tried to move but cried out in pain. 'If my arms worked right now I'd pull it off!' he said bitterly.

Tarble looked horrified. 'You can't tear off your own tail! You're not a true Saiyan without one!'

'Who cares about that?' said Goku. He sank back against the wall again, defeated. 'If I wasn't a Saiyan, maybe my grandpa would still be alive.'

Bulma wasn't sure what to say or do to make Goku feel better, so she just sat beside him and took the tray that Krillin handed her, still piping hot from the microwave.

Tarble looked troubled and turned his back on Goku, sitting down on the lowest step. 'Brolly?' he said, after a moment.

The other boy was awake too, and pushed himself up onto his elbows. It hadn't seemed very important at the moment that Nappa carried him into the lounge and dumped him face down and tailless on the mess of furs and cushions, but Brolly was buck-naked except for his diadem and necklace. Now he was awake this seemed much more notable.

'I can smell food,' he said. 'I'm hungry.'

'Er…You can have some of our food it you like?' said Krillin nervously. Bulma was a little nervous too. After the way he'd acted in the desert she doubted she'd feel relaxed around him again.

'Okay,' he said.

'Heat some more up,' Bulma told Krillin. 'He can have this one in the meantime. I can wait a bit longer.'

She went down into the pit and crouched by his head, offering him the microwaved dauphine potatoes and beef bourguignon and the plastic spork that came with it. He immediately started scooping the hot food into his mouth, holding the tray up to his lips to push the food in, rather than using conventional table manners.

'You'll burn yourself,' she warned, but Brolly kept hoeing it back till the tray was empty.

'Ah, still hungry!' he said. 'And my tail hurts.' He reached around behind him to his tail and encountered nothing but the bloody wound. 'Ow!' He struggled to look back over his shoulder to see it.

Bulma took a cautious step back.

'What happened to his tail?' asked Tarble, shocked to see it was gone.

'Erm,' said Bulma. 'It kind of fell off…during battle,' she lied, deciding that this was less inflammatory sounding than telling him that Nappa pulled it off.

Brolly frowned, but instead of exploding into rage he just grunted. 'I'm not worried. I've lost it before. It grew back. Got anymore food?'

'Yeah,' she said, relieved. 'It'll be ready in just a minute. I can treat that wound for you in the meantime.'

'If you think it needs it.'

She gathered together the antiseptic, the sedative, the skin glue and some gauze and tape from where she'd hurriedly decapsulated the medical supplies near the regen tank to treat Vegeta. There was still blood on the floor, and bloodied pads. She took a moment to look up at Vegeta floating in the pale blue water. Nappa had thrown him in fully clothed, the diodes slapped on willy-nilly down the neck of his shirt. Through the hole in his armour she could see the tear in his abdominal wall already looked a lot smaller, and a membrane had formed over the intestines that had been exposed. It still looked pretty nauseating. She looked at his face, suddenly very, very glad that she had saved his life. If she hadn't then she shuddered to think what would have happened to herself and Krillin.

His eyes opened a little. She wondered if he could see her. If he was aware that she was watching and what she had done for him.

Returning to Brolly she didn't know where to put her eyes. He was gruesomely smeared with dried blood, and while she appreciated the sight of a shapely, chiselled set of male haunches as much as, if not more than, the next girl, she didn't know what to feel about it when the haunches belonged to a thirteen year old boy. She knelt down next to him, pretending she was as unflappable as a senior nursing matron.

'Doesn't look too bad,' she said of the wound in the small of his back. 'It didn't bleed too much. Okay, young man, open your mouth and let me squirt you with this. It'll take the edge off.'

She'd meant him to do it lying down, but Brolly had other ideas. He pushed himself up and knelt to take the pump bottle from her, revealing the fact that though he might be the same age as Goku and shared a similar disregard for modesty, he was rather more developed in a physiological sense.

'Ah-huh,' she said as he squirted the stuff in his mouth, trying not to look anywhere except his face. 'Two more of those.'

Obediently he did, and then felt forwards on his hands again. 'Mmm, feel funny,' he said and then giggled.

'Lie down so I can dress your wound.'

He leant forward and the diadem slipped off his head. Bulma looked quickly to Tarble and was not reassured by his anxious expression.

'Your crown fell off, Brolly,' he said.

Brolly slumped his lower body onto the fur again and picked the circlet up. He put it back on again, but his clumsy fingers couldn't manage to get it to sit properly, so he took it off again and flicked it away.

'Doesn't seem to fit properly. I don't think I like it anymore, anyway.' Then he grabbed his strange necklace thing and pulled that off over his head.

Tarble's eyes went wide with panic, and without another word he disappeared up the stairs.

'Aren't you supposed to wear them though?' asked Bulma nervously.

'I'm sick of wearing those silly things. Is the food ready yet?'

Krillin, who had been watching all this with concern, whipped the tray out of the microwave before it could beep its readiness.

'Here,' he said hurriedly offering it at arms length, and Brolly immediately began chomping on pasta marinara.

Nappa, Raditz and Tarble came rushing back down the steps together. Nappa slowed as soon as Brolly looked up, and more gently made his way closer.

'Brolly, son! I see you're awake at last.'

Brolly finished his mouthful and attempted to sit up again, but fell over and ended up lolling against one of the couches.

'Lost my tail,' he said.

'Yeah, I know,' sad Nappa gently. 'But you're young. It'll grow back. But what's this? You've taken your necklace and crown off?'

'I don't like them any more,' sad Brolly.

'But they were a gift from the Hortensua people. They gave you a crown and made you their king. Why wouldn't you want to wear them?'

'I said I don't _like_ them anymore, weren't you listening?'

'It was a great honour the Hortensua gave you.'

'And they really suit you,' added Raditz.

Brolly giggled again. 'They had to make me king or I'd have killed the rest of them!' he laughed. 'I don't like the Hortensua people either!'

'Please, Brolly,' said Nappa, sounding desperate. Bulma had never heard him use that word before.

'It's all bent and scuffed anyway,' said Brolly. 'The stone is cracked too.'

Bulma gingerly picked the circlet up from where he'd thrown it. 'He's right. The jewel is broken. What does that mean?'

Nappa looked horrified. For a few seconds no one moved or made a noise except for Brolly, whose chuckles continued, disconnected form anything going on around him. Nappa's eyes fell on the gauze and other equipment next to Bulma.

'Brolly, this girl is going to dress the wound you got in battle today, and she's going to give you some medicine to make you feel better, isn't that right, girl?' He glared meaningfully at her and mimed the squirting action of the serum bottle.

'I already feel pretty good,' the boy said. 'But okay.' He rolled onto all fours and opened his mouth for the medicine. Bulma quickly gave him two more squirts of the sedative and he fell flat on his face. Nappa and Raditz sighed in relief and lowered themselves to sit on the steps.

'What's wrong with him?' asked Bulma as soon as he was down. 'What's the deal with the jewellery?'

Nappa looked affronted that she would expect answers from him, and instead asked her a question.

'Did you take that thing off him?'

'No!' she replied.

'He took it off himself,' said Tarble. 'I _told_ you that.'

'Let me see that,' said Nappa, reaching for the diadem. She threw it to him, annoyed that he wasn't answering her, but not feeling able to argue about it. 'Ah, balls - it _is_ bust. We might have to put him out the airlock.'

'You're going to kill one of your own kind?' asked Krillin, as shocked as Bulma was by this casual suggestion of homicide. 'But you told Vegeta not to kill Goku because he was a Saiyan!'

'Huh? When was that?' asked Goku, but no one answered him.

'Can't we fix the crown?' asked Tarble. 'I don't think we should just kill him!'

'Brolly is mad,' said Nappa, baldly. 'Mad and powerful and space travel don't mix. This crown and necklace were the only things keeping him under control. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to die when some raging idiot shreds the spaceship because someone looked at him funny. Princess, how long will that poison keep him down?'

She shrugged. 'A few hours maybe. But I could dose him again…If you give me the crown I could try to fix it.'

'Fix it? And how will you do that, sweetheart?'

'Well I don't know until I try, do I?'

'It might be worth trying,' said Raditz. 'Vegeta won't want the gene pool getting any narrower…'

'Hmm,' said Nappa. 'That's a pipe dream, but not mine to crush.' He threw the crown back at her. 'Stay at his side. Keep him unconscious until Vegeta awakes. If he thinks it's worth the risk to keep Brolly alive while you fix this thing, then that can be his decision.' He stood up and stretched. 'I'm going to bed.' Then he strode away and disappeared into the corridor.

Bulma looked at her new charge. He seemed so dull with the crown on, and with it off, he was mad? Poor, scary boy.

'What is this thing?' she asked aloud.

'I dunno,' said Raditz. 'It's some whacky tech the Hortensua people came up with. They gave it to him when he was just a little kid. The Hortensuas are no pushover race, in fact, I'm surprised that an infant was even sent to purge that planet, but Brolly had decimated them before they came up with that device and tricked him onto wearing it.'

'They just pretended he was their king?'

'Yeah. You might have noticed, when he has it on he's not exactly a razor wit. When we turned up on Planet Horten, the Hortensua were only too happy for us to take their "king" away. We tried him without the crown on when we stopped at the next planet, and we just couldn't stop him destroying cities. He sent a blast down into the core of the planet while we were still on it and thought that was funny. He half-killed Nappa while we were trying to put the crown back on him, and we only just managed to get off the planet before it blew. So we won't be trying that again.'

'Oh, jeez! He blew up a whole planet?' said Krillin.

'Yep. That's Brolly's idea of a good time. And while I enjoy tearing shit up as much as the next Saiyan, if I were to blow a planet up it wouldn't be while I was still on it trying to buy supplies while keeping a low profile.'

'Oh my god,' muttered Bulma. And Brolly was now _her_ responsibility.

'How can he be that strong?' asked Goku.

'I dunno. We can't figure it out. If he was so strong then he should have been declared Elite at birth, but if he was sent away on a purge that means he was judged a third-class. But he's at least as strong as Nappa.'

'As strong as Vegeta?' Goku asked.

'Vegeta is stronger than Nappa?' asked Bulma, surprised. Vegeta was tiny compared to that brute.

'Yeah, definitely,' said Goku.

'Why else do you think he's in charge?' asked Raditz. 'Do you think we follow his orders because of his pretty face?'

'I know he said he was the most powerful Saiyan ever born, but then I figured…he didn't grow much.'

Raditz made a face. 'Hmm, Shortstuff does actually have the power to back up his attitude. When the crown is on Brolly, it messes up his power reading so we can't measure his power that way. It basically makes him weaker as well as dumb and docile. And we can't fight him to find out either. If Brolly gets angry enough, like if he gets hurt or people get aggressive to him, he bugs out even with the crown on. Vegeta has never so much as sparred with Brolly because of that. I really doubt Brolly is stronger than _Vegeta_ though.'

'So that's why Brolly's not allowed to fight,' said Goku. 'And why he attacked Chichi.'

'Is that really why you follow Vegeta?' Bulma asked. 'Only because he's stronger than you?'

Raditz shrugged. 'I don't know. He's also the son of the old King. I guess he was born to lead. Who am I to argue with the natural order?' Then he stood up and surveyed the room. It was now even dimmer and the light from the ring around the ceiling was a dusky purple. He crossed the room and clapped Tarble on the shoulder before leaping over the debris on the steps and into the kitchen.

'It's going to be dark soon and look at this mess!' he said. ' _Someone_ had better sort this room out before I come to bed!'

'But…!' said Tarble in protest, but Raditz just strode away into the corridor.

Tarble pouted and started picking up sanitary products from around the room. Bulma looked at his lonely drudgery and said, 'You know, Krillin, you could help him instead of just sitting there.'

'So could _you_ ,' Krillin replied.

'I'm busy!' she claimed, snatching up her gauze and saline solution.

'I'll help!' said Puar.

'I'd help too, if I could,' said Goku.

Bulma cleaned the stump of Brolly's tail, sprinkled it with antiseptic and covered it with a dressing. It took about five minutes, and then she reluctantly joined the others in rearranging the room. They shook out furs, blankets and cushions, picked up broken crockery, utensils and food scraps from the carpet and made a pile of sanitary product next to Goku on the wooden floor. Krillin touched the packets and boxes like he'd catch a contagious disease from them.

'What is this stuff anyway?' asked Goku and Krillin choked on a hoot of laughter.

'I was wondering that, too,' said Tarble, reaching inside a split box and pulling out a tampon. 'Is it for treating injuries?'

'Dude!' said Krillin. 'Don't touch that! It's girl's stuff!'

Guiltily Tarble dropped the tampon and box to the ground.

'Grow up, Krillin!' Bulma chastised. 'It's not like you'll catch being a chick from it. Pick it up, Tarble. I promise you'll be fine.'

Tarble did, looking incredibly confused. 'How is this girl's stuff? What's it for?' Goku, now even more curious, examined a box of maxi pads that had landed next to him.

'"For max-i-mum flow",' he read with difficulty. '"Extra long, for a peaceful night's sleep." They help girls sleep? Why wouldn't it work on a boy?'

Krillin gave a dirty giggle and even Puar laughed.

'No, that's not what they're for!' she said.

'Well, what then?'

Bulma struggled to decide what to say. 'It's not something I really want to explain right now.'

'Could you show us, then?' asked Tarble.

'NO!' she shouted, getting red in the face. Krillin and Puar fell about laughing. 'Don't be so childish!' she roared at them. 'It's only physiology!'

'Aw, you're not going to tell them?' asked Krillin.

'Why don't _you_ , Krillin?' she dared him, guessing correctly that he was not up to talking on the subject.

Krillin blushed. 'Because…I don't really know that much about it,' he admitted.

'Well, what _do_ you know?' asked Tarble.

Krillin was turning an even deeper red. He glanced over at Bulma, but if he was hoping he'd be thrown a lifeline he was mistaken.

'Go ahead, Krillin,' she said. 'You were keen to point out your superior level of knowledge on the subject, so you tell them what you know.'

Krillin laughed weakly. 'Well, he didn't go into much detail, but Master Roshi said that women… _bleed_ sometimes…like in a cycle, once a month or something, I don't know!'

'Does it hurt?' asked Goku, peering at Bulma curiously.

Despite her challenge to the others to not be so childish, Bulma was quite uncomfortable with this conversation. 'No…Well, actually, yes, it does sometimes.'

Tarble looked stunned, but he held up the tampon. 'So these are to mop up the blood?'

'Yes.'

He and Goku were both staring at her in puzzlement. 'So where does it come from?' asked Tarble.

'It…comes…oh, forget it! We're not having this conversation now!'

Goku's eyes scanned over her body, and then his face lit up like a light bulb. 'Oh, I know! Sometimes I could smell that you were bleeding, between your legs! That's what was happening. Am I right?'

'Goku!' she screamed. 'You are SO embarrassing, sometimes!'

Puar hid her laughter behind her paws, but then jumped in surprise at the loud bark of laughter from the kitchen. They all turned to see Nappa there, standing in just his briefs, filling a glass from the hose-like tap.

'You ignoramuses are too much!' he chuckled. 'So, Earthlings are a menstruating species, as well, are they?' Raditz wandered in too at that moment, armour off and damp hair dragging down to his knees.

'Are they?' he asked blandly as he jumped down the steps into the lounge pit.

Bulma attempted to gather her composure after this fright. She'd had no clue Nappa had been there listening to their conversation. 'Well, the humans are at least,' she said.

'Not all Earthling people are one species,' said Puar. 'You may have noticed that I don't exactly look like the others.'

'I thought you were just a toy,' said Nappa. 'Do you think you're a person?'

Puar gasped. 'What? Of course I'm a person!'

Nappa laughed again. 'Whatever you say!' Then he looked at the boys. 'Tarble and Kakarott, I had no idea you were so backwards when it comes to women-kind. You're old enough to need educating on the subject. We'll have to see to that if there's a chance. Raditz and I could do with the entertainment.' And then he started laughing to himself again at whatever scenario he had conjured in his head, and left the kitchen to go back to the bedroom. Raditz snorted and turned to examine the room.

'You _still_ not finished?'

* * *

Bulma, Puar and Krillin finally got to eat their dinners just before the lounge went dark. Tarble told them that the lights were set to a solar rhythm that had synched to Earth's when they were there, but now would revert to a 20 galactic hour day cycle. It could be overridden, and it could be boosted all the way back to daylight levels just by saying the command 'Ambient lighting, one hundred percent!' or the sconce lights between the windows could be turned on.

'But we prefer to keep it natural,' said Raditz, 'so hurry up and eat. And give me one of those while you're at it – the smell is making me hungry again.'

The lounge was arranged into some order. The two large sofas were pressed back against the steps. The sofa cushions were laid along the floor to make a wide kind of mattress, with furs lain over the top. Raditz had an extra cushion reserved to stop his feet hanging off the end of the makeshift bed. They decided to lay the two patients on the sofas so they didn't get rolled on, then Tarble laid down on the uber-bed and pulled a blanket over him. Krillin and Puar followed his example, but Bulma crouched by Brolly.

'We have to watch him,' she said. 'If he starts to wake up…'

'You can wake me up to watch for a bit,' said Puar.

'Me too,' said Krillin.

'Tarble, you take a turn watching,' commanded Raditz.

'Wow, thanks for your help, Raditz,' Bulma said sarcastically.

'No problem.'

They decided that Tarble would watch first, as he wasn't that tired, then Puar, Krillin and Bulma.

Bulma settled into the furs, too worn out to even care about the relative cleanliness and smell of them. It didn't seem like a high priority now. Exhaustion pulled her down and she fell into a thick, clinging sleep. Nightmares came and went, but she didn't wake. She dreamt she knelt before Frieza while he clutched Chichi around the throat with his foot talon, and she was screaming at him to stop, and pulling at his toes because time was running out and Chichi was going to die. Chichi twisted and thrashed, and then her hand locked around Bulma's wrist, squeezing her hard. Bulma looked down at her face and saw understanding of her fate in the other girl's eyes just as the blood splashed out of her mouth and it got all over Bulma…hot and slippery on her hands. She could feel she heated squishiness of guts under her fingers, the pulsing of a life slipping away. 'Girl, don't let me die!' begged Vegeta.

'I'm trying, I'm trying!' she said. 'Please hold on, Vegeta! I can't do this without you!'

But his eyes had slid shut and the pulsing stopped. His body cooled. 'No!' she cried. 'No!' She looked at her hands and they were covered in blood. She turned and ran, down the rampway, out of the ship and across the lawn outside her house. Her mother came running out.

'Mom, mom, he's dead!' she sobbed.

'I know! I'm so sorry, love!'

Her mother threw her arms around her, and Bulma hugged her back before trying to pull away. 'Mom, you'll get blood on you!' she said.

'I don't care about that!' her mother said, letting her go. 'I only care that you're okay!' She saw that she'd gotten blood all over her mother's crisp, pink blouse. The side of her cheek was red with it, and even her pearls were smeared with blood. 'There's someone here to see you.'

Yamcha came running out of the house and she threw herself into his arms with a painful scream of unbelieving joy.

'Yamcha! I can't believe you're alive!'

'I'm okay. I'm fine!'

'I saw you die though! That alien killed you!'

'I know. But you can't keep a good man down!'

Bulma cried with relief to feel his solid body around hers. The smell of him was so real that it _had_ to be real. She squeezed him harder. She didn't know how it could be true, but it was definitely no dream, she just knew it.

'Girl,' came a hoarse voice behind her, and her dread returned. 'Help me!'

She turned in Yamcha's arms to look back at the rampway of the ship and saw that Vegeta was not dead after all. He was bleeding everywhere again, holding one arm around his waist to hold in his guts while he hung on the upper edge of the opening with his other hand. She rushed over to him and tried to put her arm around him.

'How are you even standing up?' she cried.

'It's not so easy to kill a Saiyan,' he chuckled, and then sagged against her, pulling her down with his unconscious weight. He slumped onto the rampway.

'No, Vegeta!' She pressed both hands against the wound but the blood was boiling up now, like a spring, gushing forth, covering her wrists and filling her lap. 'Help me!' she screamed, looking to Yamcha and her mother, but they weren't there anymore. The house was a smoking ruin. The city beyond it was broken and charred and empty. The feel of Yamcha's arms and the smell of his skin dimmed like a distant memory rather than something she had just experienced and swore was real. Now there was just her and Vegeta, dying and his blood all over her.

'Help me!' she screamed louder, desperate for anyone to answer her.

But no one did.

* * *

'Bulma!'

'Mmm?' she surfaced from her dreams with relief, to find reality only slightly more comforting than the dream.

'I think Brolly is waking up,' Krillin whispered.

She sat up, another shot of adrenalin driving her into action. She shuffled across the furs to where Krillin crouched near Brolly. Brolly had shifted onto his side and rubbed his face with his hand. Then he went still.

'Well, I thought he was waking up, anyway,' said Krillin. 'Looks like he's going back to sleep again.'

'You may as well go to sleep now, anyway,' she told him. 'It must be nearly time for my watch anyway.'

'You sure? Okay then.'

He climbed into the spot she had vacated and Bulma checked Goku as best she could in the dark. He was breathing evenly, but now and then he jumped and jerked in his sleep. She checked Vegeta in the tank, and he was doing the same. Then she lent back against the couch Brolly lay on and tried not to let her maelstrom or fear and grief in her mind consume her. There was too much uncertainty. There was nothing she could plan. There was just holding on and hoping that as each step of the journey came closer they would be able to work out how to go on. There was just so much riding on it though!

She started to cry again in the dark, as quietly as she could. How dare the universe lay such a heavy burden on her? Such an impossible task for four Earth kids! Oh sure, two of them were martial artists of the highest calibre, one was a shapeshifter and one a genius, but still - how could they prevail? The last few days had shown her that they were big fish from a small pond. They weren't even a match for the Saiyans, let alone those that the Saiyans were running from.

As time passed the overhead lights started to glow softly blue after being dark through the night. It was still barely enough for her to see by when Brolly shifted in his sleep, kneeing her in the back. She wiped her tears and turned quickly, seeing the gleam of his eyes looking at her, but then they closed again. Heart beating fast, she wondered if she should have dosed him already. Perhaps she should have cranked his jaw open while he was still deeply asleep, but she'd not wanted to overdose him. Now she realised that a slight flaw in this plan meant that Brolly would have to be awake and co-operative to take the next dose.

His eyes opened again and fluttered before shutting once more. He scratched his nose. Then he opened his eyes again.

'Why are you staring at me?' he asked, his speech slightly slurred.

Bulma flinched in fright. 'I…I'm concerned about you, Brolly.'

'You are? Why?'

'I think you might be sick,' she lied. 'I think you must have gotten an infection from the wound where your tail was.'

'How can you tell?' he asked.

'You have a fever,' she said, hesitating before laying her hand on his brow, hoping that something so small wouldn't be enough to set him off. She hoped he wouldn't feel her trembling. 'Yes, definitely a fever. You feel distinctly hot.'

This wasn't completely untrue. Bulma's hand was cool and a bit clammy from her fear, and Brolly's brow did feel hot to her touch. Before she could withdraw her hand though, Brolly slapped his own over hers and she jumped, barely holding in a scream.

'What are you doing?' he said.

'Checking your temperature,' she squeaked. 'Has no one done that for you before?' She tried to slide her hand out from under his, but he grasped it tighter against his cheek. Damn! Trapped like this she couldn't even reach the bottle of serum.

'No,' he said. 'But I don't think I've ever had a fever before, either. Do it some more.'

'Do what more?'

Her put her palm against his forehead again, and trailed it down the side of his face. _Oh dear_. His eyes slid closed as he enjoyed this forced petting, and he sighed. Hoping it would calm him, she stroked him again and again. She was terrified of him, but she felt a little sorry for him too. He was still intoxicated from the serum, and there was something a little pathetic about the way he was revelling in this motherly affection. It occurred to her that he'd never known a mother. Maybe never known affection either.

'It feels nice,' he said, rubbing his boy-stubble into her palm.

'Brolly, why don't I get you some medicine for your fever?'

'But I feel okay. I feel…' he sighed. 'Really good.'

'I know. But that can be one of the symptoms of fever,' she lied. 'You feel good, but do you feel normal?'

'No,' he grinned. 'Better than normal.'

She tried to ease her hand away again, but he tightened his grip again.

'Bulma…' he said.

'What?'

'…is pretty,' he finished and giggled.

'Well, thank you Brolly,' she said, wondering if she should call out to wake the others.

'I'm glad Vegeta brought you with us. You smell nice.'

'Okay. I'm sure you smell nice too.'

'Do you like me?' he asked, his voice sounding hopeful and anxious.

'Yes, of course.'

'No, I mean, do you _like_ like me?'

Bulma whimpered quietly, struggling between her fear that was telling her to say yes, and her sympathy that warned her not to lead the poor boy on. The fear won.

'Yes,' she said. 'I like you a lot. But I should give you your medicine.'

'I'm glad,' he said, laughing. 'I like you too.' He propped himself up on his other elbow, bringing his face closer to hers, but barely keeping his balance. He held her hand against his neck now and she could feel the slow and steady pounding of his pulse. She tried to lean away from him without seeming obvious. 'Did you know I'm a king?' he asked her.

'Yeah, I heard,' she said, trying not to cry.

'If you come with me you could be my queen. It's a shitty kingdom, but I could make it bigger. I could conquer some new planets for us'

'Oh.'

'We could go tonight! There are pods that can take us right there! Or we could kill the others and take the ship.'

'No, Brolly – ah!' Suddenly he squeezed her hand painfully.

'Why not?' he said, loudly. 'I thought you liked me?'

'I do!' she said quickly, starting to get tears of fright prickling her eyes. 'I meant yes, I'll go with you, but not tonight!'

'Why not?'

'Because we're too young,' she said. 'We-we're too young to get married or m-mated or whatever.'

He stopped squeezing her hand. 'Oh. So when, then?'

'Soon,' she lied. 'A-a couple of years and then we'll go be king and queen together, okay?'

'Okay.' He dragged her hand up to his mouth and rubbed his lips against her palm and sighed again, staring into her eyes in an unfocused way.

'Just please let me give you your medicine, Brolly. You don't realise it, but you're very sick.'

He let go of her hand. 'Hmm, my head does hurt a bit.'

Wasting no time she reached behind her and snatched up the serum bottle.

'Close your eyes and open your mouth.'

He did, and laughed 'Aa-aa-aah!' while he was at it. She gave him a quick three squirts and he grimaced and smacked his lips before slumping forwards, half hanging off the couch. Bulma rolled him back onto it, still trembling with fear.

'Did I just hear that right?' said Raditz quietly, behind her. 'Did you just promise to _run away_ and mate Brolly?' Bulma spun around. Raditz was propped up on his elbows, grinning.

'I only said that so he wouldn't crush my hand and blow us all up!' she snapped at him.

'I know. But just imagine poor Brolly's distress when he realises what a tease you are. You know it's cruel to tease a fuckwit?'

'Shut up,' she snarled at him. 'This from the man whose moral high ground consists of not _eating_ people he's raped!'

'Who said anything about rape? It was Nappa that wanted to rape you.'

A violent shudder of distaste and fear shook Bulma at those words. Her throat was suddenly clenched too tight to respond.

Raditz eyed her angrily. 'I'd have treated you all right, Miss Too-Good-for-Likes-of-You.'

She picked up the first thing to hand, which happened to be a roll of gauze and hiffed it at him. It was a poorly chosen weapon. Raditz laughed after it bounced off his chin and lay down again, leaving Bulma feeling defeated, vulnerable and scared.

* * *

Time ticked slowly by. The light got slightly brighter. Bulma's eyelids got heavy and she wondered if she could get away with sleeping for a while with Brolly newly unconscious. Then at last, the thing she'd been hoping for finally happened. A gentle chiming came from the regen tank and the soft interior light came on. Bulma stood up and rushed over to it as the pump began to work on draining the fluid, hoping the noise didn't wake Raditz. Even if it did, she was determined to get the first word in.

At last Vegeta's muscles returned to his control and his eyes opened fully to the soft light. As the fluid drained below the level of his eyes he blinked and frowned at Bulma's face and blue eyes waiting for him outside the tank. As the fluid continued to drain, he cocked his eyebrow, starting to get uncomfortable under her gaze. As he'd drifted in and out of consciousness he had sometimes seen her blurry form standing before the tank, and heard her voice. How closely had she been watching him?

When the fluid was gone and the door popped open, Bulma was whispering to him urgently the moment she swung the glass door out of the way.

'Vegeta, do you remember what Goku said before we put you in the tank?'

This was a surprising way to greet him, but the words filled Vegeta with relief.

'So that really happened?' he said, pulling off one sodden glove and dropping it to the floor of the tank. He'd thought of it often while the pain was lancing though him. He'd half been afraid it was just wishful dreaming.

'Yes!' she said, obviously emotional over it. 'Before he died, Kami told him that there were more dragonballs on Planet Namek!'

'If you believe in a halfwit Saiyan talking telepathically with a faux-divine Namek,' he said, removing the other glove.

'Don't you?' she asked, panic in her voice.

He stooped to remove one boot, empty it, and then so the same with the other. The thing was, he _did_ believe that. It also made sense that if a Namekian made the dragonballs that other Nameks might be able to also.

'I do,' he admitted grudgingly, straightening to haul his armour off over his head.

'And will you _go_ to Planet Namek?' she asked, almost on her toes with anxiety.

He examined his armour. It had a large raggedy hole right through the gold abdominal area. He was lucky to have survived that. He looked up at the girl, remembering his confusion when she seemed to be weeping for him while trying to save him. It all seemed a bit incredible now.

'Did you patch me up before I went in the tank?'

She nodded her head vigorously. 'You were bleeding so much you'd have died in the tank before it could heal you. Nappa had practically given you up as dead, but I managed to stop the bleeding in time!'

He examined her face in the cool light coming from the tank. She looked pale and bruised. Her shirt was torn, and he remembered shaking her viciously, feeling on the verge of killing her for her grief. He was very glad he hadn't now. He knew she was frail, and he'd been violent to her, more than he needed to be, and then she'd still saved him anyway. Something a little warm stirred in his chest. What was that? Gratitude?

'Good,' he said, and pulled his sodden shirt off over his head and dropped that on top of the boots.

'Are you going to Planet Namek, though?' she prompted.

'Of course,' he replied, striping his trousers next.

'Oh! Okay!' she gasped, standing aside so he could get out of the tank. 'Then you'll still need me,' she told him.

'Yes,' he agreed, and started walking along the wooden platform to the corridor. She tagged along behind him, and Vegeta started to feel like he was missing a piece of this picture. Yesterday she had been keen to be nowhere near him, and now she trailed him like a puppy.

'Good! I can build you another dragon radar to find the balls on Namek if we can find parts. But I need Krillin too.'

'Really? What for?' he asked, looking for a clean towel in the linen cupboard. There was none. He continued on to the laundry to pick up the towel he'd been using for a while and finally discarded because it smelt festery.

'Because I won't make a new radar if he's dead!'

He glanced over his shoulder at her, amused by how her anxious questioning had suddenly turned into no-nonsense negotiating. The bald kid's life was a cheap token to him though. He'd been worried about being able to feed more useless mouths, but the Earthlings hardly ate anything anyway.

'All right, it's a deal,' he replied, hunting through the stinking laundry pile that made opening the laundry door difficult.

'And I also won't do it if Nappa or Raditz…attack me.'

He turned and looked at her, anger rising to the surface from where it always lurked in his core. His eyes darted over her body again. At the ripped neck of her shirt he could see bruises on her collarbone and shoulder, bruises on her legs below the hem of her shorts. Bruises on her arms. Bruises in a ring around her wrist – though that had been him, he realised. Her hands were shaking.

'They should know better than to defy my orders,' he snarled. 'Did they?' But even as he asked this he realised that she didn't smell like sex. Nor did she smell like she'd washed recently, so she hadn't scrubbed the scent away.

The girl gave a grim huff of laughter and looked down at the floor while she said. 'No, they didn't "defy your orders", though they did debate whether your orders still stood. They wanted to kill Krillin, _rape_ me and then kill me too.'

Vegeta clenched his jaw, biting down on the fury he felt at those words. Those detestable fools! The girl, even the assistant, weren't theirs to decide what to do with, and he had already decided that he wanted her alive. And now he also knew that he wanted her unmolested - the very idea of it made his lip curl with disgust. If he'd woken up to that scenario someone would have paid dearly!

He brushed past her on his way to the bathroom. 'I will not let that happen,' he told her.

'Well good! But can you make sure that _they_ know that?' she said, following him right into the bathroom.

'I will.'

'Okay then, thank you. Also, we need to put Goku back in the regeneration tank now you're out of it.'

He threw the towel at the heated towel rail, and turned to face her, getting slightly irritated by her endless string of questions and requests.

'Get one of the others to do it.'

'Okay. But there's something else you need to think about,' she continued.

'Later.'

'But Brolly-'

He cut her off. 'You know, for someone so concerned with privacy, you do seem intent on watching me have a shower.'

He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear, and her mouth popped open in incredulity. 'As if!' she scoffed, and then she wheeled around and slammed the bathroom door before she could chance to see anything.

It should have amused him, and for a second it did, but then his simmering anger rose up again and swallowed up the frivolous feeling. He was alive, and he had another chance to get his wish, but that didn't erase his failure on Earth. Sure, he had gained one half-useless Saiyan boy and a ship's mechanic, and still had a shot at immortality, which was a lot more than he'd arrived on Earth with, but he'd blown a chance to ensure his victory over Frieza, and instead the tyrant was still out there, and Vegeta was still a hunted man.

He kicked his underwear into the drift behind the door and turned the shower on.


	19. Master and Commander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello, me hearties! My super-kind Beta Adli is back from a holiday, and so now I'm back with a new chapter! Thanks for all your reviews - I really do appreciate them!

Vegeta stared down at the unconscious Brolly. The full compliment of the ship clustered around, aside from Goku who was back in the tank.

'You think you can fix the broken diadem, then?' he asked Bulma.

'Yes and no,' she said. 'I had a look at it. I think all it needs is a replacement crystal; other than that, it's just bent out of shape. I'm not sure what kind of crystal it is, though. Don't suppose you have a collection of gemstones and a jeweller's kit, do you?' She tried to make it a joke, but Vegeta continued to scowl bad-temperedly.

'It's right behind the jar of dragon's tears in the kitchen,' he said dryly, and clenched his jaw hard before bursting out, 'Gods damn it! We may as well dispose of Brolly right now.'

'You're just going to give up that easily on him?' she said. 'It's just one gemstone!'

'Which we don't have.'

'Well, if I'm going to build another dragon radar, I'm going to need some parts from somewhere. I can't build it out of thin air. From what you guys have said, there's lots of planets out there. Surely there's somewhere between here and Planet Namek to buy the right kind of jewel and some electronic components? We could keep him under control until then, surely?'

Vegeta looked even gloomier at that. 'What you are proposing is harder than you know, but I suppose if we must stop, we must stop. At least I get to keep a useful Saiyan that way. But you need to keep him down until the repair is made. From what Raditz said, he reacts favourably to you, so you can be his caretaker.'

Bulma was not completely happy with that, but she reflected that it was not unexpected. She was the only one who had spoken out for Brolly, even though she was worried that keeping him alive might not be the wisest thing in the world. She knew Tarble didn't want to see Brolly killed, and assumed the others were conflicted, but they'd all kept silent. And Raditz had told them all that Brolly liked her playing nurse "a whole lot." Though his tone had made her think he was needling her still, no one else seemed to pick up on it.

Vegeta was already walking away, up the stairs to the flight deck.

'Speaking of Planet Namek, what course are we on, Raditz?'

Raditz hurried to keep up with Vegeta, and the whole crew tagged along up the stairs. Vegeta's awakening had imposed order upon the rest of the ship's inhabitants and it was oddly reassuring. Earlier he had taken Nappa and Raditz into the privacy of the bedroom for a "debrief", but even the closed door didn't stop the rest of them catching the tone and even some of the words of the bitter scolding he gave them. Nappa and Raditz had emerged like contrite schoolboys from the headmaster's office, even though it was Vegeta who was closest in stature and age to a schoolboy. Raditz had been avoiding even looking at her since, but Nappa had given her a very dirty look behind Vegeta's back. She could feel the safety of Vegeta's protection settle over her like a very thin blanket on a very cold night. It was a start, but she was a long way off comfortable.

Nappa and Raditz had also been told off for not checking that the tank was set to administer sedative or painkiller when Vegeta had been put in it. Apparently his time in the tank had been rather unpleasant.

'We're heading on the course we had planned to go after Earth,' Raditz said.

'Why aren't we heading to Namek already?' asked Vegeta.

'Because when I set off from Earth I didn't know anything about Namek,' explained Raditz. 'And then after Nappa told me what Kakarott said, well, it just didn't seem likely. You'd been pretty keen to get out to that RT5 Planet after Earth. I thought that might still be the case. I was going to ask you where to.'

He and Raditz took their seats in the pilot's chairs again. Vegeta looked up and around until his eyes clapped on Puar.

'Daemon?'

'Uh,' sighed Puar quietly in Bulma's ear, but she obediently jumped form Bulma's shoulder to Vegeta's.

'Where _is_ Namek?' mused Vegeta. 'How far off course are we?' and he reached for the console before him to type. A hologram of the galaxy appeared on the console between him and Raditz. Two little red arrows appeared not too far from each other, though Bulma knew that they were thousands of light years apart.

'They're pretty close actually,' Raditz observed. 'I'll just run the numbers.'

Bulma was starting to get frustrated watching everyone else do all the typing and computing and controlling. That was her job, and she didn't like having to trust the Saiyans to do what was best.

'If we go to RT5624 first, it will add about 3 days to the trip to Namek,' said Raditz.

'How long to Namek in total?' Vegeta asked.

'Slightly more than a month.'

 _A month!_ 'How long is a month?' Bulma asked.

'Twenty-five days,' Raditz replied. Beside her, Krillin groaned a little. Bulma was dismayed too. More than twenty-five days in a spaceship with these guys? It seemed an impossibly long time to endure!

Vegeta looked deep in contemplation. 'The RT5 planet is Salda's, isn't it?'

'Yep,' Raditz confirmed.

'Then we will continue on this detour. Perhaps if we are very lucky we will also be able to get the parts for the diadem and the radar on that planet. If not, we will have to factor in another detour, somewhere civilised.'

'What's this RT5 planet?' asked Bulma, feeling downcast.

Vegeta swivelled in his seat, already standing up. 'A primitive, pre-space travel society like Earth's.'

She bristled at the insult, but chose to ignore it. 'Why do we want to go there, then?'

'You ask a great many questions.'

'So?'

'The trip to Namek is going to become very tiresome if I have to keep answering your endless strings of questions.'

'You'd better keep the information flowing then - I won't have to ask so many.'

'Or, I'll gag you,' said Vegeta, smiling at the thought. 'Salda is a third class Saiyan sent to purge the planet ten galactic years ago. If she's alive, she'll be the first female Saiyan we have found on our search.'

'Oh,' said Bulma, as Vegeta walked away again, Nappa and Tarble trailing him like an entourage. 'Oh, I get it…'

* * *

Bulma decided that fresh clothes and a shower were in order to return her to something like a hopeful and functioning state of mind. Mindful of the lack of fresh laundry she'd witnessed, she decapsulated her travelling wardrobe in the bathroom and got her own towel out of the one of the drawers. Stripping, she discovered that the marble floor tiles were slimy underfoot and there was mould starting to grow on the edges of them around the shower and on the ceiling.

'Urgh!'

The state of everything was revolting. A smelly bundle of clothes lurked behind the door, the toilet had a strong odour and skid marks, and the bath had a thick ring. Bulma had at times received criticism from her mother for her slovenly ways, but this was on another level of gross.

The shower turned out to be far more complex than she had expected. There were three knobs, helpfully labelled in gold script that she couldn't read, a sliding scale, an LED display which she also couldn't read, and a few buttons. It took her five frustrating minutes standing in the cold to work out that a long press on the top button turned everything on, and only then did the knobs, scale and buttons do anything. It ran cold for a while, so she played with the scale, hoping it was a temperature control, and it did heat up so she got in, but then it continued to heat up until she had to jump out again. When it cooled again she stepped in, but then it continued to cool until she was shivering. After fiddling with all the knobs, scales and buttons again the overhead spout turned off, and instead parallel jets from the wall began firing lukewarm water at her rhythmically in some sort of near-painful massage program.

'That does it!' she growled at the uncooperative bathroom fixture. 'I've _got_ to learn to read!'

She returned to a scene she wasn't expecting. Vegeta sat at the dining table writing in a book. Nappa sat opposite him reading a book in between staring out the window. Puar was curled up and napping by Vegeta's elbow. Tarble was crouched on a sofa, finger-knitting by the looks of it. Krillin sat by the tank looking bored and uncomfortable.

'So, what do you guys _do_ for twenty five days on a spaceship?' she asked, hovering near the dining table.

'Try not to annoy each other,' said Nappa, which made Vegeta laugh.

'That's going to be a challenge for _you_ , Girl,' Vegeta said.

'Ha ha,' she said. 'I'm serious, though. This is a small ship and a month is a long time. What do you do? Just read and write? You guys don't strike me as the cerebral type.'

Vegeta grunted. 'I know that was meant to be an insult, but we might surprise you. We read and write. We learn, if there is anything to be learnt from each other or the ship's computer. We might play cards or pins or some other pointless game. But no, we are Saiyans and we do not like to be kept contained and inactive. We tend to get bad tempered, so mostly we just try and keep quiet and stay away from each other.'

'What, more bad tempered than this?'

'She seems determined to see how far she can push you on the first day,' said Nappa with a chuckle, and Vegeta actually smiled at this. His eyes challenged her to try it.

'Okay, then,' she said. 'More to the point – what am _I_ going to do?'

Vegeta's smile widened. 'It is funny you should mention it. I have quite a list.'

'Huh?'

'Firstly, this holographic projector has been stuck on screensaver mode for months.' He indicated the column of holographic fire in the centre of the back wall of the lounge. 'You are technically proficient-'

' _Brilliant!_ '

'-I believe?'

'You're going to make me _work_?'

'Is the Princess above such things?' asked Nappa, his voice taking on a hoity-toity mocking tone.

She glared at him, but he was completely unfazed by it. Instead she directed her answer to Vegeta. 'Of course not. But first I need to learn how to read your script. I doubt I could fix the projector until I do. I mean, even figuring out how the shower worked was a challenge!'

Vegeta's smile turned into a frown. 'Tarble!'

The spike-haired-head popped up from the sofa. 'Yes?'

'Teach the girl how to read.'

Tarble leapt to his feet. 'Okay! What about Krillin and Goku?'

Both Vegeta's and Nappa's heads snapped around to stare at the boy. 'And who is "Goku"?' Vegeta asked.

Tarble cringed and pointed at the tank. 'Kakarott. It's just that _they_ always call him Goku…'

'He is Kakarott to us, whatever name the Earthlings gave him.'

'Yes, Your Highness.'

'Teach the others if you want. I don't care either way,' he said dismissively, picking up his pen again to resume writing.

'Maybe we'll start when Goku gets out of the tank, then,' Bulma said to Tarble, hopping down the steps into the lounge.

'I think I'll have a shower too while we wait,' said Krillin.

'Good luck with that,' said Bulma. 'I'll have to give you one of my towels to use because there are no clean ones on board. Mind you, I only have _two_.' She looked up Vegeta again. 'Speaking of,' she said loudly, 'the bathroom is disgusting! And your laundry situation is nearing disaster!'

Vegeta and Nappa both gave her dark looks.

'What are you trying to say?' asked Nappa.

'I'm saying that I can't handle this living situation! It's unsanitary; it's…icky! The laundry needs to be done! The whole place needs cleaning up! For goodness sake, if you can't piss straight the decent thing would be to wipe up your sprinkles! Or even better – sit down to pee!'

'Sit down to take a piss?' shouted Nappa, enraged by the idea. 'You don't know where to get off, Princess, lecturing us on housekeeping!'

'Shush, Nappa,' said Vegeta, much more calmly. 'She's right. The state of the ship is a disgrace.'

'Thank you, Vegeta,' she said, snippily. 'I'm glad to see that some of you men have standards.'

'Girl, you have my permission to clean the ship and do the laundry,' Vegeta told her.

'You – I – WHAT?' she choked.

'I said you have my permission to carry out any cleaning you deem necessary to bring the ship up to standard,' a hint of his cruel humour lurking in his eyes, although he kept a straight face. Nappa laughed heartily though.

'Good one, Vegeta! Make a cleaning drudge out of the Bitch Princess!'

Vegeta's face subtly hardened at these words, but he continued to watch Bulma as she started to turn red with rage.

'I am not cleaning up YOUR mess!' she shouted, stamping back up the steps. 'You filthy _boys_ made the filthy _boy_ mess, and I am not touching your dried piss marks, your slimy soap scum or your fetid, stinking UNDERPANTS!'

'Oh, no, she doesn't really mean that,' said Krillin, nervously.

'Yes, I do, Krillin! I am not cleaning up any of their mess for them!'

'Then see if we care what you think,' Vegeta said, a sneering smile definitely touching his lips now.

'You just agreed it was disgusting! Did you enjoy reusing that smelly towel this morning, Vegeta? Bet that felt nice!'

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, and she sensed she had scored a point. 'You may have Tarble as your assistant in the matter,' he said eventually. 'We needed to clean up anyway.'

'Damn,' muttered Tarble behind her.

'Oh, nice. Ordering the little boy to help me. Are you too high and mighty to do housework, Vegeta?' she hissed.

'Are you?' he replied.

'No,' she said, though her first inclination was to say yes. 'But if I can do it, so can you, so why don't you do _your_ part?'

'You put yourself on my level?' he said, his tone scoffing. 'This is my ship, my command, my crew…I make the rules. And I say I _don't_ do housework.'

'What a coincidence that the job of cleaning up has been thrust upon a woman!' she said.

'It's not a coincidence, it's the natural order.'

'You sexist pig!'

'The strongest command, and to the weakest fall the tasks that best suit them. It's not sexist if the female just happens to be the weakest. Tarble will show you where the cleaning cupboard is.' He looked down at his page again.

Bulma glared at him, trembling with rage. Krillin sidled up to her.

'Step down off the high horse a minute, Bulma. We're powerless here,' he whispered to her, pulling her gently away by the wrist.

'If I'm cleaning up, _you're_ helping,' she told him, clamping her other hand on his shoulder to stop him getting away.

'Right. I should have expected that,' grumbled Krillin.

Just at that moment they were all startled by a scream from upstairs.

'Who the fuck left a bag full of sick lying on the couch up here?' Raditz shouted down.

* * *

So began Bulma's acquaintance with the cleaning cupboard and its contents. Tarble instructed her how to use the wet and dry vacuum system with the hose that could be plugged into different outlets around the ship, and how to attach the bottle of upholstery cleaning fluid to the cleaning nozzle while she vacuumed up her cold vomit upstairs. Raditz had sworn again when he'd discovered there were no clean towels. He had sick all through his hair. Tarble was stuck in the laundry the rest of the morning.

* * *

Goku came out of the tank a few hours later.

'How do you feel?' Krillin asked him.

'Pretty great!' Goku replied, stretching to touch his toes, then doing a quick standing somersault. 'More than great! I feel amazing. Ready for action! Are we at Planet Namek yet?'

'No,' said Krillin. 'No, we're _not_. Come with me. Bulma says we have to clean the shower. I'll fill you in.'

* * *

Bulma had found rubber gloves and a long-handled mop and a bottle of what Tarble said was disinfectant, though it smelt like rainforest, and now she was attempting to clean up the entire toilet room including the pot, without stepping foot inside.

She was finding time, among her dark and vengeful thoughts, to consider the "natural order" Raditz and Vegeta had both mentioned. It seemed to imply that Vegeta, as strongest, was the leader of all, then Nappa, the second strongest was the second in command, then Raditz and finally Brolly with his disabling crown, and Tarble, the weakest and least respected Saiyan. Following the adage that shit rolls downhill, all the least pleasant and most menial tasks fell to Tarble, which she's already seen happen. And now, below Tarble, were Goku, Krillin and herself, last. LAST! She! The astounding protégé, the spitfire beauty, cleaning toilets! There was nothing natural about this order! It was barbaric, and spoke of a society ruled by violence. Vegeta being both a prince and the strongest started to seem like more than a coincidence. What had he said? That he was the strongest Saiyan ever born?

'These Saiyans need some fricking educating,' she muttered.

Vegeta came rushing around the curve of the corridor.

'Brolly is stirring,' he told her in a hushed voice.

Immediately she dropped the mop and tore the gloves off, and ran to the lounge. Brolly was rolling back and forth on the couch groaning and flopping his arms drunkenly. She'd already given him another squirt this morning, risking pulling his jaw open and giving him another taste of sedative when he had begun to mutter earlier, but now he was more conscious than not.

She grabbed the sedative serum and dropped to her knees by his head, nervous about how she was to get the serum in him now. His eyes were open and they locked onto hers.

'Bulma, I don't feel good,' he said. He sounded like a little boy who was scared and distressed.

'I know, Brolly,' she said, leaning in to bring the bottle closer.

'Help me,' he said, one arm hooking over to land heavily on her shoulders. He used her as a lever to roll himself closer, his head and shoulder now hanging off the edge of the couch. He was so strong Bulma was trapped even by this sloppy gesture. 'I feel sick…I feel strange!' His face fell into the crook of her neck and Bulma gave a sob of misery and terror.

'Brolly, let me give you some more medicine,' she said, even while the guilt started to gnaw at her. It was the "medicine" that was making him sick. She would have guessed it even if the warning on the side of the bottle didn't say, 'Not for prolonged or regular use. Prolonged use may cause toxicity leading to liver failure.' She just hadn't thought it would happen so fast – at least not to a Saiyan.

He fell off the couch, half pulling Bulma to the floor with him and she was stuck with her legs under her and Brolly sprawled across her chest as he retched on her shoulder. There wasn't much of it though, just a bit of stringy bile that made Bulma want to heave herself.

'Oh, no!' she moaned, looking around for Vegeta.

'I'm so thirsty,' moaned Brolly, and then his weight was thankfully lifted off her. Vegeta and Nappa laid him back on the couch as gently as they could, and stood by his head and feet, ready to pounce.

She was crying freely as she said, 'Brolly, you poor thing! Open your mouth - I'll give you medicine that will make you feel b-better!'

He did, and feeling like a very bad person, she dosed him again. Just two squirts this time, but even that had him slumping bonelessly into the sofa.

Bulma sat there watching his pale, slack face. She was scared of him, but at the same time she felt so sorry for him, for the way he was relying on _her_ , a person who was starting to think it would be a lot easier and safer if they _did_ kill him. Part of her responded to his suffering and said that it wasn't his own fault that he was mad. She felt the burden of responsibility to do her best by her patient.

Finally Vegeta spoke and pulled her attention away from the boy.

'Brolly brings up a good point. How are we to give him food or water like this? He's going to die of thirst if we can't even let him awake to drink.' He was looking at her with a very dour but questioning expression.

'It doesn't matter,' she said, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. 'This isn't going to work. The sedative is killing him! It's not meant to be used like this.'

Vegeta slumped down on the arm of the chair. 'And so it's back to the airlock solution.'

Bulma cried harder, hiding her face. 'That's not a _solution!_ Can't we stop on the nearest habitable planet or something? Maybe we could fix the crown there? Or at the least, we could _leave_ Brolly there, rather than just _killing_ him in space!'

'This far out from the centre of the galaxy the solar systems are spread out a great deal. We'd be lucky if there was anywhere liveable nearby. The nearest civilised world is at least days away.'

'He won't make it that far.'

'Then there is only letting him die slowly or killing him fast. Why do you care so much what happens to him, anyway?'

Bulma detected an edge of iciness in that last question and looked up at him. He was peering down at her, his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Puar hung in the air behind his shoulder, also crying silently.

'I don't know,' she said, not wanting to try and explain her feelings of guilt and responsibility.

Vegeta frowned, not pleased with this answer.

'It's because she's a good person,' Puar suggested.

'Pah!' said Vegeta, turning away. Bulma struggled to her feet and plucked at her bile-splattered shirt to hold it away from her skin. She looked at the airlock and shuddered. Then her eye fell on the regen tank beside it.

'Hey,' she said. 'What if we put him in the tank? Would that work? Can you put uninjured people in the tank?'

'Hmm,' said Vegeta. 'We can if we take it off auto. Just put him in on a deep-heal cycle and set it to hold when it's done. I'm not sure what the effects of such a long stay in the tank are either, but it will keep him alive at least. It might even heal the damage done by the serum. Good thinking, Earthling.'

* * *

And so it was done. Brolly was safely floating behind glass, trapped by the muscle relaxant and no harm to anyone. Vegeta hoped he was worth the trouble. If Salda was still alive they would need him eventually.

He retreated to his journal, trying to be pleased that the ship was being given it's first whole-hearted clean since they had stolen it, but eventually he couldn't deny that he was a little vexed by something. Even a little upset. The girl had been crying for _Brolly_ just like she had for him when he was dying. He realised now that he had thought it was something special, just for him; that she was sent to save Vegeta and care for Vegeta, of all the Saiyans. Not just any old Saiyan. But that was a silly thought. Probably good that he routed it out now before it took hold and caused him to make some poor assumptions later.

Still…

He picked up his pen.

' _The girl, it seems, will cry for anyone who is injured or dying_ ,' he wrote. _'Earthling females seem more emotional than most.'_

* * *

Goku was appalled by the news that there would be no lunch today.

'We only eat twice a day while we're travelling, and then, only lightly,' said Vegeta stonily.

'But why?' asked Goku.

'Take a look around, brat. Does it look like we carry enough food for six Saiyans to eat heartily three times a day? Get over it. It's almost dinner time anyway.'

Goku clutched his stomach, which growled loudly. 'Breakfast was so long ago…'

They had just sat down in the lounge for Tarble to begin teaching them the alphabet while Vegeta lay on one of the couches supposedly reading, but very obviously watching in how Tarble's lesson was going. Bulma rolled her eyes. Goku was easily distracted at the best of times, and teaching him how to read the first time had nearly done her head in. If he was hungry he wasn't going to learn a damn thing. Besides, she was hungry herself.

'Goku, you can have one of those microwave dinners in the meantime, if you like. I'll just get them out.'

She went to the satchel that she now left in the corner of the lounge and took out the capsule that held the meals and microwave. As she loaded one into the microwave she felt, rather than saw, Vegeta move to lurk behind her.

'Yes?' she said without turning around.

'You have food,' he stated.

'Yes. Top marks to that kid.'

'How much food do you have in those capsules?'

Bulma wasn't sure she should reveal this information. 'Some,' she said vaguely.

'Give me one of those.'

She turned to face him now. 'No "please"?' As soon as she did she realised that this was not the right thing to say to Vegeta. In fact it went about as well as the first time she had chided his bad manners. He leant down over her, and she fell from her crouch onto her backside as he hissed, 'Give me your food, _please!_ '

She glared back up at him. 'I will let you try this one when it's finished heating,' she replied very deliberately. 'I hope you burn yourself on it,' she added under her breath, but Vegeta heard her anyway and laughed.

'You are quite funny, Earth Girl.'

When the microwave had done its thing she handled him the tray of lamb tagine. At the first sporkful of the richly spiced meal his eyes flew open. 'I want more,' he said, staring at the stacks of trays on the wooden platform. And then he started eating almost as recklessly as Goku was want to, sitting down next to her on the step. Goku's eyes were round with envy as he saw his snack disappearing down Vegeta's throat, and Bulma quickly moved to shove another tray in the oven.

'You know, if you have a storage problem I can let you have a couple of empty capsules at a price,' she said.

'What's your price?' said Vegeta as he wiped his mouth on the back of his glove.

'I'll figure something out and let you know,' she said airily.

'Or I'll take your capsules anytime I please as I can see your bag sitting there unattended in the corner.'

'Ah, but you have no idea what is in each of them, do you? And the wrong capsule on board the ship…no more ship!'

Vegeta looked momentarily infuriated by that, but then his smug look returned. 'However, I know what was in _this_ capsule just fine. Raditz, Nappa, get in here!' he shouted. 'We're having Earth food for dinner!'

* * *

It took over two hours of constant microwaving before the Saiyans were satisfied, and by then half of the 100 meals were gone. Krillin had been so hungry he'd had two, and after Puar had eaten what she wanted of a casserole, Bulma cleared the tray for her, even though she'd already had her own fish tika masala. The light in the cabin went a warm gold, then a cooler pink, and finally they returned to their lesson on the alphabet, though with the added complication of having three nosey adult Saiyans giving sarcastic commentary and 'tips.'

The galactic alphabet had more 'letters' in it that the Earth one, and they were more like very short syllables. However, most of them fell neatly into a pattern, with a starting consonant sound proceeded by one of five vowel sounds or no vowel, making a terminal consonant. There were special cases such as the vowel sounds by themselves and a symbol indicating a break, and some modifiers. Tarble had a chart that Raditz had made when he'd taught Tarble to read, and referred to this. It was a lot to memorise and the glyphs looked like squiggles and scratchings and little pictures, but as Tarble used strings of these letters to write out words Bulma realised that once she knew the alphabet, reading and writing was going to be easy – the spelling was entirely phonetic. Hell, it was streets easier than what she'd had to learn as she grew up and all its convoluted rules about spelling and pronunciation. She'd been reading and writing since she was four, but she still regularly and constantly misspelled words in Earth's script.

Before the light got too dim she'd written her name, address, star sign and 'Stop reading over my shoulder, Vegeta' on the piece of paper she'd been given.

Vegeta snorted. 'Your penmanship is so uniquely poor I couldn't stop staring,' he told her.

* * *

As they got ready for bed that night, Bulma was aware of a peculiar awkwardness. Unlike last night or any of the nights they'd spent in the Saiyans' company, it felt to her like the Earthlings were intruding on an established routine. Every time a Saiyan turned around she was underfoot or standing where she wasn't expected to be. There was a queue to use the bathroom, which led to Raditz cleaning his teeth at the kitchen sink. She discovered that the bathroom etiquette on board was such that if the door wasn't locked anyone was free to come in, no knocking necessary, to use whatever facility they wished, and that just because the door was _unlocked_ didn't mean that someone wasn't using the toilet. When Nappa wandered in and dropped his pants to take a leak behind that low-portioned wall, Bulma screamed through her toothbrush.

In the lounge the lights dimmed to darkness, leaving only the holographic fire lighting their way to bed. They climbed onto the jigsaw-puzzle mattress, Raditz took the middle, Tarble one end and Vegeta the other with Puar instructed to sleep at his feet. Goku and Krillin shrugged and inserted themselves either side of Raditz. Bulma, who was last to bed because she alone seemed to have nightwear to change into, found herself looking at a choice between the narrow gap next to Vegeta, two gaps next to Raditz, or the narrow gap next to Tarble.

'Oh, thanks for leaving me so much room, guys,' she said. Krillin shuffled closer to Tarble.

'You can fit in here,' he said.

'She's not sleeping next to me!' said Raditz, beating Bulma to saying the reverse. She glared at him.

'I wouldn't dream of going anywhere near you,' she said, and chose one of the couches over the floor. Without any cushions on it, it was not that comfortable, but she would suck it up rather than cast herself amongst the boys.

'Holograph display off,' commanded Vegeta, and the flames disappeared instantly, plunging the lounge into the deep darkness of starlight. The inhabitants shifted and fidgeted for a while, and the sound of the toilet flushing and Nappa making his way back to the bedroom could be heard.

'Why does Nappa get the bedroom?' asked Goku. 'Is it because he's the oldest?' Bulma had wondered this as well and waited for the answer.

'Because no one wants to share a room with the old coot,' Raditz said.

Bulma sure didn't, but she wondered what the other Saiyans' reasons were. 'How come?'

'Oh, well, start with the snoring, which I'm sure you've already noticed,' Raditz replied. 'Add to that his occasional tendency to talk in his sleep.'

'Just sleep-talking?' she said. 'Doesn't sound _that_ bad.'

'Sleep-talking is putting it mildly,' said Vegeta. 'Tarble sleep-talks sometimes, but Nappa has extended conversations and arguments with people who aren't there. He's almost impossible to wake up when he's having an episode, shouting at people who've been dead for years or telling them how he's going to kill them.'

Bulma felt a slight shiver run through her at the thought.

'That's not his most annoying habit, though,' Vegeta continued. 'He gets up too early and usually annoys the rest of us into getting up as well.'

'Well, knowing you, Vegeta, I'm surprised that you don't sleep in the bedroom to keep away from Nappa's weirdness and let everyone else suffer it,' Bulma said.

'You _don't_ know me, and yes, I used to, but I got sick of the complaints from the others.'

'Hmm,' she muttered as she lay down on her fur. 'Should have known.'

As they all settled into silence she reflected that it hadn't been so bad a day. She hadn't feared for her life since Vegeta had awoken, and she'd almost started to have fun when Tarble was teaching them the alphabet. The thing with Brolly had been stressful and upsetting, but not as terrifying as it had been when it was her dealing with him alone in the dark. The day after Armageddon, things were starting to look up.

That thought knocked her out of her comfort like a slap to the face. It was less than two days since her planet had been invaded. Less than two days since monsters had come to destroy her people, murder them wherever they were. Maybe they were still there now, hunting the survivors down in the night? What must it have been like on Earth? The kids at her high school – would they have heard the explosions in the city first? She could imagine them running to the windows to see what caused the noise, then falling back as their classrooms exploded, windows blown in and peppering them with shards of glass, and their screams as they saw the flying men through the falling roofs before they too were ended by a blast, or a ball of flame, or a shot in the back as they ran. She could picture people fleeing their buildings onto the streets, panicking, trying to drive their cars out of the cities but being blocked by all the cars and pedestrians trying to do the same. The mothers with their toddles in the park, throwing themselves over their children just to be killed at the same moment as their babies. How could she just be lying here feeling grumpy about the sleeping arrangements and thinking today hadn't been so bad? What was wrong with her?

She started to shake, the unreality of the last few days catching up with her. She bit down on her curled fist as she tried not to let the panic loose, as it felt like it was clawing up her throat to choke her, and she couldn't breathe properly!

For a long time she struggled to keep herself together, hands to her mouth to stifle her crying, but then one of the bodies on the cushions detached itself from the rest and crawled over to her.

'Are you okay, Bulma?' Goku whispered.

'Okay?' she replied, not bothering to try and hide the incredulity in her voice. 'Everybody is dead, Goku! They were all hunted down and killed! Or maybe the hunt is still going on down on Earth while we're safe on this ship! I don't know what the hell we're going to do!'

'I know.' He took hold of her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face. She could barely see his expression in the dark, but she could hear the sternness of his voice. 'I know, and I'm _furious_ about everyone on Earth,' he said, his voice dropping to a growl, 'but we can't do anything about it right now. You _know_ we're not going to leave everyone dead. We're going to get the Namek dragonballs and get them all back, and when we do it will be as if it never happened.'

'But what if we fail, Goku?'

'We won't.'

'We might!'

'Well, if we do, _then_ I'll be _really_ mad!'

Bulma took this to mean grief-stricken, devastated and heartbroken, in his own Goku way.

'In the meantime I'm not going to worry more than I have to,' he told her. 'We just need watch and learn, keep our eyes open and not let things get to us, because if they do…we might miss our chance when it arrives!'

Bulma gave a little laugh of exasperation. 'You mean I should stop crying and go to sleep?'

'Yeah. I mean, it's night time. There's nothing else that can be done right now, except get some rest to be ready for tomorrow, right?'

She looked at her strangest friend. He was right of course. Goku was such an odd mixture of naivety and wisdom. Though, if she were as naïve as he, she mused, it would make the wisdom a lot easier to swallow. She sat up on the couch and gave him a brief hug, knowing he wouldn't hug her back. He didn't, and just stayed stiff and still until she let him go. He gave her a confused expression halfway between a smile and a frown. Boy, whatever woman attempted to take Goku on was going to face an uphill battle.

She sniffed and tried to drop the tension that had her shivering with anxiety. 'So if sleeping is the best thing to do, why aren't you asleep?' she asked.

He shrugged. 'I guess I wasn't that tired after being in the tank. Plus all the squirming and noises you were making were keeping me awake.'

'Okay then, bossy. I'll try and sleep.'

He crawled back to his spot, and Bulma did feel _slightly_ less overwhelmed than before he'd talked to her. She decided that she would try not to think of what had happened on Earth, and if she could possibly manage that, then not feel guilty about not thinking about it.

In this way she finally slept for a few hours.

* * *

Bulma woke when something wrapped around her ankle and tugged. She slid across the sofa, her nightdress hitching up around her thighs, and she tried to pull it down before she realised that there was something much more wrong with this picture. Her eyes flew open to see the massive shape of Nappa sitting on the arm of the couch, his feet on the seat. She yanked her foot out of his hand and hurriedly sat up, backing to the other end of the couch. It was still mostly dark, and when she looked she saw all the boys sleeping soundly on the floor and she debated if it would be sensible or an overreaction to shout and wake them up.

'Now, don't panic, Princess, I'm just here to talk,' Nappa said, softly. 'I'm thinking we got off on the wrong foot.'

'Yeah?' she whispered back. 'I can't imagine there being a right foot with you.'

'Oh, there's that snide tongue of yours again!' he replied, still keeping his voice very low and unconvincingly cheerful. 'I wouldn't go provoking your elders and betters so much if I were you. You can get away with it now because Vegeta still finds a use for you. The moment he doesn't, what do you think will happen? You've only delayed the inevitable!' he said, leering at her, and her mind provided her with several ugly and bloody scenes. 'And I can't wait!'

'Vegeta,' she squeaked, her voice pathetically weak with fright.

'Think he's going to save you, doll?' Nappa pushed himself quietly onto the couch, his massive body looming over her. 'He'll be first in line to kill you once you're no good to us.'

In desperation she pitched herself off the couch and onto the cushions, almost kneeling on Puar as she planted herself between Goku and Vegeta.

'What?' said Vegeta, in a groggy voice.

'Nappa is…threatening me!' she whispered, the fear that seemed always just around the corner nearly making her cry again.

Vegeta let out a breath of annoyance. 'It's too early, Nappa! Go back to sleep.'

'And miss the best part of the day?' said Nappa lightly. He got up quietly from the couch though, and shuffled into the kitchen. Bulma sat, heart pounding, listening to him prepare a drink in the dark, not sure what to do now. Vegeta seemed to have missed the direness of the situation, and now he gave a soft snore. Had he even woken up properly?

She lay down between him and Goku and pulled the edge of Goku's blanket over her, pretending to be sleep already as Nappa crept back out of the kitchen. He paused on the wooden walkway around the edge of the room. For a long time he did nothing but stand there and sip his drink, and Bulma got the feeling he was just staring at her. She desperately wanted to look to check, but some other instinct was telling her not to show any fear, and she lay there stiffly, trying not to pant with fright until Nappa finally made his way up the stairs to the flight deck.

It was going to be a long month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Shouldn't be that long till the next installment.


	20. The Search for a Fork

He was back on Frieza's ship, in that first miserable cell he had been confined to when his father had turned him over to the tyrant. He hated it here, and he hated Frieza. Hugging his knees to himself he looked around the room. There was nothing in it to entertain him. There was no way of calling home. Not that he would have. He didn't want his father to think that he couldn't stand on his own two legs. He'd said he would be brave and strong and do as Frieza said until his father came for him.

Then he heard voices outside the door- shouts and cries and running. What was going on? Was that his father now, come to steal him back from the lizard? Vegeta leapt to his feet, readying himself for whatever was out there.

The sound of a body falling against the door was followed by the door exploding inwards, shrieking as it was cut aside by a flaming sword and a roaring, hot wind. He covered his eyes against the blinding light and heat, and when it faded to warmth and glory he looked again to see Bulma standing in the doorway, the flaming sword clutched in her hand.

'You!' he cried. 'What are _you_ doing here?'

'I've come to free you,' she said. 'Follow me!' She turned and ran down the corridor. He did, wondering how she had found him, wondering why he was now following her and not the other way around. Soldiers piled out of the corridors, left and right and the girl moved like lightning, slaying them with a precise ferocity that made him envious. He blasted away also, trying to keep up, trying to make himself count even though he felt like only a passenger. As they approached Frieza's main chamber the ship lurched, bringing everyone to their knees for a moment.

'Get below to the pod bay!' she shouted at him over her shoulder.

'But Frieza…!' he protested.

'No!' she said. 'If you fight him you'll die, Vegeta! You're not strong enough!' and the words hit him like the lash of a whip across his chest because they were true and much as he would like to, there was no denying it.

'He should die for what he's done!'

'But not by your hand,' she said and turned to him, grabbing a fistful of the front of his armour to pull him close, and all the chaos around them collapsed into the narrow awareness of her beautiful face and the warmth that flowed from her and around him. Her blue eyes and the tear tracks down her cheeks shone in the light of her sword. 'I won't let you die, Vegeta!'

'Why are you even doing this?' he said, confused beyond even guessing at the answer. He was angry with her for doing this. He was indebted to her and furious about it. He was a failure and embarrassed because of it. He was swept away by his admiration for her. He was dying to reach out and grasp her in his hands and hold onto her; hold her down, hold her tight, hold her back, he wasn't sure, and his heart was hurting with the frustration and yearning and bitterness of the feeling. She was better than he.

And that beautiful, bitter-sweet moment of envy and seemed to go on for a long time before the dream broke apart under its own weight.

* * *

Vegeta woke up to the sight of Bulma's face and proceeded to be even more confused. _That_ had been a strange dream, and he was glad no one else could see inside his head that he had dreamed about some weak Earth girl rescuing and fighting his battles for him. What was she doing next to him, anyway? Hadn't she gone to sleep on the couch? He remembered her waking him earlier, complaining about Nappa, was that when she had moved? Was that why?

He observed her pale skin, slightly more pale than usual, and the pink lips that stood out amongst it, and the breath that tickled his knuckles where his hand lay between them. She was not the warrior-goddess figure of the dream. Nor did she glow with terrible beauty, though she was pretty. Obviously his mind was merely playing with the happenings of the last day and working it into some meaningless mess of id. He imagined this Bulma wielding a sword and smiled. She probably wouldn't even be able to lift such a thing, never mind wield it. No, this girl's weapon of choice was cunning and subterfuge, and he even doubted her ability to best him with that.

He was reminded of the conversation he'd overhead in the night. Kakarott's stirring had accidentally woken him when he had crawled out of bed. Vegeta had been halfway back to sleep when he'd heard Kakarott whisper the words 'We're going to get the Namek dragonballs and get them all back.' The suspicion that had been percolating in the back of Vegeta's mind all of yesterday was confirmed - the reason for Bulma and the other Earthling's eagerness to go to Namek was so that they could use the wish for themselves. Bulma would help him get there, but then all bets were off and the two groups would be in competition against each other again. He was annoyed but not surprised. With forewarning he could plan around this obstacle.

Still, he wasn't able to entirely throw off the feeling from the dream.

When her eyes began to flutter open he sat up, not wanting to be caught staring.

* * *

Breakfast was Saiyan-style and ended with an argument that resulted in Goku, Bulma, and Krillin sentenced to cleaning the kitchen under Raditz's supervision. Bulma didn't want to clean anything, but at the same time the state of the kitchen was distressing, and the faster its worrisome smells, smears and cross-contamination sources were dealt with the better. More of the ships mysteries were revealed to her that day, like how every bit of wastewater and cycled air was filtered and cleaned to reclaim water, which was then was put back into the reservoirs (yes, even the toilet waste she was informed). Also how the garbage disposal in the kitchen was basically a miniature airlock that blasted rubbish into space.

After this chore they returned to their reading lessons. Tarble did his best to try and get them to memorise the alphabet by making up little stories for each character in which the character supposedly resembled the key word that started with that syllable. They repeated each syllable and story over and over again, Tarble holding up one character at a time.

'Ni for the knee,' they repeated. 'Nu, for the noodles in the bowl.'

'Argh!' groaned Raditz from the sidelines. 'Not another Ne for the net, thrown by the fisherman again!'

It wasn't long before Bulma was confident enough to start reading things very slowly without needing to refer to the chart much. She went over to the tank and read the label on it.

'Bi-o…Tyoon…Teck..no…Oh, Bio-tune technologies!'

Raditz and Vegeta looked up in surprise.

'Holy crap, she can read already,' said Raditz. Vegeta just stared in astonishment. Bulma felt rather pleased with this reaction.

'I might've known she'd make us look like dummies,' grumbled Krillin.

The boys' lessons continued while Bulma listened with half an ear and sat down to start fixing the holographic unit. Uncapsulating her own toolbox and electronics, she first opened the housing under the dais. The innards were confusing and unfamiliar, but it _was_ electronic, and with that in mind she set about interpreting what she saw. There was a crystal display and buttons with tiny writing she laboriously translated. Unscrewing that interface panel, sheets of flexible clear plastic hung like layers of honeycomb in a hive, printed with designs that she quickly realised were circuits. The optics were above that, and she spent a happy half an hour working out how it did what it did before getting back to the business of fixing it. Going back to the interface panel she found that it was unresponsive, though the voice command would turn the fire-column screensaver on and off. She poked around for a power button, turned it off and back on again. When it powered back up she started to laugh – the menu was displayed and the buttons she pressed were responding. She took the remote from its storage slot and closed the housing.

'You boys are hopeless!' she announced. 'I've fixed it! It only needed a hard reboot.'

Vegeta gazed back at her looking ruffled.

'Yay, Bulma!' said Puar from where she sat on the arm of the sofa next to Vegeta.

'All right!' hollered Raditz, leaping up from a couch and throwing himself in front of the dais. 'Give us that,' he said, snatching the remote from Bulma and using it to scroll through the media menu projected into the air. 'What have they got?' He was almost bouncing up and down in excitement. Tarble and the others were completely distracted from the lesson and began to cluster around the holographic display as well. 'Nature, politics, history…science…culture…where's the porn?'

'Porn?' echoed Puar in a horrified whisper. Bulma made a face while Krillin perked up and Tarble glanced sidelong at Bulma.

'Really, Raditz?' said the little boy. 'I don't think…'

'Raditz, we are not watching porn in the middle of the afternoon,' growled Vegeta.

'Why the fuck not?' asked Raditz. 'It's not like we've got anything better to do.'

'Speak for yourself.'

As if summoned by the smell of dirty thoughts on the wind, Nappa chose that moment to emerge from the bedroom. 'Aw, what?' he exclaimed seeing the hologram operating. 'What's on the machine?' he asked, throwing himself down on the couch next to Vegeta.

'Ah, ha! Adult entertainment!' said Raditz.

Bulma started to regret fixing the unit. If she'd been alone she might have been tempted to peek at some alien porn, but she definitely didn't want to be watching anything like that with a group of guys, especially if Nappa and Raditz were amongst them.

'There are kids present!' she admonished. 'We're not watching porn, you creeps!'

'Then you and the other kids can go somewhere else while we watch it,' said Raditz.

'Enough!' said Vegeta. 'I said we're not watching porn right now.' Bulma was relieved at theses words, although they did imply that they would be watching porn some other time.

Raditz wasn't listening. Instead he was pressing buttons trying to scroll up and down a list that comprised of a single entry. 'What? One title? There's got to be more than that!'

'Raditz, give me the remote.'

Raditz turned round clutching the remote to his chest. 'Only if you promise you won't delete it!'

'Then pick something else.'

Growling, Raditz turned back and started traversing the menus again.

'Are there any movies?' asked Goku. 'I like movies. I've seen two of them!'

* * *

That afternoon Bulma, Puar, Krillin and Goku got their first glimpse into the cultural life of another planet. The ship had last belonged to a prince from a Planet called L'Goona. The Goontians of L'Goona people appeared rather human for the most part, but their skin tended from a light golden sheer like a slightly metallic tan, to a rich, burnished yellow ochre that couldn't possibly be mistaken for human. Judging from the selection on the holographic unit, the Goontians were a straight-laced lot, or at least the Prince was. Nearly all the material was some form of documentary. The closest thing they could find to a movie were recordings of stage shows and dances that were stiff and unacted, like a ceremonial recitation of past events rather than re-enactments or fantasy.

'I hate to think what that porn is like,' said Krillin dryly as they watched a Goontian man in silk robes deliver a monologue about the love of his life, and his soul-wrenching grief at her loss, all without displaying a single emotion. The Goontians were passionate about some things though. They next watched a debate about whether reform parties should be legalised once more, or if the crown should remain an absolute monarchy. Within three minutes the screaming between the reformists and the monarchists had devolved into fisticuffs.

They were all quickly bored with the plays and the politics, but Bulma found the documentaries fascinating. They watched one about the animals of the plains on the smallest continent of L'Goona, and the Earthlings were riveted to the three dimensional images. Variegated Root Mice tunnelled their way out of the alcove above the dais and into the space of the lounge, and fierce, nocturnal L'Goona marsupials took down their prey almost in their laps. Some of the creatures were almost analogous to Earth ones, but others were like monsters from a hallucination. Certainly, many of the names that were used were familiar to them, but the animals they belonged to weren't. Kangaroos on Earth didn't generally have razor sharp fangs to tear strips off large game beasts like these ones did, nor mark their territories with sprays of acid from glands on their throats.

'This is more boring than staring out the window,' complained Raditz.

The Saiyans' interest began to waver. Vegeta started flicking through his book once more and Raditz retreated into the kitchen to make up some cordial while he loudly continued a conversation with Nappa about what the best bars they'd ever been to. When the documentary was done Bulma looked around for the remote that Raditz had abandoned, determined to get to one of the programs about science before anyone else had a chance to decide what they were watching, but she saw it was already in Vegeta's hands and he was turning it over and over, absent-mindedly. She looked up to meet his eyes and for once he wasn't frowning or leering or scowling or grinning nastily. He was just looking at her like his mind was a million miles away.

'Vegeta?' she said. 'Can I have the remote?'

He looked down at the thing in his hands. 'No,' he said eventually. 'There's some other stuff I want you to fix. I suggest we go upstairs so I can show you how to access the ship's handbook and manual.'

She followed him without argument. As far as Bulma was concerned, this was as good as, if not better than watching documentaries. She longed to know as much as possible about the ship. Imagine getting back to Earth when this was all done and being able to build her own spaceship! Her name would be lauded forever and anon. She could already imagine the headlines. "Bulma Briefs, Teen Prodigy, Catapults Earthkind into Outer Space."

Vegeta showed her how to turn the map table on, then how to access various files. Bulma was excited, attempting to do everything she could as soon as she grasped it, barely holding back from pushing Vegeta out of the way. Once she was able to navigate by herself he stayed and guided her to areas he thought would be most useful.

'You should study the solar uptake system. Something is wrong with it and you may have to fix it eventually,' he told her.

'Okay,' she said, not taking her eyes off the text and diagrams hanging in the air before her. Vegeta stepped back, and after a few moments went to sit in one of the pilot's seats to flick through flight plans and other charts and documents. It wasn't until they'd been sitting, wrapped up in their own occupations for a while that it occurred to Bulma how…quiet he was being. How calm. When she thought about it for the moment she realised that they hadn't argued or had any weird stand-offs since the night before. _How odd_.

She looked at the fading ring of bruises on her wrist and it suddenly occurred to her that she should be very wary of being alone with Vegeta. Hadn't he done this to her? Just two days ago she'd screamed that he was an A grade psycho, and she'd meant it. Though Goku was as healthy as ever now, hadn't she watched, sick to her stomach as he broke every limb of her friend? It was almost as if that Vegeta was a different person to the one she shared the peace with now.

She looked over at him, only to find him watching her rub her wrist.

'Why did you half crush my wrist the other day?' she asked.

He sat up straighter, eyes darting to the door. 'It was a lesson.'

'A lesson? I didn't much like the lesson.'

'I didn't say it was _your_ lesson.'

'Oh,' she said, harshly. 'Did you find it educational then?'

'In a manner,' he replied still not looking at her.

'And what would you have done next if Nappa hadn't interrupted?'

'What a pointless question,' he said after an awkward pause.

'Not to me,' she replied.

'Why did you save my life?' he retorted with.

Bulma was stuck on that one. She didn't fully understand her reasoning, and she certainly wasn't going to let Vegeta in on her thoughts. 'Don't change the subject.'

'Well, I see no reason to answer your question if you won't answer mine,' he said and stood up.

As he was making his escape down the stairs she started to wonder if the reason he couldn't answer her question was the same reason she couldn't answer his - he just didn't understand it himself.

* * *

Five days passed in relative peace. The older Saiyans at-home casual style was to not wear their armour or scouters, which meant that Bulma had to get used to the constant sight of spandex-bound male bodies everywhere. She never liked to see Nappa anyway, but she could have done without seeing so much of Raditz too. The fact that he constantly lurked around in just a tank top and pants that didn't cover any leg whatsoever seemed to emphasise his crotch, as little as she wished to notice it. She also started to classify his and Nappa's massive musculature as excessive. If Vegeta was so much smaller than they and so much stronger, what was the point of all that muscle? Not that Vegeta didn't have a fair amount himself. His own blue suit was by far the most modest of the Saiyans, but it still clung to him enough for Bulma to pass judgement on his physiology. He was tight, that was sure, and what was there must surely be 100% effective.

The spandex parade was still more modest than the unconventional decoration that hung motionless and full-frontally nude in the regeneration tank. Bulma had to frequently avert her eyes, as they just naturally seemed to stray there if they had nothing else to focus on.

Sometimes they would eat from the stores of food the Saiyans had, and sometimes Vegeta would hector Bulma into feeding them from her capsules. She pretended she didn't want to do this, but actually she was only too glad to be eating Earth food, as Raditz's concoctions on board the ship were even worse than his campfire meals. They had to clean the kitchen all over again after Raditz butchered a frozen gazelle-looking animal with a meat cleaver and got chunks of thawing flesh and blood splatters all over the walls and cabinets and even the ceiling. He boiled some of the chunks of flesh in a stock pot, put some in a steamer and some in the oven.

Bulma announced the meal as it was served. 'Nameless Beast, cooked three ways, all of them horrible, with green pea mash and puree of stuff that looks like cat vomit.'

'Well do you think you can do better?' Raditz snarled in reply. 'It's not like a whole animal fits in the oven!'

Tarble's reading lessons continued with Goku and Krillin, and Bulma's absorption of alien aerospace engineering continued on the flight deck. Sometimes she found she had to ask Vegeta for clarification of terms and he was quite civil about it and reasonably knowledgeable. There were often chores to do to, for everyone except Vegeta and Nappa, that was. The holographic unit would be on for some part of the day, and usually became a focal point for discussion and arguments.

After breakfast came the time of stretches, balances and slow kata. The first time Vegeta had started this, clearing a space on the wooden platform, Bulma had been ready to make fun of the boy doing Tai-Chi, but after watching for a few moments she couldn't help but admire his control and strength. She had already known he was strong, but still, posed in ridiculously awkward and stressful positions, his muscles stood out even through his blue pants and shirt outfit, and they didn't shake and shiver with effort either. He was as solid as a rock. The other Sayians joined in too, wherever there was space. After observing for a minute or two, even Goku and Krillin joined in, that day and every day after that as Vegeta or Nappa led them in slow routines that had them balancing on the toes of one foot in Arabesque for minutes, holding a press-up position, but with only one finger touching the ground, doing handstands on one hand or even one finger, or going through the motion of head high kicks in slow motion. Even Nappa with his thick body and tree trunk thighs had flexibility that put Bulma's to shame. She wondered what she'd been doing with her body all her life.

'Why don't you do it faster?' Bulma asked Vegeta the first day and she watched him slowly but precisely punching the air.

'The idea is to keep the brain used to the movements and retain some strength, but not stir the blood too much.'

'Why not stir the blood?'

'Because then I get even more irritated by the endless pecking of Earth Girl questions,' he replied calmly.

Bulma even tried to join in as best she could – doing hand stands against the wall rather than freestanding on one finger, and copying the kicks and punches and fends the boys were doing, but as she had a tendency to overbalance and sometimes unexpectedly fall to the floor and make everyone else laugh, she ended up just watching and then performing her own routine in the privacy of the bathroom afterwards.

These exercises appeared to be some form of mood regulator for the Saiyans, but even so, it didn't work that well. Bulma and Puar endured the confinement with relative ease, though both of them were uncomfortable with the company. Krillin was less serene about it, frequently getting irritable. Goku was the least adjusted of all. He caused a nuisance by running everywhere on the ship, practically bouncing on his toes waiting for any excuse to go fetch anything, check anything or find anyone. His tail was often stiff with unreleased tension, and just seeing the way he acted pissed the older Saiyans off.

'Stop it with the hyperactivity!' Nappa yelled at him, reaching out a foot from the sofa to lazily try and kick him on the pants as he passed. 'You're not the only one going stir crazy in here, and you're making me antsy just looking at you!'

One afternoon, when noticing that everyone was in the lounge, except Tarble who was using the toilet, Raditz turned to Nappa and Vegeta.

'I'm going to prank the pip-squeak, yeah?'

Vegeta folded his arms. 'Go on then.'

Radtiz grinned and stood up.

'We're under attack!' he screamed, making Bulma, Krillin and Goku jump with fright. 'Everyone, get to the flight deck! Tarble, where are you!'

There was a squawk from the smallest room, and then Tarble came running from the corridor, still pulling his trousers up to find the rest of them sitting in the lounge and Raditz laughing. Nappa began to laugh too and Vegeta sniggered as the boy shoved himself into his pants.

'Screw you, Raditz!' cried the boy, and went back the way he'd come.

'Ooh, tough words from the little man,' chuckled Nappa.

'That's for the other day, you cowardly little shit!' Raditz called after Tarble. 'Getting me off the pot mid business instead of manning up when Vegeta came back with the Earthlings!'

'That was so mean!' said Bulma.

'What's your point?'

Goku frowned at his older brother and stood up. 'You know, I'm thinking I'm glad I didn't grow up with you, Raditz.'

'Maybe it's lucky for you that you didn't because I would have beaten the crap out of you every other day,' Raditz said, sneering down at the boy.

'What, and given Kakarott a Zenkai boost every other day?' said Nappa. 'He'd have been stronger than you in a month!' Nappa and Vegeta laughed while Raditz scowled to find himself the butt of the joke now.

'A what?' asked Goku. 'What's a Zenkai boost?'

Vegeta laughed some more. 'Haven't you ever noticed that after every serious defeat you become stronger, Kakarott? Each time a Saiyan is taken close to death he heals stronger than he was before. An increase in strength and speed, and if he is clever enough to learn from his defeat, an increase in _skill_ as well.'

Goku's eyes got round. 'Is that what it is?'

'Yes. Perhaps you should thank me for taking you _so_ close to death,' Vegeta suggested. 'It will have done you a world of good, weakling!'

Goku felt his face and attitude harden looking at Vegeta. 'You were going to kill me,' he said. 'I haven't forgotten.'

'Nor should you,' replied Vegeta, his laughter dying down to a cunning smirk. 'But then I decided to let you live instead, in the hope you would be useful to me one day. Bear in mind, I could always reverse my decision again.'

Goku simmered. He knew that this was not the time and place to pick a fight and he also knew that he needed to get to Namek without Vegeta killing him, but something about Vegeta got his goat in a way that even Raditz and Nappa didn't and made him want to call the older boy out. All three of the older Saiyans were bullies, and Vegeta was the highest-handed of all of them, but in his case something about his bullying felt false. Like some part of it was an act. He was not sure which part it was though. Not the cruelty. Not the willingness to kill. When Vegeta had tried to force him and Tarble to kill the family in the desert his lack of respect for life hadn't been faked.

Vegeta glared at him, waiting for Goku to back down. Goku didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but he also didn't want to start a fight he would lose. Instead he stood straighter, relaxed, and then gave Vegeta a toothy smile as he turned away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vegeta stiffen as he registered the hint of insolence, but Goku got away with it, walking calmly after Tarble and heading for the bathroom.

 _I know that you know that I'm not bowing down to you_ , Goku thought silently. _I might be a Saiyan, but I'm not_ your _Saiyan._

* * *

The bedtime routine became a little smoother, but Bulma now hurried to take a place next to Vegeta each night. She tried to be subtle about it, and hoped that Vegeta and everyone else didn't notice her new habit, but on the fourth night Bulma rolled over in her sleep and surprised herself awake when her knee crashed into something soft and her cheek smushed against something warm. There was a strangled exclamation next to her and Vegeta pulled back his hand from under her face and shoved her knee away from his stomach.

'Nuisance of a girl,' he mumbled. 'Why do you insist on sleeping so close to me?'

Embarrassed, she whispered, 'It's certainly _not_ because I can't get enough of you, if that's what you're thinking.'

'Why then?'

'Because…' She stopped, not sure what the best thing to say was. What if all he did was confirm what Nappa said?

'To irritate me?' whispered Vegeta, when she didn't answer.

'No! Because of Nappa.'

Perhaps Vegeta hadn't expected that answer, as he paused and asked more seriously, 'Why because of Nappa?'

'He threatened me the other night when I was sleeping on the couch.'

'Huh,' Vegeta grunted. 'Well, he wouldn't try anything.'

'Really? Because I count being rudely awoken in the night to have promises of murder and worse whispered sweetly to me as "something".'

Vegeta blinked and frowned, summoning himself to full wakefulness, not liking the sound of what she was saying.

'Tell me what happened,' he ordered her.

Instead she paused again.

'Alright then, don't,' he said, rolling onto his back.

'No, I'll tell you!' she said. 'He grabbed me by the foot and pulled me down the couch. And then he said that as soon as you didn't have any use for me that…Well, basically he implied that you would let him do what he wanted with me.' Her voice shook slightly.

Vegeta could feel a growl wanting to escape from his throat. Nappa had no right to expect such a bone to be thrown to him, and when he actually imagined what Nappa wanted to do to this girl he was plunged into fury. This was exactly the kind of trouble he had predicted about having her on board!

He rolled onto his side again and propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her, and she cringed away from him and the expression on his face.

'Nappa won't get a chance to lay his hands on you,' he hissed. 'He was presumptuous to think he would.'

'He said something else too,' she whispered, the words starting to get high pitched with fear. 'Are you going to kill me when I'm no longer useful?'

It was a pitiable question, and the answer was no, but Vegeta was not sure how to answer her. On one hand he was finding it hard to imagine her being useless, and he still stood by his earlier resolution not to kill her. To tell the truth, he was enjoying having her on the ship. On the other hand, if he told her he would not kill her then that might make her a bit too relaxed and hard to control.

'It's not that difficult a question!' she whimpered as he tried to decide what to say. 'The way you're looking at me is scaring me.'

Though it was dark, his Saiyan eyes could make out her features well enough, and her eyes caught the sparkle of passing stars, the light glistened in the tears that were starting to form there. Yes, she was scared. And the odd thing was that she kept herself close to him because she feared Nappa, even though she feared him too. She had turned to him for _protection_. This was interesting. Maybe he could afford to let her be a little less afraid if she was putting her trust in him? He put aside his anger for now.

'I will not kill you so long as you don't betray or sabotage me,' he whispered, and watched as she closed her eyes in relief. He cleared his throat. 'So you believed that sleeping almost on top of me would protect you from Nappa?'

She nodded. 'I thought he would be a little less likely to drag me away if I was close enough to wake you before he managed it.'

'That's pretty funny,' he observed quietly.

'No, it's not!' she hissed in reply. 'If someone that was massively stronger than you said they wanted to rape and kill you, you'd be pretty damn scared too!'

Vegeta was reluctantly forced to consider it. He knew all about living under the threat of death hanging over his head. And when push came to shove, he had run, as might she if she were that terrified of Nappa.

'I won't let him take you. You are safe by my side,' he said, almost smiling as he made the unlikely promise. He never thought he'd be playing guardian for anyone.

She stared at him, glancing back and forth between his eyes like she was searching for something before she sighed and whispered, 'Well, I don't believe that someone should be thanked for just doing the decent thing, but, yeah, you know… _good_.'

'Good,' he agreed. Then he brought his tail up between them, wrapping it around her wrist. 'Now no one will be able to take you away without waking me.'

She looked startled as the fur-covered appendage formed a cuff around her that trapped her as much as protected her. Vegeta watched her face carefully. He was only half serious – he mostly just wanted to tease her a little for placing her trust in him. He wasn't sure he could keep holding her wrist while he slept anyway.

Her face creased with a frown and she tried to pull away. 'Well, that's a nice thought, but you're hurting me!' she told him.

He snorted. 'There is no way that is tight enough to hurt you.'

'It is when you've got it clamped around my bruises from your little experiment a few days ago!'

Guiltily he eased the pressure of his grip.

'You know, forget Nappa, I'm probably taking my life in my hands sleeping next to you every night,' she added. 'You might suddenly decide to experiment with how long I can go with a blocked airway or something.'

He wished she hadn't mentioned that incident again. He could still recall how heady it had been when rationality fled for a moment, and how embarrassed he'd been when it returned. 'I won't,' he said. 'That won't happen again.'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Is that a promise?'

'Yes.'

'Hmm.' She pulled her hand from his coil of tail, but then paused in the motion, grasping his tail softly in return. Vegeta froze. She wasn't squeezing hard, but the instinctual thrill of expected pain or pleasure travelled up his spine. He cursed his foolishness for being caught by the tail so casually.

'If you're going to try and put me down like you did Raditz, you're going to have a rather nasty surprise,' he growled.

'But I'm not,' she said innocently. 'Is it true that for a Saiyan to let someone else touch their tail is a sign of trust?'

'I suppose.'

'Do you trust me?'

'No,' he said, and gently pulled his tail free from her hand. Her fingers trailed through the fur the whole way, and he had to hold down a shiver. When he was a little boy he used to stroke his own tail at night to comfort himself to sleep. It had been a long time since he'd indulged that habit, but just this unintended caress reminded him of that time when he was all alone with no one but a hard-hearted bodyguard called Nappa to look out for him. ' _Don't_ touch my tail.'

She pulled her hand right back to her chest. 'Why not? Is it some sort of kinky Saiyan erogenous zone?'

'No!'

'Okay! Don't bite my head off, I was just trying to understand why not.'

'Would you like it if I started fondling the small of your back?'

'No!'

'Or your legs?'

'No.'

'Belly? Feet, face, anywhere?' It wasn't a perfect analogy. A Saiyan's tail was a special case, but he supposed she would have to have one to understand.

'Okay, I get it!' she whispered back at him. 'But lets not forget that you started this by touching me with your tail first,' she pointed out. 'Tit for tat!'

'That's not the same.'

'Isn't it?'

'No. And if I started it, I am now ending it. So goodnight!'

With a huff, Bulma settled herself into her fur again and closed her eyes. Vegeta dropped his head back to his own fur and continued to watch her. He wasn't completely angry, in fact he felt torn in all directions after their conversation. She amused him, she confused him, and she delighted him in some way almost every time she opened her mouth, be it with her strange assumptions, her smarty-pants comments or she way she left herself wide open to teasing. He wondered if nights were often going to be this interesting with her sleeping next to him.

* * *

On the fifth day Vegeta surprised them at breakfast with an announcement.

The group was scattered around the dining table, the kitchen and the lounge. Bulma had given in to her longing for normal breakfast foods and broken out a capsule of cereal, milk, bread, butter and other spreads, and most wonderfully, tea and coffee. Raditz and Nappa had been excited at the prospect of a hot drink that didn't involve kowlon cordial, but now they sniffed and sipped the results suspiciously.

'Smells…smells like fermented leaf clippings,' said Nappa.

'Er, that might be because it is,' said Krillin, pausing in his munching of Coco-Naughts.

'Eurgh!' said Nappa after a sip. 'Raditz, let me try that one.' He leant across the dining table and plucked the mug from Raditz and sniffed that one. 'Bitter, burnt…beans?'

Bulma looked up from where she was grilling some bread to make toast in the kitchen. 'When you say it like that, of course it sounds disgusting,' she said, but then regretted opening her mouth as Nappa turned his gaze on her. It seemed like everything she said pissed him off.

He sipped it and then spit the mouthful back into the cup. 'Tastes like poison.'

'You might want to try it with…' She faltered as his sneering attention was back on her. 'Milk and sugar,' she finished with a whisper.

Vegeta bounced down the stairs, Puar trailing him. 'We're only a couple of hours from RT5624,' he said as he walked along the platform to the dining table. He seemed to be barely containing a nervous energy that had him almost skipping with each step. Bulma watched him warily – he looked almost happy, which she so far hadn't associated with anything good.

'What's this?' he said, picking up the coffee.

'Foul Earth shit, don't touch it,' warned Nappa.

'Mmm. It wasn't _that_ bad,' Raditz said.

Vegeta sipped it and made a face.

'Try it with milk and sugar,' Bulma said, and leaned over the breakfast bar with her hand out. 'Here, let me.'

'Dog milk?' he queried.

'No! Gross! It's cows' milk from Earth!' He handed over the mug to her. While he waited for her to improve the drink she asked him, 'So what happens when we get to this planet?'

'That will depend on what we find there.'

'Like?'

'Like, we'll know in two hours,' he said pointedly.

* * *

And so in two hours they all made their way to the flight deck, Raditz and Vegeta in the pilot seats again and all the older Saiyans sporting their armour and scouters. RT5264 grew from a glowing dot to a reality that filled the dome before them. Salda's planet was wreathed in clouds for the most part, but the slightly purplish blue oceans and green and tan and grey of landmasses could be glimpsed beneath. It looked more like Earth than Bulma was expecting.

'Are there people?' she asked, her voice almost failing her.

Vegeta didn't appear to notice her upset though, and gave a rather thorough answer. 'The initial scan shows there are built up areas, but the heat concentrations on the surface don't line up to them, so my guess is no, or at least, not many. Salda appears to have been successful in her purge.' He looked a little troubled by this.

'I think I've got the pod tracker though,' said Raditz. He grinned and looked over at Vegeta excitedly. 'A good sign, yeah?'

'Well let's go down there and find what's waiting for us, then' said Nappa, sounding not as hopeful as Raditz.

'Prince Vegeta, can I land us?' said Tarble. 'I've been practicing with Raditz – he says I'm ready to try.'

Bulma wasn't too keen on the idea of a little kid piloting a spaceship that she was a passenger on, but Tarble guided the ship into the atmosphere safety enough, with both Raditz and Vegeta following his every move like hawks. He then flew the ship at high altitude to the vicinity the ship said the pod was. As they lowered to the ground Vegeta picked out the crater in the woodland – a bright green circle of grass and scrub amongst the dark green of trees.

Tarble set them down a little bumpily, and Vegeta led the way downstairs to the rampway. The rest of them rushed after him, the only one a little reluctant was Bulma.

'Wait! How do we even know if humans can breathe the atmosphere on this planet?' she shouted, but it was too late because Vegeta had the rampway open by then. Goku burst forth like a bullet from a gun and the rest of the Saiyans moved with a particular spring in their steps as if wanting to join Goku as he tore gleefully through the meadow they had set down in, laughing and scaring winged lizards into flight.

'Wow,' said Krillin as she came along side him. His eyes roved everywhere, wide with wonder and alarm. 'We're on an _alien_ planet, Bulma, can you believe that?'

'Not really,' she replied, completely on edge herself. Maybe the Saiyans' spring came from the fact that the gravity felt not-quite right. Her steps pushed her just a little higher and further than she expected. The knee-high grass they stood in looked glancingly like some species of Earth grass, but on closer inspection, wasn't grass at all as the blades branched from a supple green trunk like a miniature tree. The sky above was blue, but pitched more violet than they were used to seeing. Bulma ducked in alarm as one of the red-breasted flying lizards Goku had disturbed swooped too close for her liking, earning her a derisive snort from Vegeta.

'Hey, they could be poisonous for all you know!' she snapped back at him, but Vegeta turned his back on her and pressed the button on the side of his scouter. He turned slowly in a circle while the scouter beeped and blipped.

'In an eight thousand GM radius, the highest power reading is two hundred and fifty,' he announced.

'Do you think that could be her?' Nappa asked.

'It would be disappointing, but I wouldn't be surprised, given the state we found Tarble and Kakarott in,' Vegeta replied. 'I'm more concerned that there is a cluster of power readings over a hundred in the same general area. I think they may be either survivors or alien squatters.'

'That was less than half the planet that you scoped then, though,' said Raditz encouragingly. 'I'm sure she's here somewhere – I have a good feeling about this one.'

'That's right,' said Vegeta. 'Let's check out the pod while we are here, and then drop in on the pow-wow of the strongest weaklings. Raditz, you and your idiot brother can stay here and collect game and perhaps cook us a decent sized meal while we're gone. Stay on coms.' He handed Raditz one of the old, blocky coms units and tucked the other rather awkwardly into the neck of his armour.

'Are we staying here?' Krillin asked Bulma.

'I don't know,' Bulma said. It seemed like they weren't part of the Prince's plans today. This alien planet made her extremely nervous, and the easy thing would be to stay by the ship, but then who knew what she'd miss out on? This was her first alien planet experience, and she didn't want to waste it! 'Actually, no we're not, Krillin!' she told him in a much bolder voice.

'I was afraid you would say that.'

'We're coming too!' she shouted as she walked over to where the Saiyans stood.

Vegeta looked mildly amused by that. 'You'd better keep up then. I can't vouch for your safety if you don't.'

Goku came bounding back to them, grinning with the delight of his regained freedom of movement. 'So, what now?' he asked them all in general.

'You're staying here to hunt game with your brother,' Vegeta said. 'The rest of us are going to look for the female.'

'I have to stay here?' Goku protested. 'Why?'

'Because you're a pain in my backside,' Vegeta said.

Goku scowled and looked Bulma and Krillin over quickly. 'Are you guys going to be okay without me?'

'I think so,' said Bulma. She trusted that Vegeta wouldn't allow her to be killed at least, not when he still needed her, and not after his promise.

'All right, then, I'll stay. But you'd better not let anything happen to my friends!' he told Vegeta with no uncertainty.

'You little shit,' said Nappa, reaching down and grabbing Goku by the scruff of the neck. 'Don't you talk to your prince that way!'

'Forget it for now, Nappa,' said Vegeta. 'I want to be on my way.' He glanced to his left were Puar was floating by his shoulder. 'Hop on, Daemon, we're going for a run.'

'A run?' the little cat repeated as she jumped down and dug her claws into the neck of his battlesuit. Bulma couldn't get used to seeing her boyfriend's best friend sitting on Vegeta's shoulder just as she had Yamcha's. Even though she knew Puar had no real choice, it seemed somehow a betrayal that she would act like it was so natural. 'Why don't you just fly?' asked Puar.

'Because after days on a ship I'd like to stretch my legs.'

With that he took off through the grass and headed into the trees, Nappa and Tarble charging after. She and Krillin took off after them, and she had to admit, it felt pretty good to be running after so long cooped up on the ship. She could swear she was running faster than she ever had before as well, her strides enormous and she laughed from the sheer pleasure of it. Still, she wasn't that keen about careening thoughtlessly through the undergrowth of an alien world where who-knew-what lurked. Her joy of running lasted about two minutes, by which time she was puffed and could no longer keep up the sprint that the boys did.

 _Crap, I'm going to lose them!_ she realised, as they slipped further and further out of sight in the woods. She stopped by a slimy creek and dug her second-best hoverbike out from her repaired belt bag. Once properly seated on her favourite mode of transport and safely out of reach of any venomous fauna or poisonous flora, she caught up to the others in no time.

* * *

The pod was intact, empty, and patiently awaiting its passenger to activate the beacon, which she never had. Vegeta opened the pod door and sat in the mouldy smelling seat. It was not exactly the same as the pods he was used to, but similar enough. He pressed a few buttons to wake it up and then asked, 'What is this pod designation?'

'This is pod number ZR84 of the Saiyan Empire fleet, designated Salda,' replied the thin, metallic voice of the computer.

'When was the last time this pod was active?'

'Ten years, fifty-four days, three hours and 64 seconds ago in galactic units.'

'Has the pod been activated at all since arriving on this planet?'

'Negative.'

Vegeta frowned. 'Did the occupant arrive safely on this planet?'

'I do not have the information to complete this query.'

He tried again. 'Was the occupant alive when the pod landed?'

'Affirmative.'

He climbed back out and closed the hatch. This didn't really get them anywhere. 'Onwards, to that high power level,' he told them, but this time took to the air, growing impatient to know if Salda was here, or if this was yet another failure. He wanted to believe Raditz's hunch. Of all the hundreds of planets they had visited looking for Saiyan brats, they had only found three alive, and of the handful of planets left on the list, only this and one other belonged to females. Other than these, there was only the rumour that Turles had a daughter, and Turles's trail was so cold they had made hardly any headway down that path.

They flew over ruins of cities and towns, scorched earth and craters amongst the foliage and fields. It certainly looked like Salda had done her work. He could see the movements of animals, but none that looked like people until they neared the place where his scouter told him the high power levels were. The first sign was columns of smoke rising into the sky. As they flew over a hill into a shallow valley he saw their origin. Ramshackle huts were scattered around a house on the broad, grassy slope of the far side of the valley, and the smoke rose from a few of these. Where the valley wall became a cliff behind the settlement was an entrance to a large but shallow cave. The people here somehow seemed to know he was coming as they were already in a panic of activity, scrambling around and running from the huts into the cave. As they got closer, five figures took their place across the cave entrance while the fifty or so others hid behind them. Checking the others were still with him, Vegeta landed lightly before these guardians, and the girl's dratted flying machine finally shut up as she landed it behind him. His scouter told him that he was looking at being with power levels of 156, 143, 120, 111, and 102. The 250 was further in, inside the cave.

'Who are you, and why have you come here?' called the woman in the centre. She had dark skin and straight, black hair, as did all the five standing before him. They wore rags of clothes and bits of animal fur, which Vegeta took to mean that they were survivors of the Saiyan apocalypse rather than alien settlers. They also all looked terrified.

'We are Saiyans looking for one of our long-lost kin,' he said.

The woman looked right and left to the men and women either side of her and after an exchange of puzzled glances, she replied to Vegeta. 'We don't know what a Saiyan is. There is no one of that kind here. It is obvious that you five are not from this planet, and as we've not had very much luck with aliens, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.'

'You can ask all you like, but I'm not done here,' said Vegeta, walked towards her. She was a good foot and a half taller than him, so he didn't go too close in order to avoid titling his head back too far. Though he was well used to it, being shorter than the people he was trying to intimidate was a hurdle he hated getting over, though these people were as jumpy as hell. The five sentinels immediately took fighting stances and Vegeta chuckled. 'Oh please, you'll only embarrass yourselves if you try.' The three men and the woman to either side looked like they were about to shit themselves with fear, but the woman in the middle seemed to have slightly more gumption.

'What do you want?' she said, not moving aside.

'I want _Salda_. Where is she?'

'We don't have anyone by that name.'

'Then perhaps you know her as the person who destroyed your towns and cities.'

'The Menace?' she exclaimed in surprise. 'You are kin of The Menace?' Her eyes were wide now with shock. Vegeta could see that they were a deep, glossy green. She was striking looking, tall and strong – exactly Raditz's type, so he was doubly glad he'd left him back with the ship.

'Yes. And now we want her back.' He took another step forward.

'The Menace isn't here,' she said hurriedly, taking a step back herself. 'Please, leave us alone!'

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. Something was up. Normally he had to work a little to convince people he was worth their terror, but these people were giving it up very easily. Somehow they'd known the Saiyans were coming. Almost as if they had scouters.

'Where is she, then?'

'The _Menace_? We think it's dead. No one has seen or heard of that monster for years now.'

Disappointment bloomed and immediately turned to anger in Vegeta's chest. No, not more failure! This woman could be lying though. He couldn't think of a reason _why_ she would be lying, but he wasn't going to be satisfied until he saw the owner of that 250 power level.

'Who are you hiding in that cave?' he barked. 'The strongest of you all is in that cave, don't think you can fool me!'

'Only those who can't fight and the children are in the cave!' she said.

'Out of my way!' He took another step forward and she took another one back again, the whole line of guardians falling back and trembling without a single blow landing.

'D-don't!' stuttered the Daemon quaking on his shoulder, and he knocked it off. He didn't need the distraction of its judgement at a time like this.

'I know you're lying!' he said to the woman. 'And _you_ can tell how powerful I am, can't you?'

'Of course,' she said.

'How?'

'Can't everyone?'

Vegeta glanced back at Nappa over his shoulder, and his second looked as baffled by that as Vegeta felt.

'Whatever. Stand aside.'

'Vegeta, you're not going to hurt them, are you?' cried Bulma from behind him.

Vegeta grimaced. So, her moralising extended beyond the boundaries of her own species did it? He should have known better than to bring her along. Tiring of this conversation he lunged forward and swept the dark-skinned woman aside, knocking her into the two men on the left and taking down all three. The man and woman on the other side fell back of their own accord and Vegeta led his gang, unopposed, inside the cave.

The cries and screams that greeted him were a familiar noise and he felt a glow of satisfaction to hear it. Dirty bodies lined the cave, instinctively putting their backs to the walls and keeping their eyes on the predator. Scanning around with his scouter he muttered, 'Weaklings, weaklings, weaklings. But not so much, _you_.' He approached one young man, or boy, though he was taller than Vegeta, who was standing hand in hand with a filthy female who was too scared to even raise her eyes to look at Vegeta. Smaller children were huddled behind them.

'Why is the strongest of you all hiding in here?' he asked the boy.

'They asked me to protect the children,' said the boy. 'And I will. So back off.' He let go of the girl's hand and looked Vegeta in the eye with more defiance than the adults outside had shown. Vegeta grabbed the boy by the throat, and though he made a move to twist out of his grasp, Vegeta flew up to the ceiling and slammed the boy's head into the rock, knocking him senseless. Vegeta then dropped him to the dirt floor of the cave where the girl threw herself over him, looking for signs of life.

'Your defence is worth nothing,' said Vegeta and all the survivors in the cave sang out in terror, the sound echoing around the cave in a chorus of despair. He could barely stop himself smiling at this crescendo of horror. And then the Earth girl ruined it.

'Why the hell did you do that?' said Bulma as she caught up to him. 'What was the point of hurting him if you're so much more powerful?' He turned to her, not quite believing she would choose this moment to undermine him.

'Shut it, Girl!'

But she didn't. 'Salda's not even here!'

Oh, telling her he wouldn't kill her had definitely given her too much confidence!

He leaned in close to her and grabbed her chin. Her eyes widened in confusion, but then he whispered to her, 'I only promised not to kill you, not that I wouldn't rip your tongue out.'

She yanked herself away from him, and he let her go, satisfied she would keep her thoughts to herself from now on. He turned his attention to giving the others in the cave a once over, just to make sure there were no other high power levels or perhaps even a Saiyan hidden amongst them. Given Kakarott's story, he wouldn't rule anything out.

Bulma watched him prowl away, flanked by Nappa and Tarble. She was angered and scared for the moment, but perhaps not as much as Vegeta thought her to be. She squatted down next to the fallen boy. He was groaning, coming round again, but blood was trickling out of a wound on the top of his head.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered to the girl. 'That guy I'm with, he's kind of an asshole.'

The girl glanced up at her for a second. Bulma had assumed she was crying over her boyfriend, but she was dry-eyed, and those eyes were very familiar.

'What are _you_ sorry for?' she asked.

Bulma shrugged. 'Nothing, I guess. Will he be all right?'

The girl rolled the boy over into something like the recovery position and said, 'Yeah, should be. He's had worse.'

'It's like he's their version of Goku,' said Krillin, kneeling down beside them. 'But at least Vegeta didn't break all his arms and legs.'

'Yeah.' She looked around the cave. These people didn't seem to have much in the way of technology or comfort or even soap. 'I can treat his wound if you like. I have some medical supplies.'

'Really?' asked the girl, suspicious of the offer.

'You can trust us. Krillin and I,' she indicated her friend kneeling behind her, 'we're not with these Saiyans out of choice.' She looked up and saw that Nappa and Vegeta were nearly back to the entrance of the cave again. 'Go and stall them,' she told Krillin while she got out her medical supplies capsule and a flashlight.

'Stall them?' repeated Krillin. 'Bulma, you have a really inflated sense of my abilities!'

'Just stand out of arm's reach when you do it,' she suggested, and he got up with a sigh.

Popping her capsule caused a gasp of shock and surprise from the girl and the people nearby.

'Freaky alien technology,' observed the girl.

Bulma frowned at her. She kept her head down when she talked even though they were crouched down at the same level. And she was filthy, but her skin was still not as dark as all the other people in the cave.

'You don't have to be afraid of me,' Bulma told her.

She girl snorted. 'I'm not. Anyone could sense how weak _you_ are.'

This was quite rude, but it only made Bulma more suspicious. She had her flashlight out now to examine the boy. 'Look at me a second?' she asked.

'Why?' said the girl, but she couldn't help looking up at Bulma for a split second. It was all Bulma needed to flash the light at her and see those hard, coal black eyes under thick brows. The girl turned her head away with a barely stifled snarl. Afraid to antagonise her more, Bulma began to clean the wound on the boy's scalp with saline solution. He moaned and grimaced enough to cause enough distraction for Bulma to take a few more good looks at the girl and her neighbours. All the other people in the cave had long, straight hair. This girl's hair was braided, but where some hairs were too short to reach the braid they stuck out stiffly from her head.

'What's your name?' asked Bulma quietly as she sprayed the cleaned wound with flesh glue, not sure what to do with her suspicion.

'Primrose,' she replied.

'Are you from a different area than everyone else here? You don't look like all the others.'

Primrose's eyes came up and darted to the cave entrance where the others were outside already, and Vegeta could be heard harassing the leader of this colony again.

'Yes,' she said, eventually.

'Are you sure you're from this planet?' Bulma asked, even more quietly.

' _Yes_ ,' hissed Primrose.

'Ever hit your head and suffer from amnesia?'

The girl didn't bother to answer that one, and Bulma let it lie. Perhaps she was barking up the wrong tree, and even if she wasn't, Vegeta's quest to find a female Saiyan wasn't any of her business. For all she knew, succeeding would take him away from his quest to the Planet Namek.

As Bulma put away her things, Primrose said, 'You have blood on your hands. Let me take you to the spring at the back of the cave so you can wash.'

'Oh. Okay. Thanks!' She followed the other girl past the hostile eyes of the rest of the people in the cave. They closed in on her. Now that Vegeta was outside these people seemed a whole lot bolder. 'Just get her out of here, Primrose!' said one young woman. 'Why are you taking her _into_ the cave?'

'It's okay, Fuscia, she's no danger,' muttered Primrose in return, but that didn't stop one man drawing a knife and holding it at the ready in open threat. 'Where are you from?' demanded an old woman.

'A planet called Earth,' replied Bulma, suddenly feeling very intimidated.

'Yeah?' said the man with the knife, stepping forward. 'Why don't you take those creeps and piss off back there?'

She didn't answer him, but followed Primrose closely as the cave narrowed and then turned, so that they were out of sight to the rest of the cave. Water could be heard trickling, and Bulma walked straight into a pool of ankle-deep water, soaking her sneakers. 'Urgh!' she exclaimed, and then bent down to wash her hands. As soon as she stood up something hit her in the chest and knocked her back into the wall and held her there. She started to scream but a hand slammed over her mouth.

'Listen, _Bulma_ , my name is _Primrose_ ,' hissed the girl. 'I'm a Dhracian, not a fucking Saiyan! And if you say anything otherwise to those Saiyan bastards out there, I'll make it my first order of business to hunt you down and gut you like the rabbit you are. I have a boyfriend! People like me! I'm finally happy here and I'm not giving that up!'

Bulma stared in shock and fright. She tried to shove the girl away, but she was almost as hard and unmoving as the rock at her back.

'Girl!' came Vegeta's irritated call. 'Bulma! Where are you? We're leaving.'

Primrose let go of Bulma as swiftly as she had grabbed her and stood meekly aside as Vegeta rounded the corner.

'What have you been doing?' he asked suspiciously, eyes only seeking Bulma and not even touching on the bowed head of the other girl.

'Washing my hands,' said Bulma, holding up her wet hands and hoping he didn't notice how shaken she sounded.

'Come on,' he said. 'We need to get back to the ship so that we can check the rest of the planet with the scouters.'

Bulma gladly followed him back through the cave, walking so close to him that they bumped shoulders. All the people who had crowded her now fell back, cowering once more. Bulma was glad of it. She wondered if that meant she was a bad person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:I predict that I will get at least some people speculating on the meaning of that dream. Dreams are ambiguous in my stories. If you want to know about my thoughts on dreams PM or leave a review and we'll chat, but I'm not going to just tell you what it means, if anything (no! You must suffer my entire story and come to your own conclusions!).


	21. The Conservationist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay, the bad news is that I haven't finished chapter 22 yet and I've been away on a little holiday but heading back into the frying pan at work, so I can't predict when things will be done. Good news is that this chapter is MASSIVE. I probably should've divided it up into two, but I didn't notice how big it was, and now I can't be bothered. Chow down on this folks - there's quite a lot going on.

Raditz and Goku flew low over the forest looking for animals to roast over the fire they'd built.

'Hurry up, brother,' Raditz complained. 'You're slowing me down.'

Goku wrinkled his nose at this. He was not used to being the one to slow others down. 'Go as fast as you want, then!' he told Raditz. 'I'll keep up.'

Raditz laughed. 'Okay then, feel welcome to eat my dust!' And then he took off ahead. Goku took a deep breath and pulled out all the stops, digging deep into himself to pull out the chi he needed to propel himself forwards. If Raditz was faster, the only solution was to push himself harder until he was as just fast, and keep at it until it got easier. Less than a week ago he hadn't known that flying was even possible, but the Saiyans had opened his eyes to a level of power he never knew existed. And he was determined to attain it himself. After all, he couldn't rule out that he'd be fighting against them before their task was through.

Gritting his teeth with the strain, he drew level with Raditz once more. Raditz did a double take and laughed at the grimace on his brother's face.

'You're a little hard-case, Kakarott! If you push yourself that hard you're going to pop something!'

Goku was exerting so much effort he couldn't answer, but Raditz's attention was caught by something moving under the branches of the trees. He slowed and then plunged straight down through the canopy, where there was a strangled bellow, and emerged just a few seconds later with a large four legged beast with green fur and brown stripes running the length of its body. 'What do you think of that one?' he asked the younger boy, and tossed it to Goku who was still trying to catch his breath.

Goku braced himself to catch it. It was the size of a prize bull, and though he'd have no trouble with it on the ground, up here in the air and already tired, he almost fell out of the sky under the limp weight of the animal. Raditz laughed, but Goku stayed up and took his question in all seriousness. He sniffed the animal deeply. It was a bit musty, but had the general scent of a herbivore. He couldn't detect anything bitter or identifiable as poisonous.

'I think it will be fine to eat,' he told Raditz.

'You carry that while I look for another.'

But Goku threw the beast back. 'No. You hang onto that and I'll catch the next.' He took off before Raditz could argue, eyes scanning for any movement under the trees. Then he swooped down through an opening in the canopy and flew through the gaps between the trunks, following a stream through the forest. He figured his chances were higher of finding something near a stream, and within a minute he was proved right. He startled another green-furred animal, which reared up and turned tail back into the thick undergrowth, moving its bulk with desperate speed. Goku felt sorry for it, but they did need to eat.

'Sorry, Mr Green Cow,' he said as he caught up to it. Then he grabbed the thing by its curled horns, flipped over, and pulled himself to the ground. The green bull's momentum had it flying over him, but as he had it by the horns, its hindquarters barrelled over its head. With a pitiable scream it landed on its back with a crack and thundering whomp. Goku got up and quickly made sure it was dead before hauling it with some difficulty into the air. Raditz was waiting for him holding his own kill.

'You're a disobedient little shit, you know that, Kakarott?' he said.

Goku frowned. He didn't particularly feel any compunction to follow orders from the Saiyans, especially his "brother," but he decided not to mention this. Instead he asked a question that had been bothering him.

'Why do all you Saiyans have to keep calling me Kakarott? My name is Goku now.'

Radtiz looked shocked. 'Why wouldn't you want to be called Kakarott? That's an excellent Saiyan name! I mean, our father didn't have the time to give us much in his life, but he gave us our names. It honours him and our mother to use them!'

Goku hadn't thought of this, but he also had no idea if his parents were worth honouring. It was strange to try and imagine them, these two people he had no memory of who had given him life and then sent him away as a baby.

'Did they deserve honouring?' he asked as them both turned back towards the ship.

'Absolutely! Our father was dedicated to the art of battle and to the old king, and there'd never been a third class like him before. And when they wanted to make him a second class and give him a job at the palace, do you know what he did?'

'What?'

'He told them they could give the second-class status and the palace job to me to carry the honour for him. And then he went straight back out on another mission. What a badass! I only wish he'd let me join his squad instead, but he said I was too young and weak at the time. Although, if he had let me I'd be dead right now, along with all the others, so there's that. That's how I ended up working with Prince Vegeta on Frieza's ship. Vegeta's other page got himself killed, so they sent me from the palace, and like two days later - Boom! No more Planet Vegeta…'

Goku wondered if his father had been evil, or if he'd just been really good at following orders. This thing about following orders seemed to be a big deal amongst the Saiyans. He looked at Raditz and thought about the way he always did what Nappa and Vegeta said, even when he didn't want to. He'd probably follow orders even when he thought it was the wrong thing to do. Raditz had been told to kill a planet full of people when he was just a little kid, and he had, which was terrible and mind-boggling to imagine, but he didn't seem _totally_ evil. A jerk, for sure, but Goku wondered, if left to his own devices, if Raditz's evil deeds would be on the small side. But then how could Saiyans kill so many and be so casual about being killers? Where they missing the part that told them killing innocent people was bad? Or maybe…maybe it was he who had had part of himself added to him, maybe by Grandpa Gohan? If he hadn't lost his memories, and if Grandpa Gohan hadn't raised him, maybe he'd still be missing that part of himself too? And all the people on Earth would have been dead a long time ago. It was a horrible thought, but he could still see a silver lining to it. If Goku had learnt the value of life, then these guys could too.

'Why are you so mean, Raditz?' he asked.

'Mean?' echoed his brother, and then laughed. 'Why are you always going on about how mean people are?'

'When you purge a planet, how can you kill innocent people and not feel like you will end up in hell for it?'

'Oh, I _will_ end up in hell,' said Raditz glibly. 'All Saiyans will. That's the way we are, and they taught us that from the cradle. We're all heading to hell to meet with our ancestors for eternal torment, so the best thing to do is to make them proud and enjoy the ride. You should hold that in mind, brother,' he said, grinning widely at Goku. 'All Saiyans are doomed; it doesn't matter what you do. We're conquerors and warriors and our souls are black from the womb.'

'My soul's not black!' Goku protested.

'So _you_ think!'

'You're wrong. And your soul doesn't need to be black either!'

Raditz laughed. 'I like my black soul. Why would I want to avoid hell anyway? Everyone is waiting for me there!'

Goku huffed in frustration. He could see he wasn't getting through to Raditz, and he didn't know enough about Hell or the Next World or souls to be arguing about them anyway. All he had was his gut instinct that told him that, like anyone else, Saiyans had the potential to be good _or_ evil.

'Were our parents cruel?' he asked in the end, just as the ship was coming back into view.

'Cruel? No. Our father's squad thought he was great. Our mother though he was great too, of course,' he said bitterly. 'I think those two liked each other more than they liked _me_.'

'What about our mother then? Was she good or cruel?'

'Good? Come on, what did I just tell you? Oh, I guess she took _good_ care of me after I came back from my purge. She was always telling me off and scolding me and giving me a bash round the head when she thought I was talking back, but she not as rough as some mothers. I mean she actually gave a crap what I was up to, which I couldn't stand, so I tried to keep away from her most of the time. I guess she was a good mother for a Saiyan.'

Goku tried to picture the childhood that might have been his – a "good" but rough mother, an absent but heroic figure of a planet-killing father, being dumped on an alien planet after being told you were always going to go to hell, and the only way to get home was to kill everyone in sight…It was hard to get his head around as it was so different to the childhood he actually had, but he started to wonder if his brother had been set up to make the wrong choices. And maybe his parents had too. Maybe even Nappa and Vegeta.

* * *

Back at the campsite Bulma saw two huge animals and a few smaller ones sitting next to a pile of stinking guts, waiting on the spits for the fire to be ready. Goku and Raditz were splitting wood for the fire – with their hands. She was surrounded by freaks.

'Raditz, come with us,' Vegeta ordered as he marched past the brothers. Krillin hurried over to Goku to tell them what they'd found, or hadn't found, while Bulma put away her hoverbike. Looking between her friends and the retreating backs of the Saiyans, she quickly decided that whatever was about to happen on this ship should have a watchful Bulma-eye kept on it, so she followed the Saiyans up the rampway and up onto the flight deck.

'We need to canvas the rest of the planet for high power levels,' announced Vegeta as he sat down at the pilot controls. 'There are a few on this planet strong enough that it's possible Salda will not be the highest power level we find. Raditz – you fly, I will scan for targets.'

Radtiz say down and took the controls, hitting the button to close the rampway.

'You realise Goku and Krillin are still outside?' Bulma objected.

'Good,' replied Vegeta. 'They can take care of dinner for when we get back.'

* * *

'Oh man, they're leaving without us!' shouted Krillin as the wind from the ships thrusters buffeted them and whipped the fire almost out. Then it began accelerating upwards smoothly and almost silently.

'They'll come back,' said Goku sagely.

'What makes you so sure?' said Krillin, almost beside himself.

'We've got all the equipment for making dinner,' said Goku. 'In fact, I'm hungry already. Let's see what we can cook!'

* * *

Vegeta had Raditz fly them at low altitude, scanning constantly at the limits of his scouter range. This way they found three other enclaves of survivors on one continent or another, but not a single power reading was above 70. Bulma grew tired of standing and listening to the Saiyans' suggestions and Vegeta's agitated speculation, and instead sat on the long, curved sofa on the other side of the flight deck with Puar, watching the scenery. For the most part it was very Earth-like, and was depressing viewing whenever they passed over a place that had obviously used to be a city, town or village. She couldn't help wondering what her own city looked like now. Craters marked the landmasses at random, some of them filling in with brush and trees. Salda had done this, perhaps over the course of years. Maybe the girl deserved these brutes?

She wondered what would happen if she told Vegeta he had overlooked Salda back at the cave. She took the threat of being gutted seriously, though she was reasonably sure Vegeta wouldn't let Salda carry it out. But what would happen to Salda amongst the Saiyans? What _had_ happened to Salda? It was obvious that the girl had had some kind of change of heart and was now living, perhaps _hiding out_ amongst the people she'd been ordered to annihilate. Death threats aside, that was a significant change of character that couldn't be ignored, no matter how late it came. But dobbing the girl in might get Vegeta back on the road faster. Or not at all. Not knowing how it would affect the plan to go to Namek, she decided to keep her mouth shut for now.

When they touched down to investigate the owners of the high power levels she tagged along the first couple of times, but the novelty of meeting aliens didn't make up the horrible feeling she got seeing Vegeta threaten and intimidate them. He was sliding closer and closer to the edge of his temper, and when he lost his grip, she wasn't looking forward to it.

'Hey, watch your attitude, buddy,' she snapped at him eventually as they stood in front of a terrified family that had been hauled out of their crumbling farmhouse in the middle of the night. 'It's not their fault that they're not your precious Salda, so don't take it out on them!'

'How about I take it out on you, then?' he roared back at her. 'I thought I told you to keep quiet!'

'What are you going to do? Rip my tongue out?' she dared him, deciding to call his bluff on his earlier threat.

Vegeta's eyes went to her mouth, the furious V of his brows trembling over his stony expression. Bulma took a step back and wondered if she'd been wrong about his bluffing. When he took a step towards her, she screamed and scrambled backwards.

'Go back to the ship!' he shouted at her. 'And keep out of my hair!'

Vegeta himself had no issue taking out his disappointment on the aliens. Bulma deflecting his ire onto herself was a different matter though. She made him itch to hit her, but he knew that if he did he'd probably kill her, which was counterproductive. She was not one of his robust Saiyan underlings, and it was like she knew he couldn't punish her that way and was all the more impertinent for it.

He watched her jump back on the hoverbike and give him a reproachful look over her shoulder before lifting it into the air again. A brief vision of himself blowing her up from behind frolicked through his mind and then he growled through his anger before letting it go. He turned to Tarble.

'Go and keep an eye on her. Make sure the idiot doesn't get herself killed somehow.'

He made his way to the next power level above 50 in silence, feeling despair growing in his chest.

* * *

When Bulma set her hoverbike down outside the ship she got a little fright when Tarble landed next to her a second later.

'What are you doing here?' she asked, encapsulating her bike again.

'Vegeta sent me to look after you. He was worried you might get hurt,' he said.

'Ha!' she hooted. Vegeta, worried about her! ' _Really?_ '

'Yes, really,' said Tarble earnestly.

'Ha!' she said again and wandered back inside to the lounge, still amused by the thought of Vegeta's concern. Apparently he was more bark than bite towards her, which she decided to credit towards her charm and good looks. _I wonder if he really does fancy me a little?_ she asked herself as she took her capsule carry bag from around her waist. She'd had to put it on a different belt since Nappa snapped the rugged brown one. This one was a patent red, and rather limited her fashion choices when she was wearing it. Searching through and finding the capsule she wanted, she threw it on the ground to reveal a small fridge. Reaching inside she got out one of her precious sodas. She'd been thirsting for something fizzy for days, but as this was all she had, she didn't want to open it in front of the others for fear of it all being drunk. This would probably be the only soda she would encounter until she got home. Until the people of Earth were resurrected.

Her stomach lurched at the thought even as her fingers closed around the cold glass of a cola bottle and she pulled it out and sat there breathing through her nose and swallowing hard for a few moments.

'What's that?' asked Tarble, sidling closer.

'A drink. A fizzy drink,' she replied, twisting the lid off. She took a sip, now that her stomach has settled a little, and sighed in satisfaction. 'So good! Do you want one?'

He sniffed the air and his expression lifted. 'Yes, please!'

'Okay,' she said. 'But if I give you one, you're going to have to answer some questions for me.'

Tarble's face immediately shifted back to suspicion. 'What questions?'

Bulma considered the hen-pecked boy. She knew he spied for Vegeta. She knew he'd told Vegeta about the dragon radar. She figured he was scared of Vegeta and the others, but she also sensed that he was someone who wanted to be helpful and liked. She was determined to make a double agent out of him. She pulled out another bottle and put it on top of the fridge, then perched herself next to it.

'Like…what was Vegeta really going to wish for on Earth?' she began.

'I don't know the answer to that one,' Tarble replied. 'I don't think Vegeta would like it if I told you, even if I did.' He looked sadly at the soda.

'Do you think he was going to make a wish to save the people of Earth?'

Tarble looked uncomfortable. 'I know he promised you that, but…'

'I get it. He tricked me.'

'I think so. He wants to be strong enough to kill Frieza more than anything – probably a lot more than saving strangers.'

He had already given her something that she didn't know. She remembered Vegeta's proclamation that he would "ascend" to a "Super Saiyan" and destroy Frieza at the campfire a little over a week ago. She supposed it made sense that he would wish for the strength to defeat such a monstrous enemy.

Aloud she said, 'Well, I understand if you can't tell me everything. I guess Vegeta is pretty secretive.'

'Yes, he is,' Tarble agreed. 'I don't think he even tells Nappa much of what he's thinking, never mind me.'

'I wonder what he's writing in that journal?' she asked, trying to sound off-hand.

'He says it's a logbook. None of us are allowed to read it though, so I don't really know what kind of things he logs.'

 _Secret diary_ , was Bulma's immediate thought. Wouldn't that be a thing to get her hands on? If she could read it without him knowing she could keep tabs on the inner workings of Vegeta – every advantage would count on Namek.

'Where do you and the others keep your stuff when you're not using it?' she asked. 'I've seen you guys reading and writing in quite a few things, but I haven't seen a bookshelf or anything like that.'

'There's more storage inside the sofa upstairs,' he said. 'The seats lift up.'

'Ah. So besides that and the underfloor spaces, are there any other hidden storage spaces on the ship?'

Tarble immediately looked on guard, and she knew that question had been incautious. 'I'm not sure. Maybe you should ask Vegeta – he might know better.'

'Don't worry about it,' she backtracked. 'I'm just impressed that this ship seems to hold a lot more than you'd expect. Erm…'

Tarble looked confused now.

'Here, have the soda,' she said cheerfully, trying to disrupt whatever thought he was running through his mind.

'Oh, thank you!' he said, sniffing it again and taking a sip. 'Ah! I like it! It's similar to some carbonated drinks on Tech-Tech, but I haven't had any since I left that planet with these guys.'

'No soda or boyfriends in space. It's a very sad tale,' she lamented.

'Ha! I sometimes wish I'd never left,' he said, trying to chuckle, but not succeeding very well. Bulma locked eyes with him, and for a moment she saw real regret in his eyes before he turned away and dropped himself onto the couch next to her. For a little while they sipped their drinks in silence, and Bulma felt her sympathy for Tarble growing. He really wasn't like the older Saiyans. She felt like she should be taking care of him, not grooming him as an informant.

'Did you like planet Tech-Tech then?' she asked.

Tarble picked at a thread sticking out of the upholstery on the sofa, but didn't look up to answer. 'Yes and no. It was a peaceful place, mostly. I didn't fit in there though.'

'Was that because of the people that you killed?'

Tarble pulled sharply on the thread, snapping it right off, his eyes widening at something horrible only he could see. Bulma immediately regretted asking such a blunt question. 'I guess that was part of it,' he said quietly. 'I only killed people when I turned Oozaru. I couldn't help it, but I still feel bad about it. Most people could never forget what I'd done.'

She frowned. 'How come the others are so gung-ho about _killing_ , but you're normal? Like me.'

'I'm _normal?_ ' gasped Tarble.

'Yes. For an Earthling. If you came to live on Earth you'd fit right in. The only odd things about you are that tail and your strength. Just look at Goku – oh, actually, bad example. Okay, Goku is _not_ normal. But he doesn't kill for fun or any reason except when he absolutely has to, to defend himself or others. You're like us.'

'I don't know why I'm different to them,' he said. 'The infant conditioning in my pod never activated. Maybe that has something to do with it.'

'What is this infant conditioning?' She remembered them talking about it that first night around the campfire.

'I'm not sure. Instructions, I think. Education? Maybe Raditz would know. He's the only one of us who received it.' He took a few gulps from the bottle and then finally looked up at her, his expression thoughtful. 'I actually don't think there was any infant conditioning loaded on my pod at all.'

'Why not?'

'Because the Tech-Techies examined and dismantled my pod down to the chassis and they didn't find anything like that on it. Not that they told me about anyway. You might've guessed from their name, but technology is their thing. Also, there was something my mother said.'

Bulma's ears pricked at the mention of his mother. 'You remember your mother?'

'A little bit. She visited me a few times in the nursery and she was the one who put me in the pod.'

'Tarble, level with me – are you and Vegeta brothers? You do look an _awful_ lot alike.'

Tarble looked uncomfortable with this turn of conversation. 'I…I don't know.'

'You know _something_ ,' she complained. 'What's the big deal? What's wrong with you being brothers? Other than he treats you like crap.'

Tarble flushed red. 'Vegeta doesn't remember who his mother was, but I remember mine. Aubergina, her name was. Nappa says…that the rumour was that Vegeta was Aubergina's first child. He also said that everyone thought that the father of Aubergina's second child was also the king, but they must've been wrong because it's impossible that a Saiyan elite and a king, the strongest of all, would produce both the most powerful Saiyan ever born and a third class weakling like _me_ ,' he finished bitterly.

'Hey, don't call _yourself_ a weakling!' Bulma said. 'I don't think you're weak!'

'You're not a Saiyan,' he said dismissively. Then he scowled, resting his head on his hand and pulling his stiff bangs down over his eyes, the soda forgotten on the arm of the sofa.

'Tarble, if you _are_ the king's son, doesn't that make you a prince too?' she said, trying to cheer him up.

'No,' he replied flatly. 'I'm not a prince. I'm not _anything_.'

He buried his face in his hand, and worried that she'd made him upset she slid off the fridge and onto the couch. 'Hey, kid, you're not nothing. I happen to think that you are the nicest out of any of these Saiyans.' She put her arm around his little shoulders and he tensed, his head popping back up to look at her in shock. 'Oh, what?' she complained. 'You're just like Goku. You allergic to hugs or something?'

She pulled on his shoulders again, and this time he timidly let himself be gathered in against her, his cheek coming to rest above the wide collar of her scoop-necked tee.

'There,' she said, pleased that her urge to mother him was being satisfied. 'That's not so bad, is it?'

He shook his head no, his nose almost in her cleavage.

'Now, what did your mother say to you before she put you in a pod?'

'To stay safe and out of trouble,' he replied slowly, his voice a bit muffled. 'That she wished she could watch me grow up, but because I was a secret and a weakling, sending me away someplace safe was the best she could do for me.'

 _What a miserable thing for a mother to say to an infant_ , Bulma mused. All that Tarble said only added to the mystery of what a Saiyan really was. Growing up on alien planets, growing up in palaces, amongst Saiyans, amongst strangers, with conditioning or without; their personalities were all over the place. Vegeta, the prince who became a slave, was the most mysterious of all.

Tarble slipped his arms around her waist, and she could feel his warm breath tickling down the front of her shirt. She tried not to think about how much she wanted her own mother to be comforting her right now, for fear she would cry, but it made her feel better to be able to comfort someone else, someone who didn't really now what it was to have a loving mother. She pressed her face into Tarble's soft spikes of hair for a second, and was about to release him when a trio of sullen Saiyans flew straight up the rampway and into the lounge, a still-pissed-off Vegeta in the lead. That was a surprise, but not as much as the look of shock Vegeta gave her when he saw the two of them on the couch.

'Girl! Why are you… _embracing_ one of my soldiers?'

Tarble leapt out of her arms like an electrocuted cat and stumbled to some kind of attention. Raditz guffawed, but Nappa looked offended. Puar just looked confused, as Bulma was.

She returned Vegeta's scowl and stood up. 'He's not a _soldier_ , Vegeta, he's just a little boy who could do with someone _caring_ for him now and then!'

'He's not a child! He's older than Brolly and Kakarott!'

'He's…he's what?' She looked over at Tarble who was had turned red.

'He's over ten galactic years. What's that in your Earth years?

'Between fourteen and a half, and fifteen and five eighths,' she replied automatically, starting to frown. This put things in a slightly different light.

'It was h-her idea,' stammered Tarble. 'I would never…'

This didn't seem to please Vegeta any. 'I told you to keep your eyes on her, not your hands!' And then he turned on Bulma. 'DON'T dally with my soldiers!'

Then he stamped away, up the steps and then up the stairs to the flight deck.

'It was totally innocent!' she shouted after him. Puar looked back from Vegeta's shoulder. 'You believe me, don't you Puar?'

'You sly little punk,' said Raditz to Tarble, with a look that was half amusement, half contempt. 'I didn't think the "whipped-underdog" play would work even for _you_.' He added as he swaggered after Vegeta.

Nappa glared at each of them but said nothing, then followed Raditz, and Tarble rushed away out of sight down the corridor leaving Bulma alone on the lounge and wondering what had just happened.

* * *

Their last investigation, like all the others, had proved to be nothing more than a local hero. Now Vegeta stood on the flight deck and scanned for more targets. Half an hour later, another failure, and then another. He tried to ignore the seething anger and disappointment that was burning in him, but it was getting harder and harder. 'Where haven't we covered yet?' Vegeta asked Raditz once they were back on the flight deck again. Tarble and Bulma had followed them up, which reminded him of the earlier scene. He didn't know why the sight of them together jolted him so hard. He felt electrified afterwards, his body almost shaking with agitation and adrenalin.

Now that he'd had a while to think about it he realised that the girl might be telling the truth about it being innocent _on her part_ , though what she thought she was doing, he had no idea. Whatever it was that had her embracing someone she thought a child, Tarble had been a willing beneficiary of her ignorance. One look at the front of his pants had told him that.

Raditz cringed. 'Nowhere,' he said unhappily. 'We've already covered the whole planet.'

'What?' Vegeta asked, stupidly, and then shook himself in frustration. 'We may have missed some area – check it again!'

Raditz brought up a hologram that showed their sweeps around the planet. The scouters had an extremely wide range, and according to the diagram there was no area that would have been out of range of detection. Vegeta inspected the solid red sphere and clenched his teeth. He could feel Bulma and Tarble inching closer to get a look, but they both kept blessedly silent.

'We were sloppy in following up those signals!' he snarled at last. 'We could have easily overlooked one of them!'

'But there was only about ten power levels over 50 on the whole planet! We weren't _that_ sloppy!'

'No, we _think_ there were no more than ten! Take off and traverse the planet again!'

Raditz did so, grumbling under his breath. Around the planet they went again, and Vegeta scrubbed his hands through his hair as he scanned and counted, saving each level into memory. There was only one discrepancy.

'There's an 82 back at the first place we looked, in amongst the rest of that group,' Vegeta said.

'Except we already looked there, remember?' said Nappa. 'What are the chances that she'd be so low anyway? If she only had a power level of 82 the strongest of these aliens would have killed her off years ago.'

Vegeta felt himself deflating around the stone of disappointment in his chest. 'And what if she can manipulate her power level like Kakarott and the Earth-boy can? What then? She could be hiding in plain view!'

'They can't manipulate their power levels that much!' said Nappa. 'Twenty points, no more! So an 82 becomes a 102? That team at the cave would still have killed her easily. She's dead, Vegeta! She must've failed her mission just short of the mark and been killed.'

'No!' shouted Vegeta. 'You don't know that—stop making assumptions! You're forgetting the black-haired girl on Earth who _doubled_ her power level! We need to lower our threshold! We need to check the forties and the thirties...'

'Are you kidding?' asked Nappa. 'How long do you want to stay on this planet? You're clutching at straws, Vegeta!'

Vegeta's eyes flew wide at Nappa's tone. The old fuck was talking to him like he was a stupid babe again.

'Set the ship down, Raditz!' he barked.

'Where?'

'Anywhere!'

They landed on a snowy plain in the dark of night and Vegeta marched downstairs and out. As soon as he was sure Nappa was clear of the ship he turned, leapt and punched him in the jaw. With a cry, Nappa flew back through the air twenty yards, almost taking out a shocked looking Raditz on the way, and crashed into the snow, throwing up a sheet of it like a plow. Vegeta chased after him and landed on his chest.

'What was that for?' roared Nappa.

'What was that for, _Prince Vegeta_ , remember?' Vegeta shouted back. 'You forget yourself too many times!' In fury he raised his fist again and smashed it into Nappa's cheek bone. It wasn't the hardest punch he'd ever thrown through, and a long way from the best form he'd ever shown, but a crack sounded and Nappa howled. Disgusted with the man, Vegeta jumped up into the air.

'I don't need you naysayers and idiots slowing me down,' he said, and turned his back on them, speeding off into the dark.

'Oh, jeez!' whispered Bulma as she watched this. 'I hope Puar is okay.'

Vegeta had blasted off with the little cat still clinging to his shoulder. She wondered if Vegeta had even noticed.

'Fucking son of a bitch!' groaned Nappa, heaving himself up from the ground. He clutched his face. 'After all I do for that ungrateful royal whelp, he goes and breaks my cheekbone!'

'Yeah, but you were asking for it, Nappa,' said Raditz, without sympathy. 'I know better than to talk like that to his face.'

Nappa trudged back inside the ship, and Raditz, Bulma and Tarble followed. Nappa stopped in front of the regeneration tank and groaned when he saw Brolly still floating in it. 'Fuck!'

'Suck it up, dude,' said Raditz. 'It's only a broken cheekbone.'

'Don't be so patronising, or I'll teach you a lesson that'll put Vegeta's to shame,' Nappa spat. 'We may as well go back to the campsite. Who knows how long he'll be chasing _this_ Tuffle tail.'

'What do you mean, a "Tuffle tail"?' asked Bulma, reigning in her volume and demanding tone at the last second. She wasn't as confident about her safety with the two oldest Saiyans when Vegeta wasn't around.

'It's just a saying. Tuffles never had tails,' Raditz explained, as he followed Nappa up the stairs.

Bulma frowned. She'd never heard Nappa criticise Vegeta before, though Radtiz had called Vegeta crazy. _What other Tuffle tails have there been?_ she wondered. Tarble darted around her and up the stairs, avoiding her eye. Bulma dithered, not sure if she wanted to stay down here away from Nappa and Raditz, or go up and be involved with whatever was going on. She started up the stairs, but then felt her knees buckle as Raditz took the ship up again. She quickly squatted down where she was near the top of the stairs and hung onto them, scared she would be tumbled back down them at twice Earth's gravity.

'Calling the search for the Saiyan girl a Tuffle tail is kind of unfair,' she heard Raditz say. 'It was a good idea. I mean, she _could_ have still been alive.'

'Oh, it's not the idea,' said Nappa. 'It's the fact that Vegeta doesn't know when to face facts and give up. He'll just keep on flogging the camel until it falls to pieces when any sane person would admit it died long ago. That girl Salda is dead, end of story.'

'He just has to investigate every last possibility,' said Raditz. 'You know what he's like. He wouldn't be satisfied with admitting almost-certain failure if there's the slightest, microscopic, _gnat's-foreskin_ hope of success.'

'Yes, and it drives me nuts,' sighed Nappa. 'Look at all the time we've spent hunting for Turles. Two years and nothing. No solid leads, no first hand witnesses, no physical evidence at all…And he says he's still not done with that yet.'

'What?' said Raditz, have gasping, half groaning.

'I know.'

'Why is that bad?' she heard Tarble ask. 'Turles has the Tree of Might, so we want to find him, don't we? Wouldn't it be really good if we did?'

'Well, maybe,' said Nappa. 'If it were _true_. Which we don't know it ever was. We've been following rumours and nothing else. All we know for sure is that Turles was a third-class shithead who did a runner from the PTO about twenty years ago and some people have talked to some other people who said that Turles ate their planet, but no one can find any of these people or their shrivelled up planets. And for these rumours we've been pissing around on spaceships on the arse end of the galaxy for two years.'

'Well, the rumours had to come from somewhere,' reasoned Raditz.

'Yeah?' replied Nappa, still sounding pissed off. 'Maybe Turles spread them himself. Probably before getting himself killed. He was not much of a Saiyan, even for a third-class.'

'But if he has, or had, the Tree of Might, isn't it worth looking for him anyway?' asked Tarble.

The gravity began to ease off as the ship neared the highest point that Raditz was going to take it. Bulma could probably stand up now, but didn't. She had a feeling that she was hearing a conversation that wouldn't be happening if they knew she could hear it. What was this Tree of Might?

'Well, I think it's quite likely that the Tree of Might is a pile of bollocks too,' said Nappa, in reply to Tarble. 'If there really is a tree that sucks all the life out of a planet and gives all that power to the person who eats the fruit, Turles would surely rule the galaxy by now. But instead, no one has heard boo from him for more than a decade.'

'Couldn't he just be somewhere really remote in the galaxy, turning planets into power?' suggested Raditz.

'A trail of dead planets would be hard to miss, wouldn't it?' said Nappa. 'The Tree of Might is no more than a myth. If I'd had my way, we'd have been using the last few years to set ourselves up in hiding – maybe take over a distant planet and get the natives to worship us as gods or something. Or even just have stayed in the PTO. Frieza's an asshole of a boss, but the job was better than traipsing all over the galaxy, on the run. Now we've got more stupid daydreams to go chase with fucking dragonballs on Namek…'

'The Earth's dragonballs weren't a daydream,' Tarble protested.

'The Earth dragonballs weren't,' Nappa agreed, 'but they still got us a big fat zero.'

'You are such a downer sometimes, Nappa,' Raditz complained. 'Can't you be an optimist just once?'

'No! Expecting the worst means I can live a life of very few surprises.'

'Well, in that case you may as well turn yourself back in to the PTO.'

'Believe me, if they'd take me back without killing me, I'd go at this point,' Nappa said.

'What?' gasped Tarble. 'But they're our enemies!'

'Shut up, Nappa!' said Raditz, on the verge of laughing. 'You don't mean that!'

'Maybe not. But the longer I'm stuck on a ship with no action, the more attractive a life of endless purging and battle sounds.' Then he sighed loudly. 'But Frieza is going to fillet and flambé Vegeta before he ever forgives him, so there's no going back for me either.'

'So you're not going to ditch us in the night?' joked Raditz.

'Of course fucking not! I swore to protect and follow the prince, ungrateful little shit that he is at times. My place is by his side, for better or worse.'

'He broke your cheekbone just five minutes ago!' laughed Raditz.

'Yes. Well,' muttered Nappa darkly. 'That's the price you pay for serving headstrong, high-strung royalty. Don't forget you swore an oath too, Raditz.'

'You do realise that we made our oath to King Vegeta, and he's been dead for quite a while, along with all the other Saiyans? The only ones left to care about our oaths are us and Vegeta – no royal guard are going to hunt us down if we broke them.'

'You're going to leave Vegeta?' cried Tarble.

'You are fucking joking aren't you, Raditz?' growled Nappa.

'Shit, guys!' said Raditz, laughing again. 'Calm down! You should see your faces right now! I only meant that if we stay with him it's not because we're afraid of being tried for treason. It's for other reasons.'

'My oath still means a lot to _me_ ,' said Nappa. 'I still remember the joy and the weight of responsibility when the King told me I had been chosen as the prince's bodyguard. You've no concept of the honour that was placed on you when you took your oath, do you Raditz? Completely wasted on you, young, ignorant third-class. But you're right - we stay with him because we're Saiyans, and he is the greatest of us.'

'Hmm. He _is_ a dick but, yeah, I guess that's it,' said Raditz. 'If Vegeta died, I don't even know what I would do.'

'That's right. He gives us purpose. Something to follow and believe in.'

'Something to _believe_ in? Are you talking about the Super Saiyan?' said Raditz. 'I thought you didn't believe in it.'

'I don't,' Nappa replied. 'We Saiyans are great enough without needing to reach some fairytale transformation. Vegeta would do better if he dropped the idea. He's not going to magically sprout the power to defeat Frieza.'

'You don't believe in the Super Saiyan?' said Tarble, sounding scandalised. 'But I thought it was Saiyan _history!_ That's what Vegeta told me!'

Nappa made a grumbling noise of disapproval. 'The Legendary Super Saiyan is just a story they tell to the nurslings and young soldiers to make them fight harder. Vegeta believes it because his own father told him he would be the Super Saiyan one day. Poor kid was too young to realise his father was just dazzling him with the same stories all parents tell their brats. Now nothing I say can convince him it's not truth writ in stone.'

'Hang on,' said Raditz. 'This is an ancient legend of the Saiyans we're talking about. Oral history, handed down generation to generation. It must be based on something! I don't think _all_ the adults would just lie to _all_ the kids like that!'

Nappa snorted. 'Are you still a true believer, then? You're almost as naive as Vegeta.'

'I'm not naïve!' retorted Raditz. 'I'll tell Vegeta you said that, though.'

'Don't you fucking dare!' objected Nappa. 'If either of you go repeating a word about of what I said to him, I'll beat your liver out of your asshole! I was just letting off steam. Vegeta does _not_ need to hear about it.'

'Nappa! You know I was only joking about telling him!' protested Raditz.

'I definitely won't, I swear!' squeaked Tarble.

'Good.'

Bulma felt the gravity begin to lessen even further. They were descending, and she crawled backwards down the stairs as quietly as she could, heart pounding. She wasn't sure what Nappa would do to her if he found out she'd overheard their conversation but she was sure it wouldn't be good. That wasn't the only thing that scared her though. She found it highly disturbing that Raditz and especially Nappa didn't have as much faith in Vegeta as she'd thought they did. Her world had shrunk very small of late, and its cornerstone had just been chipped.

* * *

Vegeta found and discarded a dozen or more power levels between 20 and 50 before he admitted to himself that Nappa was probably right. There were only these hopeless, clueless green and yellow-eyed aliens living primitively amongst the ruins of their civilisation. He didn't need more than a second to examine each one he found, and then he shoved, shook and threw the rejects aside, causing the Daemon to cry out and scream, 'Stop! Vegeta, don't!' until Vegeta knocked her off his shoulder again. She always clawed her way back on though, clinging on in grim silence as he flew as fast as he could to the next bleep on his scouter.

'No!' he shouted when he spied his thirteenth target, herding animals along a river near a broken city. It was a boy, just a young boy who turned and ran at the sight of him, calling for his parents. Salda would have been killed or captured immediately if she had been as remotely weak as this, but instead she had terrorised the planet and disappeared! She had been far stronger than the dregs of this race! Whether she'd been defeated or brought down by illness or even hitched a ride off planet he would never know.

'Gods Damn it, it's over!'

In a breath he gathered a handful of chi and launched it into the city. It tore a hole through a skyscraper that had already been topped, the explosion followed by the tinkling of thousands of shards of glass falling into the empty streets. He followed it, roaring as he went, pulling up more chi into his arms and until it spilled out, a hot angry pink. The streets were full of refuse, vehicles, bushes, trees and stunk of mould and old rotten flesh. He let the chi burst out of his outstretched hands, slamming into the buildings each side, crashing through them and igniting the detritus, a maelstrom of cinders and burning dust pouring into the street behind his as he shot through, screaming his disappointment at the uncaring planet.

'You killed her!' he shouted, pausing in a dark square where a metal statue still sat proudly, mounted on a rearing beast high on a plinth, bronze as dark as the skin of the people who created it. 'You fucking useless, good for-nothing planet killed a Sayian female!'

The heat and ashes of the destruction he'd left behind him caught up, and rolled over him as he blasted the statue to scrap, then the building behind it, then everything, fucking everything! Let this planet burn to the ground as it should have done!

Dust and smoke collapsed in on his temper, forcing him up and out of the zone of hell he'd just created with his wild blasts. Coughing, he sucked in breath and hovered, shaking and spluttering above his pointless destruction. He knew it was pointless—one of his most treasured hopes and schemes was on the brink of being crushed beyond a hope of success, and expending his chi in a fit of anguish didn't fix that.

Hearing sobbing he was confused for a second, for though he certainly felt like crying, there was no way he would let himself. But it came from beside his ear.

'Daemon, what they hell do _you_ have to cry about?' he growled, sniffing and wiping away the tears that smoke had made in his eyes.

'You scared me!' the cat cried. 'My fur was singeing! My claws! Ow!' He felt her try and release her grip on his collar. He hadn't even noticed until now how deep her claws were in his skin, and it rather stung. 'My claws hurt from hanging on,' she finished. 'I think I might've broken some of them.'

He reached up onto his shoulder and pulled her down, trying to uncouple her claws from him as gently as possible – for his own sake as much as hers. She looked quite a mess, with bits of ash in her fur and streaming eyes, shivering in his hand and glaring balefully at him. He held up one front paw and then the other between his thumb and forefinger while she squeaked, 'Ow, ow, ow!' There was a little blood on the claws, and some up where they met the joints, but he wasn't sure if it was his or hers. They didn't seem loose or broken though.

'You'll be fine,' he told her, quite annoyed. 'And if not I'm sure the girl will treat you back at the ship.' If he'd lost his Daemon for something as senseless as a tantrum in an abandoned city he'd have made a bad situation even worse. The shapeshifting Daemon was an amazing little find whose usefulness he felt he'd barely scraped the surface of, plus a Daemon was quite a status symbol. ' _Why_ didn't you tell me you were in danger of falling off?'

'I DID!' it shouted back. 'When I was screaming "Stop! Help! Vegeta, I can't hang on!" over and over and you just ignored me!'

'Huh. I didn't hear you.'

'I know!'

'Hmm.' He supposed he would have to be more careful with her if he didn't want to lose or damage her. She was a delicate thing – no more sturdy than a toy. 'We'll go back to the ship now. Can you hang on or should I carry you?'

The cat looked stricken, and then her lower lip came up, trembling and she started crying again.

'Argh, Daemon, why are you blubbering _again_?'

'Because...I can't believe I am having to ask _you_ to carry me!'

Vegeta growled. 'Shut up, Daemon. Just for that I won't be gentle.' But despite that threat he was reasonably gentle, tucking the bundle of fur into the crook of his arm and turning in the approximate direction of the ship. He used his free hand to press the button on his scouter. Raditz's and Nappa's power levels weren't in range though.

'Oh, sons of bitches! They've gone back to the campsite and left us here on the other side of the planet!'

* * *

Back at the meadow it was still only late afternoon. After they landed, Bulma took the opportunity to inspect the solar uptake system. Vegeta was right, there was something wrong with it. She had been examining the data from the last several months, and the rate of uptake had been steadily lowering. Of course, the amount of solar energy the ship was exposed to in various locations in the galaxy was always changing, but the trend was noticeably downwards, and now the batteries were sitting at a worrying 7%. She got Raditz to show her where the ships tools were, and a sectioned ladder, both stored under the platform floor.

Outside she assembled the lightweight ladder and clambered up to the upper curve of the ship. Using the tool from the kit that was specially designed for it, she unlocked the shiny panel before her and lifted it. For all the world, it looked just like a plate of shiny, dark, almost chromed ceramic, but underneath she saw the gold contacts that would be pressed into their corresponding points on the ships hull. Everything looked to be clean and in order. She moved to a second tile and a third and a fourth, but they all looked fine.

Next she went back inside and looked for the junction box where all those wires from the solar panels came together to feed into the batteries. The ship's manual told her it was in the ceiling of the laundry. Unclipping the ceiling panel she revealed the metal interior wall of the ship and opened the actual panel. As it fell open she was doused with stinking, rusty water.

'Arghhhh-eurgh! Gross!'

Well, problem found. The enclosure of the junction box had been taking on condensation. The rubbery seal around it was crumbling and had let up steam from the laundry. The junction box was a mess of corrosion. Many of the points looked to be rusted through altogether. She tried to unscrew the front of the box to see inside and the screw disintegrated under the screwdriver. Basically it was hosed.

After taking a shower and changing she went back up stairs to examine the logs again. In the name of caution she expanded her search. What she found alarmed her.

* * *

As the sun set they ate the meal that Krillin and Goku had prepared. Raditz didn't say so out loud, but even he privately thought that the dinner the boys had come up with better than his own usual. Raditz decided it me be on account of the game being particularly good. There was no way those little snot-noses could've out-cooked him.

Vegeta didn't come back for dinner. so with great self-restraint, they left aside a decent helping for him and began to ready themselves for bed, bringing blankets and furs out into the meadow. The weather and climate was mild, so it made a change from all the nights on the ship. Nappa was halfway through laying out a fur when he froze.

'What is it?' asked Raditz, thinking that Nappa looked like a man who sensed an episode of explosive diarrhoea near at hand.

Instead Nappa's blank face broke into a wide grin and he stood straighter. 'I just had a thought!'

'What's your thought?' asked Raditz suspicious of his elder.

Nappa sniggered. 'I think I'll pay another visit to that camp of survivors. There's a certain stropy green-eyed female that I'd like to "interrogate" a little more closely.'

'What?' said Raditz, but Nappa took off without further ado before Raditz had quite figured out what he meant. 'You revolting, old bastard! Thank you for leaving me stuck here with the brats!'

Bulma returned to the campfire in time to see Nappa disappear into the night sky. 'Where's he off to?' she asked no one in particular.

Tarble had been watching Nappa's exit too. 'To interrogate the leader of the survivors again,' he said.

Bulma frowned, but there was nothing she could do about Nappa, whatever he was up to. Krillin and Goku threw their furs down on the ground, but she was not thrilled at the thought of sleeping in a field on an alien planet and no Vegeta close by to ward Nappa and other monsters off. After considering her options she pulled out her capsule house.

'Boys, you're sleeping in the house with me tonight,' she told Goku and Krillin as she threw the capsule on the ground.

'Aw,' protested Goku. 'I wanted to sleep outside.'

'Tough.'

As they filed in, Tarble trailed them and stopped near the door.

'May I come in too, Bulma?' he asked. Bulma turned to see his slightly hunched stance. 'It's okay if you don't want me to,' he added.

It was kind of sad and kind of irritating to observe his lack of confidence. She knew it was possible that he wanted to come in because Vegeta had told him to gain entry and report his findings back to him, but she had nothing to hide in the house itself. Maybe revealing that would put Vegeta more at ease.

'Sure. You can have a look.'

He did, and looked around curiously as Krillin flopped down on the sofa and Goku automatically headed to the fridge.

'Don't get comfortable,' warned Raditz. He was standing in the doorway, hunched over so that he could stick his head inside.

'Stay out!' Bulma told him. 'You're not invited!'

'See if I care about your stupid pop-up house,' he retorted. 'I'm just warning Tarble that he's on second watch after me. In fact, you're all on watch tonight. One and a half hours watch each.'

'What?' said Krillin. 'What are we watching for?'

'Who knows, that's the point, isn't it?' Raditz told him.

'Even me?' said Bulma, incredulous. 'What am I supposed to do against some threat? I can't fight - I can't even fly!'

'You've got eyes, don't you? All you need to do is stay awake, stay alert and be ready to give the alarm. I don't see why you should be the only one who gets a full night's sleep just because you're a weakling girl.'

Bulma bit her lip, wanting to protest that she was not playing the "girl card" but also wanting to play it because she didn't want to keep watch.

Raditz held up the com unit so they could all see it. 'Whoever is on watch gets the unit. It's got the time here so you can keep track of it, and there's an alarm that will go off if one of the alerts on the ship is triggered. If that happens, waste no time – wake everyone immediately, got it?'

'Got it,' the Earthlings repeated.

'I'm taking first watch,' he continued. 'Tarble, you can have second, then…Little Miss, Baldie and Kakarott.'

'My name is Krillin,' said Krillin, in sullen tones. Bulma scowled at Raditz. It seemed to be a point of insult amongst the Saiyans to "forget" Bulma's and Krillin's names, as if they weren't worth remembering.

'Krillin isn't even really bald any more,' said Goku. Bulma looked at Krillin and realised this was true. A fine fuzz of black hair covered his skull and Krillin reached up and rubbed it self-consciously.

'Yeah, get your facts right!' he said to Raditz, but Raditz just snorted, unimpressed.

'Whatever.' And then he strode away, leaving the door wide open.

* * *

Bulma awoke to a gentle shaking of her shoulder.

'Bulma!' whispered Tarble. 'It's your watch.'

Bulma sighed and yawned and got up, throwing on a hoodie and her sneakers in the dark. She followed Tarble back out into the night. When he headed off towards the campfire she whispered, 'Goodnight, Tarble.'

Tarble looked back in surprise and a shy grin spread across his face. 'Goodnight, Bulma,' he whispered back. 'I'm sorry about earlier.'

' _You're_ sorry that _I_ hugged _you_?'

'I shouldn't have accepted it,' he said unhappily.

'That's crazy - it was just a hug! It didn't mean anything. You Saiyans are all nuts.'

'You thought I was younger than I was,' he replied, sounding quite unhappy about it. 'I guess I am really small. Small enough for you to mistake me for a very young child, which would have made the hug okay. But I'm not.'

'What are you talking about?' she whispered back urgently. 'Your age has nothing to do with it! Yes, I thought you were younger, but you're a friend. You felt bad. I hugged you, end of story. Don't Saiyans hug their friends?'

She could see his confusion by the flickering firelight.

'No,' he said. 'But I don't think we're supposed to have friends either.'

'Well, tough, 'cause you've got one.'

She walked away before he could argue any more. Could nothing be simple with these people? Tarble's embarrassment annoyed her, as did the other's reactions to an innocent gesture of comfort. But what also annoyed her was the way their reactions made her think that Tarble might have enjoyed the hug more than he was supposed to. It was all tainted now!

She wasn't sure how to go about "being on watch", but she did know that she would be deeply uncomfortable sitting or standing in the wilderness of an alien planet at night. She went and got the ladder from where she'd left it leaning up against the wall in the main living area. In passing she stopped in front of the naked living room adornment – Brolly still hung peacefully in the chamber, his hair fanned about his face. It was a sweet face, a classically handsome one. One that didn't look capable of an evil thought, let alone proposing killing the rest of the crew and setting off to conquer planets.

'Freak,' she said aloud. 'You look so sweet but you're poisoned.'

Brolly's eyes cracked open just a little, as if he heard, and she jerked back from the glass in fear. He didn't move though, other than that.

'Brolly? Are you okay?' she asked, and then felt like a moron because of course he couldn't answer. 'If you can hear me, I hope you're all right. We're on our way to get you help. Okay? Hang in there!'

His eyes slipped slowly shut again as if to say hanging in there was _all_ he could do.

Shaken, she hurried outside with the ladder and used it to climb up onto the top curve of the ship, crawling on hands and knees to the glass dome of the flight deck where it started to flatten out. There she threw down a fur and leant against the glass of the dome and settled in for her vigil, feeling far more secure with her overview of the surrounding meadow.

As it tended to when she was alone and unoccupied, her mind turned to the near extinction of her species and the role she found herself with in reviving it. After sometime, she heard whistling that got closer, and she tensed, ready to scream, but then Nappa landed in the radius of the fire's glow, apparently very cheerful about whatever he'd been up to. She sat very still so he wouldn't notice her while he took off his armour and shirt and lay down on top of his fur, and thankfully he was snoring before too long.

Hyper-vigilant and hyper-anxious she stared in the direction of every creak, crack, rustle and chirp, but even so, she couldn't have missed Vegeta's return. He dropped to the ground with just a whistle of movement, but then swiftly kicked the sleeping forms of Nappa and Raditz.

'Ow! Fuck, what was that for?' cried Radtiz.

'Vegeta! We were asleep!' complained Nappa.

'Yes, and I am not, because you thoughtless baboons abandoned me on the other side of the planet! Thank you for the extra-long refreshing flight back!'

'We didn't know how long you'd be!' plead Nappa. Bulma stood up on to get a better view of Nappa kneeling in front of Vegeta. He was still taller than the boy whilst kneeling, but it only added to the patheticness of the sight. 'Sorry, your Highness. We didn't know you wanted us to stick around.'

'Sorry, your Highness,' echoed Raditz.

'Apology accepted,' said Vegeta, turning away. He disappeared out of sight, and she heard his footsteps going up the rampway into the ship. Just as she was sitting down again she jumped in fright to see a dark blob float up over the edge of the ship towards her.

'It's me,' it said in a hushed voice.

''Puar?'

'Yes. What are you doing up here?'

'Keeping watch. Raditz is making us all do it.'

'Oh.' The cat was looking more bedraggled than usual.

'Are you okay?'

'Mostly,' said Puar, floating over to collapse on the fur next to Bulma. 'I'm exhausted and I have very sore paws from hanging onto Vegeta.'

'Why didn't you just let go of him, then?'

Puar gave her a withering glance. 'I'd have either been left in the middle of nowhere, or been fried to a crisp by the monster fire he started.'

'He started a fire? Why would he do that?'

'He was really upset about not finding the Saiyan girl, so he burned some city down. Bulma, it was so scary! He just made piles of energy pour of him and knock buildings down and set everything on fire! I thought my fur was going to catch alight.'

'Oh, gosh.' Bulma tired to imagine the power it would take to do that. Until she'd met the Saiyans, the most she'd seen chi used for was the Kamehameha wave. What Puar was describing was more like what she'd seen the Frieza's men do to West City, only worse. 'Is he still really pissed off?'

'Not as much, I don't think. Except at Raditz and Nappa for moving the ship. It took us hours to get back. He carried me the whole way because of my sore paws.'

' _Really?_ An act of kindness by Vegeta?'

'I think he felt bad because it was his fault I got hurt and could've died.' She lifted herself back into the air with a yawn. 'I'm so tired, I'm going right to sleep.' And then she floated away, down to the front door of the capsule house and let herself in.

Bulma sat there a little while longer considering a Vegeta was kind enough to send Tarble to look after her and to carry Puar all the way back to the campsite. And who was also very upset. She had seen how upset he got when things went badly for him. And she knew where Salda was – the very thing that he wanted. She wondered if maybe, just maybe she _should_ reveal Salda. Perhaps she could exchange her knowledge about the girl and get some kind of promise from him in return...like a promise that the Earthlings get the first wish on Planet Namek? Well...that was a very long shot, and she didn't know how to get Vegeta to keep his word. She already suspected that he would have broken one vow when he said he would wish to save the people of Earth. Still, maybe it was worth seeing what some gentle prodding around the subject turned up. She could still hear movement inside the ship, so she decided to give it a go now while there was no one to interrupt.

She held the aerial of the com unit in her teeth while she shimmied down the ladder, then tucked it under her arm to run to the rampway. She paused at the bottom of it, just in time to see Vegeta tear a book in half in temper and throw both halves into the flames of the holographic fire. They bounced off the wall behind it and landed on the floor, untouched by the false flames. Before she could stop herself she hooted with laughter, drawing Vegeta's attention to her presence. His scowl deepened even further, and though it was too dark be sure, he seemed to be blushing. He turned towards her, gliding menacingly forwards, his tail coming free from around his waist and lashing back and forth in agitation.

'Mock my misfortune, female, and it will be the last thing you do!'

Bulma found herself slightly abashed. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. You must admit it was quite funny though.'

He growled, his face lost in the shadow as he loomed at the top of the rampway.

'I said I was sorry!' she protested. When he made no move she took a couple of steps up the rampway to see his face better, but she couldn't.

'Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help,' she suggested, thinking about what Puar had said.

'You can't help,' he said scornfully.

'Don't be so hasty in your assumptions,' she replied and stepped around him, heading into the fire-lit lounge and the two halves of the book, which had been ripped not down the spine, but across it. She recognised the cover—a photo of a very colourful pair of lizards. Vegeta had been reading from it several times over the last few days.

'Is it that you can't find Salda?' she asked, leadingly.

Vegeta followed her into the room, still flicking his tail from side to side.

She read to title with a little difficulty. '"Back from the Brink – A Conservationist's Guide to the Recovery of Extremely Endangered Species."' She gasped in surprise, and Vegeta swiped it out of her hands again. She looked up at him noted his uneasy expression.

'You weren't...planning on applying this to the _Saiyans_ , were you?' she asked, blushing as the implications of that hit her.

'Why not? We are an _extremely_ endangered species after all.'

'It's got a picture of lizards on the front! Surely it's a program designed for _animals_ , not people!'

He stalked around her and slumped onto the couch, crouched forward with his elbows on his knees as he thumbed through half a book. Bulma glimpsed diagrams of family trees, illustrated with little silhouettes of a generic four-legged mammal.

'It makes no difference,' he said. 'Genetics are genetics, and a genetic bottleneck is what we must overcome if there is to be more generations of Saiyans. The chances of finding two Saiyan females have plummeted to practically zero, and the chances of finding even one are slim to none. I am down to one last possible plan of action, _if_ we ever find a female, which seems less than likely.'

'So you wanted Salda for this _breeding program_ you've got planned? And here I kind of thought you just wanted a girlfriend or something.'

'"Girlfriend"?' he huffed. 'My concerns are much larger than that. The plan would take priority over any individual's desires.'

The lack of choice this implied was rather disturbing to Bulma. Her brief meeting with Salda hadn't been endearing, and the girl had nearly wiped out another species herself, but revealing her now would be sentencing her to a life of...what exactly?

'Let me guess the plan,' she said, sitting down on the arm of the couch, facing him. 'You get hold of a Saiyan woman and somehow convince her to produce lots of Vegeta Juniors for you, right?'

'Wrong.'

Her eyes flew wide. 'You mean you all share her? Take turns "breeding" some poor girl?'

Vegeta looked revolted. 'No!'

'Well, what then?'

'As Nappa is older and less likely to survive until the first generation is mature, he will be the stud of the first generation. It will be his task to produce enough daughters so that I, Raditz, Brolly and perhaps the others may take a female to breed with. Kakarott is Raditz's brother – they carry mostly the same DNA, and Tarble is...a _disgrace_ , so their genetic contribution is not as essential. It will be mine, Raditz, and Brolly's job to produce at least a male and a female each. That second generation will all be genetic cousins, but at least they won't be brothers and sisters. With some careful management and observation to weed out defective individuals, they will be able to breed amongst themselves without too much genetic degradation.'

Bulma was torn between some small admiration of his scientific approach to the issue and horror at the coldness of it. Where was the love in a breeding program? Certainly she could never imagine a young girl like Salda loving a brute like Nappa. Instead she imagined a lot of screaming and violence and endless misery.

'You can't do that!' she said.

'Why not?'

'What if the girl doesn't want to be _bred_ like an animal with Nappa of all people?'

'I'm her prince. She should follow orders like any soldier.'

'What?' she screeched, popping to her feet again and staring down at him. 'Do you realise what you're proposing?'

'Saving the species?'

'No! If this girl doesn't like Nappa, and I almost guarantee that she won't, then what do you think that's is going to be like for _her_?' She watched a blank look creep cross his face. 'Did you even think about that at all? You won't let Nappa or Raditz "force themselves" on _me_ , as you put it. Will you be just fine with another girl being held down screaming, night after night? Or if not screaming, _tolerating_ and _hating_ that man's filthy body on her?'

Vegeta looked suddenly appalled, but rallied. 'It won't be like that. She will understand her sacrifice for the Saiyan race,' he insisted.

'She might not! She might not give a crap about the Saiyan race!'

He thought on it a second and then huffed. 'If it really becomes an issue, I guess she can pick whichever one of us the wants. Nappa will just have to make sure he survives long enough to contribute his DNA to the mix.'

Bulma decided that moment there was no way she was revealing Salda's secret. 'And if she wants none of you? What about the daughters? What if they don't want to be paired off amongst you?'

Vegeta clenched his jaw, working over the question in his head. 'If it ever gets that far, we'll deal with the problems as they arise,' he said eventually. 'But as there are no females to object, and it's getting more likely that there will never be, it's all just pointless conjecture, and I'm not giving the plan up for _possible_ issues. I wouldn't expect someone from a race with such a dearth of potential partners to understand.' He dropped the pieces of book and sat slumped, staring at the ground between his feet.

Bulma considered that what he said was true. If she never told him about Salda, he was probably never going to get his Saiyan brood and the Saiyan race would die out. An entire species extinct, not exactly on her hands, but she still felt a little guilty about it. Then again, maybe it was a good thing if the Saiyans were no more. She felt an unexpected sympathy for Vegeta as she settled on her resolution to let them die out. His plan, while typically high-handed and lacking in compassion, was in a way, noble.

'Hey,' she said softly. 'Don't you know who you're talking to? I'm...one of two humans left in the universe. We're even more endangered that you guys.'

Vegeta snorted but didn't look up. 'At least you have one male and female among you.'

Bulma flinched. 'No way! Krillin and I are never happening!'

He finally looked up, astonished. 'You would let your whole race die out because you didn't like the choice you were left with?'

Bulma knew she had no intention of letting her race die out, but she wasn't about to tell Vegeta that. 'You got it, Buddy! Krillin may be a friend, and he may think all his birthdays have come at once if I gave him the go ahead, but there is no way I am going to let him tap this,' she said, indicating her nightgown- and hoodie-encased self. 'Eurgh!'

He gave a short laugh and looked her up and down. 'Not even to make children?'

'I don't want kids, so no. Anyway, if we did, what are our children going to do? Marry each other? _That's_ a genetic bottleneck. Hey, wait a minute - is that part of it?' she asked, startled by the thought as it occurred to her. 'You want children?'

He laughed for real now. 'Do I look like someone pining to be knee-deep in squalling infants and untrained children?'

'No. Not really. I think you'd make a really terrible father,' she joked in return, although she wasn't really joking and he didn't seem to care.

'It would be the only way to begin rebuilding the Saiyan Empire, that is all.'

'Oh. I pity anyone who found themselves with you as their father.'

He grinned up at her, unashamed. 'Any child of mine would no doubt be gifted, and so I would give them no quarter in their raising or training. It would not be able to complain that it was not given the best chance in life.'

'But a father needs to do more than just _train_ their children. You mean train them to fight, don't you?' she asked, but then she saw him smirking and realised he was teasing her.

'Of course. For everything else, they will have their mothers, but they can't be allowed to grow too soft.'

'Wow, it's a hard knock life for a Saiyan kid,' she commented, and then stepped back as Vegeta stood up.

'Hardship hones the blade. That's why I'm so sharp,' he said, grinning at his own compliment as he gathered his blue fur and his blanket and headed for the door.

She followed him back to the exit, wondering how she managed to cheer Vegeta up with that conversation, but cheer him she had.

'Wait a minute,' she said to his back, digesting his last comment. 'What hardship honed you?'

He stopped on the rampway to answer her. 'Do you imagine that the creature responsible for taking me as a hostage and destroying my planet and people was a kind master?' he said, and she could barely see his face in the shadow, but she could hear the derision in his voice. Now that she thought of it, it _was_ kind of a stupid question.

'No. I was more thinking of the specifics,' she lied.

He was silent for a moment. 'Why?' he asked.

She shrugged. 'I don't know. Just trying to understand you better, I guess.'

The pause this time was even longer. Bulma started wondering if she'd transgressed some Saiyan taboo with that statement.

'Well, I don't understand you either, so we're even,' he said before walking out into the open air. She trailed him, remembering that she was still on watch and not doing a very good job.

'Hey, we saved you some dinner,' she told him.

'Where?'

She showed him the large covered stockpot that they'd left on the outer coals of the fire to keep warm, piled full of mash, meat and sauce. He used the pink oven mitts to pull it out off the coals and over to the fresh felled tree that was serving as a bench. Not having anything else to do, Bulma brought him the cutlery that had been set aside on the end of the log and sat beside him. He'd already started to eat with his fingers.

'Uh,' he said when she presented him with a fork and a spoon, then took them off her and set to in earnest.

''S good meat,' he said between mouthfuls.

'That's because Krillin helped cook it. He actually _seasoned_ the meat.' The smell of it was rather appealing actually. She had had only a mouthful of the meat at dinnertime, fearing that mystery alien beast might be poisonous or disagreeable, and just stuck to the mash and vegetables, but no one had gotten ill, and being up so late she'd gotten hungry again.

'Hey, can I have some of that?'

Vegeta halted mid-chomp, a strip of meat protruding from his lips as he stared at her in surprise. Bulma stared back at him, not sure why he was acting like this was a big deal, but after a moment Vegeta chewed and swallowed his mouthful and slowly inclined the pot towards her.

'Thanks,' she said, reaching in and pulling off a small hunk with some difficulty.

They ate in silence, or at least wordlessly, as Vegeta's untamed table manner was not all that quiet. When Bulma was done she sat looking out into the dark, checking the time on the coms unit occasionally. Her shift was about done.

Vegeta put down the empty pot and pushed it aside with his foot. He was feeling somewhat better with his stomach full and Bulma's company, even though she'd disparaged his plan. She seemed to have no compunctions about arguing against him. None of the others did so. Obviously he'd be less than pleased if they did; his will was accepted, or if it wasn't, like with Nappa today, there was consequences. He couldn't treat her the same way, and his threats didn't seem to stop her, but at the same time he could actually _debate_ with her. She still pissed him off, but didn't incense him like Nappa's questioning him did. He wondered why that was. All his life they're only been two positions he'd held – absolute control or absolute, teeth-grindingly humiliating servitude. With Bulma he held neither position.

She had actually made him question his own plan. He was right – the chances of putting it into action was very low, but she was right in that he hadn't really thought about how it would be for the female. When he imagined it at all, he imagined a faceless female stoically accepting her duty to stay pregnant for the rest of her childbearing years. After what Bulma had said he found himself inexplicably imagining Nappa pinning Bulma down while she fought and screamed…He shuddered. That made no sense – it wasn't even going to _be_ Bulma, but now when he thought of a female, he thought of her.

He looked at her profile as she stared into the night, her expression blank and relaxed. She certainly seemed to be getting comfortable around him lately. Even having the cheek to ask for some of his food! True, he'd known she wouldn't take much, and he'd had enough in that pot to spare and not go hungry, but he'd still had to struggle with himself to offer her any. He wondered why he struggled at all – if anyone else had asked for some of his food he'd have told them to get lost. And if any of the others had been watching he definitely wouldn't have given her any. That he had made him feel an odd thrill, like a slightly naughty secret shared between them. He eyed the low neck of her nightshirt, where the upper slopes of her breasts invited the gaze lower. He had a sudden urge to press his face there like Tarble had, and shook his head at his own errant thoughts. He was used to ignoring these kinds of thoughts about the random female aliens that crossed his path, but ever since he the first night he had spied on Bulma through the window of her bedroom they'd been occurring more and more. She'd been dressed for bed in silk boxers and flimsy sleeveless shirt, sitting cross-legged in her chair by her desk, talking on a communication device in one hand and soldering circuitry with the other. He wondered if those short, silky pyjamas were going to make an appearance on the journey to Namek...

 _Dammit, I really am turning into Nappa and Raditz!_ he scolded himself as he dragged his mind away from its contemplation of her body and back to other aspects of her self.

'I'm not sure I've ever heard you keep your mouth shut for so long,' he observed.

Bulma's head snapped round to glare at him and her mouth popped open to retort, but then she closed it again, refusing to rise to his baiting. Instead she put her nose in the air.

Vegeta grinned, then sniggered. 'It suits you.'

'Go to hell,' she spat back, her aloofness failing at the first hurdle. Vegeta laughed. And then the unit in her hand began to cheep cheerfully.

'What's that?' she asked. 'Does that mean my watch is up?'

Vegeta stared in horror for a full five seconds before he could get his breath to come back enough to shout.

'EVERYBODY UP! Freiza is in range!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Uh oh! Cliffhanger!
> 
> Hey, did you know that the We're Just Saiyan Community and the Unnatural Lovers website are holding the first Semi-Annual Feature Awards for Bulma and Vegeta fan fiction and fan art? Check out www.unnaturallovers.com to make nominations and later to vote. Nominations are open to the 29th of September 2014.


	22. The B Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey everybody! It's been a while, huh? Or a while for me, anyway. In the midst of a lot of crazy I got three chapters done, phew! Unfortunately, once I've posted these three I've got nothing! I'll just have to drag it out a bit.
> 
> You may have heard, but this story got second place in the Best Bulma Portrayal category of the We're Just Saiyan BV Fan Fiction and Fan Art awards. Yay! It was also nominated for Best Action. One of my other stories, my first, Broken Down Universe, picked up first place for Best Drama and Best Alternative Universe as well as second place in the Best Action category, so I'm chuffed :D Thanks to all who nominated and voted for me!
> 
> Once again, the gracious Adli has beta-ed for me. We decided to change up the format of the this chapter and the next two. I can't wait to hear what people think of this one.

'They're tracking us! Somehow they're tracking us, that's the only explanation!' roared Vegeta, pulling at his hair as he paced the flight deck. They had evacuated from the planet in less than five minutes and were already outside the solar system and still accelerating. Vegeta was certain the engineers on Frieza's ship would have picked up their fusion drive's power spike as the powered away – Raditz had pulled out all the stops – and he had meant to destroy the entire planet from space to cover their tracks when they were done on it, but their tracks didn't seem to matter anymore. Frieza obviously knew exactly where to look for them and caught up to them _again_ , and this time Frieza's ship was less than a day behind them. They were being tracked like prey, and the wolf was almost on their heels. There was no point in covering tracks at this point, just running. At faster-than-light speeds it was impossible for any kind of detection as far as he knew, and that was the only shield they had, as Frieza's ship was faster than theirs.

'But we have brand new, civilian pods,' said Nappa. 'We didn't use the transmission functions on the scouters. How else would they track us? As far as I know, those are the only ways that the PTO kept tabs on its soldiers.'

'I don't know, but they are,' snarled Vegeta. 'Passive trackers?' He took his scouter off. For all he knew, it was a liability. He looked up at the others. Tarble, Krillin and Bulma were pale and still blinking with shock. Kakarott yawned. Nappa and Raditz looked strained and ruffled, having dressed in a panic and their scouters were askew.

'Take off your scouters,' he told them. 'And your armour. In fact, everything that came from our days in the PTO. Your boots, your clothes.'

Nappa's mouth opened in shock. 'You don't think…?'

'Yes, I do.'

Hurriedly they stripped on the flight deck.

'Oh, jeez!' exclaimed Bulma as even their underwear was discarded, and covered her eyes with her hands. Even the daemon covered her eyes.

'Tarble, you too,' said Vegeta. 'That battlesuit is from my time with Frieza.'

He led them down to the airlock, angry that he hadn't thought of this before now and that it had come down to discarding the very shirt off his back to get free of his old master!

They threw the clothes into the airlock, gathering more gear sprinkled here and there around the ship, and then Vegeta closed the door, using the control panel to set the airlock to purge its contents. With a muffled whump, the last remnants of his days as Frieza's slave shot out into space.

'Well, what the hell am I going to wear now?' complained Nappa.

* * *

Bulma had covered her eyes when it became clear that the Saiyans were going full-frontal, but she had let herself peek, only to immediately regret doing so when she saw a part of Nappa that she never wanted to.

'Ouch, my eyes,' moaned Krillin as the Saiyans tumbled down the stairs.

Bulma used the Saiyans' absence to fill Goku, Krillin and Puar in on some of what she had learnt yesterday from Tarble, Vegeta and the overhead conversation between Nappa, Raditz and Tarble. She didn't mention Salda to them – it didn't seem necessary, plus she felt a small sense of responsibility to keep Salda's secret.

After half an hour or so, it was clear that the others weren't coming back up.

'Goku, go and see if it's safe to go downstairs,' Bulma instructed. 'And by "safe" I mean "is everyone wearing clothes",' she added.

Goku went down and reappeared a moment later. 'Everyone is dressed, that I can see,' he said.

They went back down and saw that the couch cushions were flung haphazardly on the floor. Raditz was stretched out and was trying to get back to sleep, and Tarble already looked asleep, but Vegeta was not. He was sitting on the wooden floor, hunched forward with his arms resting on his knees, staring out one of the bubble-shaped windows, bare-chested, but wearing the black jeans Krillin had bought for Vegeta's Earth disguise.

The Earthlings began sorting through the cushions and furs to make their second bed of the night, but as Bulma was about to lay her head down she hesitated, watching Vegeta. He was glowering at the stars; the small amount of humour he'd shown earlier that night was destroyed. She hadn't been trying to cheer him up before, but even so, she felt her unintended effort had been wasted.

She got up and joined him at the window. He glanced at her in surprise and then frowned, going back to looking at the stars.

'What is it?' he asked rudely.

'You should try and sleep, or you'll be exhausted in the morning.'

'Why would you care about how I feel?'

Bulma pouted, unseen by Vegeta. 'I just don't want you grumpier than you need to be. You're bad enough as it is.' She was thinking about the bad news she was going to have to deliver. It could wait the night, but probably shouldn't be ignored for too much longer, and she'd prefer Vegeta not to be already cranky when she told him. And, if she was completely honest with herself, she felt a little sorry for him and didn't want to heap more sorrows on his plate.

He rolled his eyes. 'Yes, the most powerful being in the universe - who has taken everything from me including, now, the shirt off my back - wants to kill me and is coming closer and closer to doing so, and it's making me " _grumpy"_ ,' he answered cuttingly.

Bulma sat down, letting his manner slide for once, as it was true that he had a lot to be unhappy about. She did too, but at least Frieza wasn't personally bent on her blood. And how long had Vegeta lived on the run?

'When did you first break away from Frieza?' she asked.

Vegeta grunted, playing with a fold of denim at the ankle of his jeans. 'About two and a half galactic years,' he said. 'Since I was a little younger than Tarble.'

Bulma mentally adjusted – if he was about 18 Earth years now, this meant he'd broken out of Frieza's service when he was about 14 and a half. How did a 14 year-old boy warrant three and a half years of pursuit by a galactic overlord?

'Why is he after you, anyway?' she asked him. 'If he rules the galaxy like you say, surely he has better things to do?'

Vegeta's frown receded for a moment and he pressed his lips together, like he was trying not to smile.

'I tried to kill him,' he said. 'Obviously I failed – it was a spur of the moment thing – but I did cost him the end of his tail, and well as a ship and crew, a star system and quite a lot of potential clients.'

Bulma was taken aback by the list. She had forgotten for a moment that Vegeta would have been no ordinary fourteen year-old boy. 'How did you manage _that_?'

He turned to her, a strange delight making his black eyes glitter. 'Soon after Zarbon let slip that it had been Frieza that destroyed my planet, not a meteor storm like Frieza had told me, Frieza went to meet some very wealthy clients on a planet he was about to auction. Dodoria and Zarbon were both busy with uprisings in various other parts of the galaxy, and Frieza took me along as his pet brute to impress the clients with. On the way there, Frieza's intelligence service informed him that a rebel stronghold disguised as a refuge-ark had been detected not far away. We had already known that this ship existed and the rebels on board were attempting to develop a weapon powerful enough to threaten the Cold Empire. Of course, Frieza didn't truly believe they were capable, but he sent me along with Nappa and Raditz to retrieve whatever weapons technology we could and destroy the ship.'

He sighed and shifted, the movement of his shoulder drawing Bulma's attention to a puckered scar on the back of it. Just as she was wondering how he got that one she noticed that there were other, fainter scars here and there all over his back.

'I wanted badly to flee Frieza's service at the time,' he continued. 'As we made our way to the ship I even considered joining the rebels. We took one of the smaller interception ships rather than our attack balls and tried to talk our way on board, saying we were fellow rebels, but they didn't believe us, unfortunately for them, as they were in no way up to repelling us by force. Once on board we were shown to the lab and I forced a confession of one of the scientists involved with the project. They had designed a trigger for a singularity, no bigger than my head, that could be smuggled and detonated on a timer or remotely.'

'Woah, wait a sec!' Bulma interrupted, struggling to decide which thought to pursue first. 'A singularity? You mean, a black-hole in a box? How is that even possible?'

'That's exactly what it was, and don't ask me how. I'm not trained in such things.'

'No, you're trained in "forcing" confessions,' she said acidly.

Vegeta nodded. 'Exactly.'

Bulma was angered by his attitude. 'Those people could have been your allies! Why didn't you work with them? What did you do to them?' She sympathised with the rebel scientist-refugees – after all, it was not a million miles from her own situation.

'Like I said, they wouldn't trust us. They recognised me. I decided to move ahead without their co-operation. As for what happened to them – who knows? Most of them survived our contact and I allowed them to flee in life preserving pods.'

'Uh!' gasped Bulma. ' _Most_ survived? Why are you _so_ brutal? I don't think you should have killed anyone!' she said bluntly.

'Yes, I've noticed how your heart bleeds for others,' he said, getting annoyed in return. 'It must be uncomfortable walking around bearing everyone else's pain as well as your own.'

'Doesn't your heart feel _anything_ for anyone else?' she retorted. No one had ever accused her of being over-empathetic before. She'd been called generous, but more often she was called self-absorbed and self-interested, and yet she was a saint beside Vegeta. 'How can you just _kill_ someone because they happen to be in the way of your goal?'

'Because no one matters to me besides me, of course.'

'Well…no one else matters to me _as much_ as me, but everyone else still matters quite a lot! I look out for my friends and I'd never kill innocent people! Don't you want your friends to look out for you and strangers not to try and kill you in return?'

'I look out for myself,' he said, turning away from her again, looking out the window. 'If anyone else places undue value on my life, that's their problem.'

'Oh, so Nappa and Raditz and Tarble stick by you just because it's _fun_ , do they? Got nothing better to do?'

His frown came back full force and he gave her a scathing glance. 'Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not, Girl?'

She glared right back at him, and after a hesitation in which she considered continuing the argument, she replied, 'I do, so get on with it. What happened when you got the black-hole box-bomb?'

'I took it with me, and foolishly decided to try and end Frieza that very day. We landed our ship on the planet as the auction was in process, then instead of reporting to Frieza I set the singularity to detonate and instructed an aide to deliver it to him at the close of the auction. We jumped into pods and fled.' Vegeta grinned again. He looked quietly proud of himself. 'When the thing went off, it sucked in the auction, the planet, Frieza's old ship and crew, the sun and the rest of the solar system in a matter of minutes. Frieza was probably still enjoying the canapés when it began.'

'What? But if Frieza survived he _couldn't_ have been there when it detonated,' she objected. 'The force of a black hole swallowing a solar system would be astronomical, no pun intended! Nothing would get away from it!'

'No, he was there all right. I saw him with my own eyes before setting the timer. But he survived, out of everything in that star system, minus his tail. That was torn off and swallowed by the black hole.'

'That's impossible!'

'No, it's not. At least not for Frieza. I always knew he was unbelievably strong, but until then I didn't know just _how_ strong.'

Bulma moaned softly as she realised that their enemy was even more invincible than she had thought.

'We retreated to a way station until word of Frieza's fate got back to us. It took a couple of days for the PTO to figure out what had happened and why there was a black hole where their lord should be. When the news broke we flew to the nearest PTO base planet to take it over. I announced that I had killed Frieza.' Vegeta's lips pressed together in displeasure. 'It turned out to be a little premature.'

'But how did he survive?' she asked. 'Even if he somehow flew out of the maw of a black hole, how would he survive in space?'

'It seems Frieza can survive in the cold of space indefinitely. At the very least the week it took him to fly to the nearest planet.'

'What the hell is he?' Bulma gasped. 'The universe's most powerful cockroach?'

Vegeta chuckled. 'If a cockroach is the same thing to me as it is to you – then yes.'

'So I guess you told everyone you'd killed him and then he showed up?'

'Luckily not on the same planet that we were on. When the news got back to us we took a ship and fled. Frieza labelled me a terrorist. He's been bent on revenge ever since. No one else has ever been able to lay a finger on him.' Vegeta's mouth began to turn up in smile again, which he was trying to stifle. 'He was shocked to say the least.' He looked up at her, as if daring her to challenge his pride over the matter.

'How is he ever going to be defeated?' she said, feeling more overwhelmed than ever. If she, Goku and Krillin won the wish to bring all the people of Earth back to life, what was to stop Frieza turning up and killing them all over again when it came time to auction their planet?

'Leave it to me,' said Vegeta softly. 'One day, I will tear him down from his throne.'

'What about another black-hole bomb?' she suggested. 'A bigger one that he couldn't outrun? Could you find those scientists again?'

'No,' he said, almost cutting her off. 'Even if I could, I wouldn't. Frieza was right – that trap was an act of terrorism, a dishonourable tactic and not a warrior's one. Terrorism is not how I intend to take him down.'

'How then?' she asked, hope and doubt warring for the upper hand in her heart.

'Complete mastery,' he said, his eyes growing distant as they fixed on some far away point in time. 'I will challenge and destroy him in combat, and then the whole galaxy shall know its true master.'

Bulma's fledgling hope faltered. She'd never heard such an excessively egomaniacal statement before. She wasn't sure if he was serious or joking for a second, but the transcendental anticipation on his face convinced her he was serious, and she leaned away from it involuntarily. Was she looking at the future tyrant of the galaxy? Or a delusional egotist? Vegeta must be talking of the Super Saiyan legend again, but after today, hearing Nappa doubt its reality, she was even less convinced than the first time she heard it. She knew Vegeta was powerful beyond anything an Earthling could dream of, but was he enough to take on Frieza? She _hoped_ that he could – someone needed to after all - but she didn't like the sound of Vegeta as the new galactic overlord. In fact, it was preposterous.

'Okay, I believe you,' she lied in the end. 'But someone very wise told me staying up all night worrying won't achieve anything, so you may as well go to bed and get some rest in.' She didn't mention that the wise person she was paraphrasing was Goku.

She returned to her nest of fur and blanket in the pit of the lounge, and to her satisfaction, after a few moments Vegeta followed, settling himself beside her in silence apart for commanding the holo-fire off. It bothered to her to think of him brooding alone at the window while the rest of them tried to sleep. Perhaps it was because his worry reminded her of her own? She wasn't sure. She just knew that he held himself apart from everyone else, and that didn't seem like a good thing.

She lay there in the dark listening to him breathing and wondered at how quickly the extraordinary became ordinary. This journey had begun with wanting to have a slumber party, and now every night was one big sleepover, although no one was having much fun or pillow fights.

When she thought about it, she'd been so lucky to have Goku and Krillin there the night that Vegeta turned her world upside down. It was just dumb luck that Goku had turned up on her doorstep the morning before her parents left for the conference. He had been passing through West City on his wild-child training routine of travelling the world, getting in and out of trouble. She'd been slightly worried about spending the night home alone while she felt like she was being watched and followed (which she had actually been right about). She'd decided to make a party of it and called Krillin and Yamcha at Master Roshi's house to see if they'd like to visit too. Krillin was already on the mainland buying supplies, so Master Roshi let him know over the hoverjet's radio, and Krillin was at Capsule Corp in an hour. Yamcha was still on Turtle Island, and even though it was going to take him hours to get there, he decided to come anyway – they hadn't seen each other for nearly two weeks. It had been much easier being his girlfriend when he'd lived at her house…

How much scarier would this have been if she'd been alone? Or…perhaps Vegeta would not have revealed himself at all if Yamcha hadn't lopped his tail off? Then Frieza would have come to Earth and she wouldn't even be on this ship with a chance to save Earth's people! She supposed there were worse places she could be than dossing with a bunch of super-powered alien males and sleeping next to a guy who was serious about wanting to rule the galaxy.

Thinking about that last day at home reminded her of her phantom. Was Vegeta really the one who had haunted her in her dreams? The one who comforted and thrilled her with his presence? How could that even be? She would always wake up with her chest aching with a sweet and painful yearning after those dreams. When it had started she thought she might be missing Yamcha, but it definitely wasn't Yamcha in the dreams.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to see Vegeta in the dark. The light from the stars outside the window and the dim safety strip outlined his sharp cheekbone and jawline. The frown still hadn't quite left his face even though his eyes were closed. His nose was sharp too, but quite short. The only part of his face that looked soft was his lips. He didn't have a wide mouth, but his lips looked enticing, the lower lip fuller than the top. She could imagine kissing those lips, if only they didn't belong to Vegeta.

She could imagine this face on her phantom too, but not the boy behind it. Not the one who killed so lightly. Looking at him she felt that yearning again and was utterly confused by it. The dreams must have been ordinary dreams that never meant anything at all, because they couldn't have meant _this_. Sure, he was a prince, and he was brooding and dangerous and kind of a little exciting in that way, not completely unlike the dreams. He was a precocious young tyrant on an adventure…but the adventure was a lot darker than her dreams, and so was he. He was…in almost every definition, a bad guy, as Goku said.

On the other hand, she couldn't help feeling sorry for him after today. He'd had awful things happen to him, done to him, and he'd has his dreams dashed, had his home and family taken from him, would never have children or a partner of his own species, and even his closest companions didn't truly believe in him. She sighed, not sure what to think of him at all, nor the ache in her chest. She must be longing for something that didn't exist.

Vegeta's eyes opened and Bulma jumped an inch with shock. He looked rather surprised too, but they both froze, almost holding their breath. Bulma opened her mouth to offer an excuse for being caught staring at him, but couldn't come up with a single thing. After an agonising moment, feeling a blush coming on, she rolled onto her back and shut her eyes without saying anything. Vegeta looked on for a second before turning away himself. It took her a really long time to fall asleep.

* * *

o

* * *

Yamcha didn't know how long he'd been standing in this queue, but it seemed like a long time. A very long time, though it was difficult to pinpoint exactly when his waiting had begun. Come to think of it, he had no memory of how he got there. Where _was_ "here" anyway?

Looking around for the first time to actually take his surroundings in, rather than just obliviously accepting them, he saw that he was in a very strange place indeed. It was alarming, in fact. He stood on a narrow span of pale marble that swooped and curved like a drunken snake ahead of him, disappearing into a golden haze up ahead. Lined up along it were what he had assumed to be people, but now he realised were just puffs of cloud. What was going on? Turning to look behind him he saw the pathway stretch away out of the light and into darkness, unsupported by any braces or pillars that he could see, with more puffballs lined up on it. Far below were the crowns of thick clouds, golden in the light and touched with the pinkness of the setting sun, though Yamcha felt he had been here for a very long time, and still the sun had not set. Rather, night was behind him.

An uneasy feeling coiled in his belly. Whereas before he had been content to wait indefinitely without a thought in his head, which was sinister in itself, now he was filled with urgency. Something bad had happened, but what was it? He tried to remember what he had been doing before he came here, and it was quite an effort for some reason. Bulma had gone missing. Yes, that was bad - he remembered now! She'd run off in the night with Puar and Goku and Krillin with an _alien_. And he had been helping her parents track her down. He'd been at their house, they were all very worried, and the police hadn't turned anything up. He'd searched by hoverjet in the direction he'd seen them go for hours and found nothing. He was about to go out again to a town in the North where Bulma had used her credit card to buy a lot of bakery products when the ground had shook with an explosion. The adrenalin-soaked minutes after they realised the city was under attack swept over him all at once, returning the fear of those moments to him. Aliens had attacked the city! He'd tried to hold the invaders off while Dr and Mrs Briefs escaped, but they had insisted on evacuating their animals and...

He clutched his chest. He'd been hit, very badly. He still remembered the impact and the furious burning as the chi slammed into him, and then...and then...?

'I'm not dead am I?' he asked, in a panic.

'You look pretty healthy to me, kid,' said a man's voice behind him. Yamcha spun around, but there was nothing but a misty cloud there.

'Did you just speak?' he asked it, sure he was going mad.

'Yeah,' it replied. 'Are you feeling okay?

'Not really,' said Yamcha, turning and looking forward down the line ahead of him. The whole queue shuffled forward a few spaces. Wherever they were headed, Yamcha wanted and needed answers _now_. He tried to step around the cloud in front of him.

'Excuse me, are you blind?' said a woman's angry voice. 'This is a queue, young man! Where you raised in a barn?'

'No, I...sorry...' said Yamcha. Now he _really_ didn't know what to do. He wanted to know what was going on, but he also didn't want to be rude. _I wish Puar were here_ , he thought. _Or anyone, really_.

He was just steeling himself to push past the opinionated wisps of vapour when he heard a new voice behind him.

'Yamcha Bandit – there you are.'

Yamcha looked back and then up, but wasn't prepared for what he saw. A tall, old man appeared to be floating in the air next to the marble bridge, but perhaps more remarkable than that was that he had green skin with armoured yellow patches on his arms and two antennae sticking out either side of his forehead between his enormous pointed ears.

'You're an alien!' he gasped in shock, wondering if he would have to fight another one.

'Yes, and I am also Kami, the Guardian of the Earth,' the man replied levelly.

'Kami?' Yamcha repeated. 'Am I injured and having a dream in a hospital bed?'

'No, I'm afraid it's much more serious than that,' replied Kami.

' _I'm dead?_ '

'Yes. And I've been looking for you.'

'Bulma's parents!' he exclaimed. 'Did they survive?'

'No. They are not far behind you in the queue.'

'No! How many people were killed?' he asked.

'All of them,' said Kami, and looked at him very sternly.

'What do you mean, all of them?'

'All the people on Earth.'

'What?' There was no comprehending that.

'Come with me,' said Kami while Yamcha was still gaping and blinking. 'I have a use for you.'

Kami took him gently by the shoulder, and Yamcha rose into the air as if he had all the substance of a balloon. He looked down at his feet only to find that they weren't there – he had assumed he'd been standing, but now he found that his body just faded out to nothing but wisps of cloud where his legs should be.

'Eeeiii!' he shrieked.

'Settle down, boy,' said Kami, seeing his distress. 'If all goes to plan you will have your body back soon enough.'

Yamcha panted through his panic and then forced himself to push through to more pressing matters. Okay, he was dead. After what happened he shouldn't be surprised that he was dead, but he was terrified about what that meant, though apparently nothing painful so far. At least he had company – _the whole of Earth's population!_

Kami sped them past the hanging pathway which looped and curved lazily towards the sun. Yamcha caught snatches of banal small talk from the waiting...souls, he supposed they were.

'Why are they so calm?' he asked. 'Don't they know they're dead?'

'Not yet,' said Kami. 'For the most part they are unconscious and content in their situation. For some, their suffering is over and they will find peace. For many, it is just a welcome break between torments. After their souls are purified they are sent back to the world in new bodies. Or they would do, if there were any births happening on Earth, which at the moment, there isn't.'

'Is Puar down there?' Yamcha asked, suddenly desperate for his friends. 'And Bulma? Goku and Krillin?'

'Ah,' said the old man. 'They are not. They are the few that survived this cataclysm, as they were not on Earth at the time of the incursion.'

'What?' cried Yamcha, not sure if he should be glad or upset by this news, but definitely feeling lonely. 'Where are they?'

'I'm not sure at this time. They were just above the outer atmosphere in a spaceship last I knew, but...' Kami gestured above himself with his free hand, drawing attention to the halo that hovered above him. 'I'm a bit out of the loop now as I was killed also.'

'But you're god!'

'I was a Guardian. But not an immortal one.'

'But...who's in charge of the universe then if you're dead?'

'There are immortals at higher stations than I. Very soon you are about to meet one of them.'

Yamcha's limited personal theology was turned on its head, but he kept silent as he digested this. Out of the setting sun he could now make a shape up ahead of a grand pagoda that the marble path led too. Other paths joined it, and beyond the building other shapes of structures could be dimly made out from the afternoon haze. They came closer and closer to the pagoda and it was clear that Kami was taking him to the shaded opening.

'Is this Heaven?'

'This is the gateway to the Next World,' replied Kami, then they entered the building. Immediately they were engulfed with the sounds of frantic hustle. Men and women with various unearthly shades of skin rushed around with clipboards, cajoling and instructing disembodied souls hither and thither. Over it all a voice boomed down from overhead, droning in an exhausted manner, 'Above, below, above, ah...let me look you up...below!' Kami set him down amongst a group of anxious-looking people with wisps for legs like himself, one of whom was Master Roshi.

'Master Roshi!' he cried with some relief, and his teacher slapped a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face another old man.

'Here's one of mine,' Roshi announced. 'This one shows promise. He's not even the best of my students but he still qualifies, so how's that?'

'What?' said Yamcha looking back and forth between his master and the other old man that looked like he'd just sucked a lemon. The two men were staring each other down.

'I'm sure even your best pupil would be no match for mine,' replied the old man. He was wearing a strange skullcap, which curved to a point on the top and had a tassel hanging off it. His grey hair curved out and up on either side of his head in a whimsical style that was at odds with the face it framed. 'Tien Shinhan is the most startling talent I've come across since my own, and should one of your students go up against Chiaotzu, they are in for a nasty surprise.'

Yamcha eyed the two boys that stood next to him. One was tall, about his own age, with a shaved head and three eyes. The other was much small and younger with a very pale face and red cheeks that made him look like on old-fashioned china doll. The older was smirking smugly at Yamcha, but little one just stared at him dolefully. Both of them and the old man wore identical green silk tunics with yellow sleeves and a large symbol for a crane embroidered on the front. _Such wierdos_ , he thought to himself.

'Hmm. Yamcha can hold his own,' said Master Roshi, which Yamcha felt was not a very ringing endorsement.

'Who's that guy?' Yamcha whispered to his master.

'My old nemesis,' Roshi replied quietly. 'Shen, the Crane Master, and a first rate ass.'

'Don't call me an ass, you old pervert!' Shen retorted.

'Enough!' commanded Kami. 'I have not gathered you here to make egotistical comparisons or fight or any such thing. We are here only for the good of the Earth. Stand in silence if you cannot behave respectfully – you're embarrassing me.'

Roshi flinched and looked behind him. Following his master's lead, Yamcha looked back and up too. There was a half enclosed room made of wood behind them with some dark, chunky columns on weird protruding plinths. As he was watching the columns shifted, lifting up and crossing each other smoothly and Yamcha yelped with fright. They were legs!

'Yeah, Kami, if you can get your group to keep it down, that'd be good. It's been a tough few days here,' said the booming voice. Yamcha looked higher to the source of the noise and was stunned with such shock that he was saved from embarrassing himself by screaming due to his momentary paralysis. A simply enormous face was leaning over the top of the room, which Yamcha now reassessed as a desk for a giant. The giant had bright red skin, white horns, a bushy black beard, and perhaps strangest of all, a purple pinstripe suit.

'King Yemma,' he read from the name tag on the giant desk.

 _King Yemma is real?_ he thought to himself. _Too much, too much!_

'Ah, here is Baba now,' said Kami, looking in completely the other direction. Yamcha turned and saw someone he thought he'd never have to meet again – that hard-nosed fortune-teller Baba, her lined old face grim with purpose.

'Got 'em,' she croaked. She was floating on her crystal ball towing a startled looking kid in each hand, and when she got to their circle she let go of them. One was a fat boy with a shock of messy black hair and a narrow squint, and the other was a girl in an armoured bikini, cloak and blade-topped helmet.

Yamcha realised he knew her as she looked around in fright. Her eyes locked onto Roshi's.

'I know you!' she cried. 'You're Daddy's old martial arts master!'

'Oh, Chichi!' said Roshi. 'Guess I'm surprised that you're here and not your father.' Then he muttered so that only Yamcha heard, 'Thought maybe I shouldn't be; your father was always one to take his foot off the pedal whenever he had the chance.'

'These are the Earth's finest?' complained the other old man. 'We may as well not have bothered waiting. They will only slow me and my students down.'

'Well, with Krillin and Goku not dead, we'll have to make do,' replied Roshi.

'What the heck is going on?' asked the boy. 'And why have I got no legs?'

'A very pertinent question, young Yajirobe,' replied Kami. 'You seven have been gathered here because you are Earth's strongest _dead_ warriors.'

Yamcha felt a flame of pride kindle in his chest. He was one of Earth's strongest! Only Goku and Krillin were missing! Then again, he looked at Chichi whose lip was trembling, Yajirobe and Chiaotzu and reflected that the bar didn't seem to be set that high.

'My superior, the great King Kai of the Northern Galaxy has suggested a plan. He shall take five of you to train to become Earth's protectors.'

Earth's protector! Yamcha liked the sound of that. Although, it did sound like a lot of responsibility.

'You can count me out, then,' huffed Yajarobe. 'I _hate_ training.'

'Just show me to my enemies,' said Tien. 'I shall crush them.'

'None of you are any match yet for your enemies,' Kami warned, 'but we hope, in time you will be able to provide a stop gap.'

'What do you mean, a stop gap?' asked Yamcha. It didn't sound like saving the world.

'A small group of survivors are on a mission to a distant planet to use a set of dragonballs there to wish the Earth's population back to life. Should they be successful the Earth's population will be resurrected, but unprotected, at a time when they are now known to a very powerful enemy indeed. Lord Frieza has plans to sell our planet to the highest bidder now that he has depopulated it.'

This news raised a gasp of shock from all of them.

'Though in order for your training to be of any use at all, the first team must prevail. You may know some of the youngsters on their way to Namek. Goku, Krillin-'

'Bulma and Puar!' Yamcha finished for him.

'That's right,' replied Kami.

'Oh, Goku!' said Chichi. 'If anyone could do it, I'm sure it's him!'

Yamcha snorted as the same thought ran through his own mind. 'So they are the A-Team, and we are the B-Team?' he asked. That figured. No matter what he seemed to do he hadn't managed to catch up to Goku yet. He wished he was with that team, with his best friends and his girlfriend, but no. He was with this bunch of misfits.

'You could say so,' said Kami, 'in that one's task comes first and the other's second. Now to the matter of who receives the training. Now that I see you all before me I am reluctant to send Roshi and Shen. Though they are indeed powerful I fear they may be at their full potential.'

'What?' said Roshi. 'I've still got fight left in me!'

'That may be,' said Kami, 'But even if you get your body back, it's old. I doubt it could survive the training or improve with it.'

Roshi and Shen both looked aghast and Yamcha felt embarrassed for his master. Baba burst out in a cackle of laughter.

'I don't know what you're laughing about; you're at least a hundred years older than me, sister!' said Roshi.

'Yes, but I know I'm old,' she replied.

'Ah,' said Roshi, considering. 'You have a point, Kami. Saving the world is a young man's game. I'd be glad to hand over the responsibility this time.'

'Stop taking credit for other men's deeds,' said Shen.

'I've saved the world more times that you, Shen!'

'I've just been looking through the books for these two,' said King Yemma from above. 'They're both long overdue, plus their both destined for Hell – one in the upper reaches and one closer to the lower. I'd be less than willing to grant them their bodies back, especially Shen's.'

Master Roshi and Shen both made sounds of dismay.

'I warned you, Roshi,' chided Baba. 'Polluting your mind with your videos and magazines, of course your soul is going to need a little purifying!'

Yemma's massive voice boomed out again. 'Baba, I always enjoy your visits, but I'm warning you now – if you die with your life the way it's been lately, you'll suffer the same fate as your brother.'

Now Roshi laughed at his sister's embarrassment. 'Guess that's what you get for being a money-worshipping tight-wad!'

'Huh. A girl's gotta eat, you know.' sniffed Baba. For the first time Yamcha realised the she didn't have a halo over her head.

'Very well,' said Kami. 'The five youngest of you shall attempt the journey to King Kai.'

' _Attempt?_ ' said Yamcha before he could stop himself interrupting god.

'That's right. You must make your way along Snake Way, an arduous journey, I've been told.'

'Boring too,' added King Yemma.

'Are there dangers along the way?' asked Tien of the giant.

'Not particularly.'

'Challenges? Tests?'

'No. Well, not really. The only challenge is to stay on the road. If you give up and jump off, or fall off at any time you'll fall straight into Hell, and I'm afraid there's no way back but the usual cycle of purification and rebirth.'

'That doesn't sound so hard,' said Tien.

'Well, isn't that a cocky attitude?' said Yemma. 'I am the _only_ person who has ever made it to the end of Snake Way, and I was already a lot stronger than you pipsqueaks when I did it.'

'I'm very sorry for his impertinence,' said Kami, surprising Yamcha with his deferential manner. 'He has no idea to whom he speaks.'

King Yemma harrumphed and then settled his chin in his hand. 'For the sake of the Earth you have my permission to take the road, but don't say I didn't warn you. I suppose you'll be needing your bodies then, even though you don't have sufficient life energy to retain them naturally after death.' He sucked in breath, shaking his head at them all. 'This is a waste, Kami, but I suppose it gets you all out of my office quicker...' He opened a ledger and flicked through a few pages. 'Tien Shinhan, Yamcha Bandit, Chiaotzu Emperor, Chichi the Ox Princess and Yajirobe Ronin,' he said, punctuating each name with a massive rubber stamp that he slammed into the pages of the ledger.

'Hey, I didn't volunteer for this!' said Yajirobe, but it was too late. With a sudden sensation of weight dropping into his gut, Yamcha felt his feet place solidly on the ground. His body was back, including the gi he'd been wearing when he died. There was a large charred hole in the middle of the chest. Tien's tunic became shredded and scorched as well, and Yajirobe was barely decent in his rags. Chichi looked down her self and moaned with horror – her bikini and cloak were both stained dark red with blood.

'You kids are a mess!' said Baba. 'Can't you fix them up, King Yemma?'

'I suppose so,' moaned the giant, and picked up a gavel and slammed it home into its pestle. At the crack of the hammer, Yamcha and the others' clothes were mended. 'Now, you five, follow my assistant ogre. He'll take you to Snake Way. The rest of you take a seat while I get you sorted and out of my office.' King Yemma sat back and began turning the leaves of the massive ledger again, and Yamcha turned to Master Roshi, feeling disorientated by the sudden turning of events.

'Well, I guess this is it,' said Roshi. He gave Yamcha a pat on the shoulder and a very serious look. 'Three of my students off to save the world. Do your best, Yamcha, but keep an eye on those Crane School students. Their master is a nasty piece of work, and I'd be surprised if that hasn't rubbed off on them.' Yamcha glanced over at them, and they were receiving their own parting words from their master. Yamcha wondered if they were perhaps the exact opposite of what Roshi was telling him now.

'Master Roshi, will I ever see you again?'

'I guess that's up to Goku and you and the others.'

Yamcha felt even more weight settle in his belly. 'Yeah, I suppose you're right.'

'Can't I say goodbye to my Daddy first?' said Chichi. Yamcha looked to his side where Chichi was standing alone, looking distraught, speaking to no one in particular. Tears pooled in her eyes. 'I never got to say goodbye.'

'I'm afraid there's no way,' said Kami gently, but he was soon jostled aside by a man with powder blue skin and a horn protruding from the very top of his head. If it hadn't been for these two quirks he would have looked like any other office junior from West City.

'Can those of you travelling Snake Way follow me please,' he said, turning heel almost immediately and heading to the door on the far side of the hall.

Chichi gasped, and Roshi grabbed Yamcha's arm, leaning in close to say, 'Take care of the Ox King's daughter, too, as I afraid no one else will. Oh, and the Yajirobe kid too. It pays to have friends at times like these.'

'I will,' he said, and Roshi had time for just one last thing to say. 'Chichi, chin up, girl! You're father is going to be very proud of you. Stick with Yamcha here – he's not a bad sort.'

And then they had to hurry after the ogre who had disappeared out of sight. Yamcha followed the back of Tien and Chiaotzu out into the sunlight with the weeping Chichi on his heels. Yajirobe came last, being forcibly pushed by another ogre.

'Don't I have any choice in this at all?' he was protesting, but the door was slammed behind him. 'Jeez. I might've wanted to stay dead for all they knew! No one even asked!'

The blue skinned ogre was waiting for them behind the wheel of a car, and Yamcha had a moment when he thought he'd actually lost his mind when he saw it. Apparently Other world denizens had a liking for luxury saloon cars. Tien and Chiaotzu were already in the front seat so the other three got in the back.

'So,' said the ogre, cheerfully. 'I guess if you're off down Snake Way you must be some pretty impressive warriors, huh?'

'Yes,' replied Tien, immediately.

'Depends who you ask,' said Yajirobe.

'I just got killed by an alien,' sobbed Chichi.

'Oh,' said the ogre, and didn't speak for the rest of the short drive. They wound their way through a very odd cityscape and out along a raised road above the clouds. Chichi cried the whole way.

'Shut up already,' muttered Yajirobe under his breath, but loud enough for Yamcha next to him to hear. Yamcha felt sorry for her. He felt a little bit like crying himself, despite being older and having no family to miss.

'Hey, Chichi, I think it's going to be all right,' he said to her.

'What makes you think that?' she sniffed, wiping her eyes and nose on the back of her arm.

'Well...we're already dead, so I guess the worst that could happen has already happened. Things can only get better from here, right?'

'I guess.' She looked up at him and then froze, her eyes widening. 'I know you! You're the guy who told me you loved me after you knocked me out. What a coincidence that we're both here together at the end of the world!' A smile and a blush spread across her face even as her tears were still running down her cheeks.

'Oh, you remember that?' said Yamcha, disappointed that she did.

'I'd never forget the first man who told me that he loved me. Even though you did run away pretty fast after that!'

'Ha,' said Yamcha, not sure whether to clear up that lie now that they would be spending some time together. Maybe later, when she wasn't still crying.

The ogre pulled up in a dead end elevated cul-de-sac, and the group got out of the car, some quickly and some dragging their feet.

'Woah, it really is a snake,' commented Yamcha as he saw what was waiting for them on the end of the road - the gaping maw of a giant fanged serpent. As he got closer he saw that though it looked quite real from a distance, it was carved of pale grey stone.

'Trust a Turtle School student to be scared already,' said Tien, and Chiaotzu laughed as they both walked casually to the mouth of the snake.

'Who said anything about being scared?' asked Yamcha. 'You know, we're going to be working together from now on, so it'd probably really help if you dropped the attitude.'

'We are _not_ going to be working together, so bite me,' replied Tien.

'Yeah!' chimed in Chiaotzu. It was the first thing Yamcha had heard him say, and he sounded as young as he looked.

'Oh man, I hate walking,' grumbled Yajirobe as trailed the rest of them. 'How long is this Snake Way thing?' he asked the assistant behind them.

'It's one million kilometres,' said the assistant brightly.

'It's WHAT?'

All five youngsters stopped and stared at the ogre in disbelief.

'Was that a joke?' asked Yajirobe. 'No one can walk that distance!'

'Not a joke, no. No one except King Yemma has gotten to the end without giving up.'

'If we walked every day for years we still wouldn't make it!' said Tien. 'A million kilometres is impossible!'

'No - what is impossible is for the thing which I just told you that King Yemma achieved, to be impossible. Obviously it is not.'

'How are we supposed to get there before we die of old age?' asked Chichi.

'You can't die of old age though. You're already _dead_.'

'How are we supposed to get there before our planet is sold to aliens, then?' asked Yamcha.

'Hmm,' said the ogre, considering. 'Run?' He turned to get back in the car.

'Hey you!' shouted Yajirobe. 'Where do we sleep along the way? What do we do for food?'

'Ah, I don't know,' admitted the assistant, half his body already back in the driver's seat.

'We can't walk a million K's on an empty stomach! We'll starve to death!'

The ogre shrugged. 'I wouldn't worry too much about starving. Like I said – you're already dead.' He slammed the door and the five were left with only each other for company.

'I guess he has a point,' conceded Yajirobe.

They all leapt onto the back of the snake. The top was flat, like a wide path, but not as wide as a road, and was bordered by low, decorative serpent scales that would do nothing to save anyone should they stumble at the edge. It wound away to infinity, and all else that they could see was thick clouds below and pink sky above. Yamcha was feeling overwhelmed already, but at least the task at hand was simple.

Tien and Chiaotzu nodded at each other and took off running.

'Come on,' said Yamcha watching them motor along the path. 'We may as well run too.'

'Running? Urgh,' moaned Yajirobe, but he fell in behind Chichi and Yamcha as they began jogging down the path. Chichi still erupted into sobs every now and then, but it didn't seem to slow her down. Yamcha's body fell into the mechanical rhythm, and with each step his mind travelled further away from where he was, back to the empty Earth and the life he now didn't have. He didn't want everlasting peace yet. He didn't want to pass through Hell and be reborn either – he wanted what had been his, back. _I never got to win the World Martial Arts Tournament_ , he pined. _I never had a chance to get married...or even loose my virginity!_

Strangely enough, with everyone else on Earth already dead, he wasn't too worried about them. He _was_ worried about his friends in space though. Were they still with that guy who tried to kill him? He wished he was there with _them_ , not here with these strangers. He should be there to help Goku and look after Puar and Bulma; it was awful to wonder what _they_ were up against and not be there!

Tien and Chiaotzu were already miles ahead. He could see them disappearing over the brow of a rise in the path. Checking the kids either side of him he asked, 'A little faster?'

'No thanks,' replied Yajirobe, but Chichi nodded.

'Okay,' she said, her high pitched voice at odds with the grim tone, and Yamcha decided to speed up despite Yajirobe's objection. Really, he wanted to take off at a dead sprint to catch those Crane School students, but he would feel bad about leaving these two behind. It was the end of the world and he was babysitting.

'Hey!' said the tubby kid as they put on the pace.

'If you're one of the strongest people on Earth, you must be able to go faster than this!'

'That Kami guy said strongest, not fastest. I'm a bull, not a gazelle!' argued Yajirobe, but he pulled up alongside Yamcha anyway and easily held the pace as they ground on and on. The sun was constantly setting on their left, so Yamcha figured they were heading North, but after what surely must have been hours it still didn't go down. It seemed the rules of the Earth didn't apply here in the Other World. He couldn't quite get his head around what had become of his life. Or his death, rather. Again he wished he were with the A-team, or at the very least that they were with him.

He wondered if they knew about his own mission. _We will have to be united in spirit_ , he said to himself. _We've all got to succeed so that we can see each other again!_ But in the meantime he was going to miss them, especially Puar and Bulma. _Love you girls_ , he said in his head, trying to send the thought out like a prayer across the barrier of existence.

_Don't forget about me._


	23. Tarble to the Fore

The morning after their hasty evacuation from RT5264 Vegeta found it hard to keep his mind on the movements of the down-spirited kata routine. The happenings of the previous day troubled him. His disappointment. His dismay and fear. He couldn't let go of the remnants of it. And then there were the things that needed explanation. How had those natives known they were coming and that they were powerful? And the way they had so glibly said 'Can't everybody do that?' Why would anyone need scouters if it were possible to "see" power levels? Was it just some quirk of their alien biology?

And Bulma. He needed an explanation for Bulma. He knew himself well enough to know that either not finding Salda, or Frieza showing up in the solar system, should have sent him into a black mood that lasted hours or days, but twice she had somehow talked him out of it. That was a feat none of the others had ever achieved. And why did she bother anyway? Just because it was somehow more pleasant for her if he was not angry? Why was his happiness even a priority to her? Most puzzling of all was the question of why had she been watching him in the night. He'd seen her face – she didn't look angry or hateful, or cunning or smug. She'd looked thoughtful and a bit sad, and embarrassed to be caught watching him rather than frightened. Even in the dark he had see her skin darkening with a blush. Again he recalled her tears when he'd been injured. He'd heard the desperation in her voice as she pleaded with him to hold on.

Was it possible after all that the girl…cared for him?

Pausing with his leg raised above his head in a stretch, he looked over at where she sat at the dining table, tapping at her laptop and glancing now and then at the boys doing their exercises. He'd been deliberately trying to ignore his attraction to her, putting it out of his mind and expecting it to fade away, but it wouldn't. Being around her all the time and sleeping next to her each night, she seemed to be taking up a larger and larger portion of his thoughts. When he'd opened his eyes to find her looking at him, for an insane moment he'd hoped she was about to do something…like embrace him as she had done with Tarble, or more. Or everything. Damn! Why couldn't the dragonball hunter have been someone a lot uglier?

She glanced up from her laptop and flinched when she saw him watching. Hurriedly she looked down at the screen again, a blush touching her cheeks.

He was frustrated that he couldn't be sure what she might mean by it, but his body weighed in with its opinion, making his stomach tighten with excitement and sending warmth rushing to his groin. Vertigo assailed him for a moment and he overbalanced, staggering to catch himself. Nappa gave him a frown of disapproval, or as much of one as his swollen face allowed him. An ugly purple bruise covered one cheek and even had one eye partly closed.

'You injured, your Highness?' Nappa asked.

'No. I just had a thought that couldn't wait any longer,' he lied. 'Tarble, the chi-sense that you mentioned that the Tech-Techs practice, can it be taught?'

Tarble's leg came down and he gawped at Vegeta in surprise before answering. 'Of course. But I thought you didn't believe that chi-sensing was a real thing.'

Vegeta scowled at him. 'Well now new information has come to light that backs up your claims.'

Tarble pouted and mumbled, 'They weren't _claims_.'

'Just shut up, sit down and tell us how to do it!' Vegeta ordered. 'All of you – stop what you're doing. _Tarble_ is going to take this lesson.'

The others obeyed, moving closer to Tarble to hear better. Even Bulma closed her laptop and listened.

'Er,' said Tarble, feeling very put on the spot while he looked at all the expectant faces staring at him. It was true that Tarble had suggested he teach the others how to sense chi before, but they had called it imaginary hocus-pocus, and stuck to their scouters, which they now didn't have. He supposed that that was the reason why Vegeta wanted to learn the technique now. 'I'm just trying to remember how I was taught. Erm, close your eyes.' They all did so. 'Now, first we have to learn to sense the chi flowing through our own bodies before we can extend that sense beyond our bodies.'

Vegeta's eyes flew back open. 'We can already all do that, or we wouldn't be able to fly or make energy waves,' he said.

'Oh, of course. But the idea is to be so familiar with your own energy that you can see through it, so to speak. I'm sure we're all pretty good with our own chi, but I think we should start with a little exercise to put us full in charge of it, so…close your eyes and concentrate on the energy inside you.'

Vegeta closed his eyes again and Tarble felt a rush of sudden happiness that he was being asked to contribute something important, and that Vegeta needed _him_ for a change. Still, he cautioned himself; he would have to make sure that they all learnt the technique, or Vegeta would blame him for the failure.

'Right, so start by moving the chi around your body consciously. First summon it upwards, to the top of your head…Now down again to the soles of your feet. Up again to your head, and down to your feet.'

Tarble observed them all with his own sense of chi. The room was awash with it in moments, leaking from all of them, but especially the three oldest Saiyans. Tarble could only sense the exact locations of the concentrations of chi with difficulty, but he could feel it sloshing up and down generally. Vegeta was the strongest signal, of course, and it could have drowned out everyone else's if Tarble let it, but when he turned his mind away he could sense Nappa and Raditz, Kakarott and Krillin, and even Brolly asleep in the tank. He could even sense Bulma and Puar if he concentrated, though their chi was faint and almost static.

'Now send it to your left hand. Now your right hand. Left…Right…Left foot…Right foot…'

Bulma's face was screwed up in effort, though it wasn't doing her much good. Puar was doing better at it with considerably less effort, and Tarble guessed that Bulma had no control over her chi whatsoever. If she needed to learn he was going to have to teach her separately and start from the very basics like they did in infant school on Tech-Tech.

Tarble imagined giving her private lessons and hesitated. His chest swelled with happiness that she had declared him a friend, though not the circumstances she had announced it under. The embarrassment of the other day plagued him still. He hadn't realised that she thought he was so young, and for a crazy second he had actually considered that she'd meant something by that hug, but of course she hadn't! Why would she? She'd only been offering sympathy in a way that he wasn't used to receiving it. Now he felt a fool. He wasn't sure it was a good idea if he spent a lot of time around her; he didn't want to end up feeling more for her than he already did.

His heart had almost stopped when Vegeta had burst in on them. The look on his face had made Tarble think he was surely about to receive the hiding of his life from the prince before Vegeta managed to get a handle on his shock. Now Tarble glanced between Vegeta and Bulma and thought about Vegeta's telling her not to dally with his men, and the new orders he'd given Nappa and Raditz about not touching her, the way Bulma slept next to him every night, the soft voice he sometimes used with her…He'd never seen Vegeta like this – being so precious about someone. It kind of made him upset, but more because Vegeta had never treated him with the care he showed Bulma than because he wanted Bulma for himself.

Anyway, if Vegeta wanted Bulma for himself, Tarble would be a fool to get in his way.

He dragged his mind and his eyes back to the lesson he was giving. Surprisingly, feeling the chi jump from side to side on the others, Krillin and Kakarott seemed to be doing a better job than Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa, and not only that – the more they passed their chi back and forth, the more of it there seemed to be. Tarble frowned and decided he would ask them how they were doing that later. It couldn't just be an Earthling thing, because Kakarott was a Saiyan. On the other hand, so much energy was leaking from Vegeta that crackles of blue light were flickering in and out of being across his arms and chest.

'Okay, now halt it in your centre, bring it down into your lower abdomen and leave it there.'

They all followed his commands and soon they were all reasonably static centres of chi.

'Now, I want you to think about the quality of your chi; feel the warmth of it, the prickling sense of life, the movement of it. Now extend one arm. Can you feel any chi in it?'

There was a bunch of non-committal shrugs and grunts.

'You shouldn't be able to sense much,' Tarble told them. 'Now, move your chi to the end of your hand, right to the end of your fingers. But be careful,' he added, seeing Vegeta and Nappa's fingers start to glow brightly blue. 'Don't overdo it, we're not going to be firing any energy waves.'

'Thank you for stating the perfectly obvious,' muttered Vegeta. 'I don't think we've forgotten that we're on a spaceship.'

Tarble bit his lip, but he did think it was worth mentioning. Perhaps Vegeta had not forgotten, but Tarble didn't trust the others not to forget. 'Okay, now sense the chi in your fingertips. And not just in your fingertips – take notice of _where_ it is, out in front of you.'

'Huh?' asked Kakarott. Tarble struggled a bit trying to find the right words to explain, and held his own hand out ahead of him while he tried to grasp them.

'I mean, feel how the energy is in _front_ of you. How it is a short way ahead of you, not centred in you. I mean, in relation to _you_ , and not just what part of you it's in…do you get what I mean?'

'No!' scoffed Raditz.

'Yes!' chimed Kakarott.

'Of course!' said Vegeta, but Nappa just growled.

'Well anyway,' said Tarble, hurrying along, because Vegeta was the most important one to keep pace with, and all the others would either have to keep up or catch up afterwards. 'Settle the chi back in your centre and let it go, but keep your hand out in front of you. Keep concentrating on your fingers, feeling how there is not much chi left in them…and slowly…feel out in front of your hand.'

'What!' exclaimed Nappa, but Vegeta shushed him.

'You should feel an emptiness of chi just in front of your hand. Can you feel the lack?' Their serious frowns of concentration and confusion were just what Tarble expected. 'Feel either side of your hand – without moving it,' he added quickly, seeing Kakarott swinging his from side to side. 'You should feel more nothing. But now slowly push your sense forwards from your hand, like your reaching out beyond your hand with your own sensation. Keep going a little bit at a time, pushing forward, trying not to lose track of what you're feeling for, until you find something.' They were all more or less pointing their hands right at him, and he waited for any sign of revelation. They carried on frowning, especially Bulma, seated at the dining table and pointing at the stairs, her eyebrows wriggling up and down in consternation.

'Am I doing this right?' she asked.

'Perhaps, but even if you are, you're not going to find anything in that direction,' he told her. 'At first you might think you're imagining it, but once you recognise what the feeling is, it will become easier and more definite.'

Then Krillin gasped. 'I found something!'

Tarble was impressed. He had expected Vegeta to be the first, and take a while longer to achieve it - though perhaps he shouldn't estimate their rate of progress based on the infant school class he had learnt the technique in. 'What do you feel?' he asked Krillin.

'Chi, outside my body!' said Krillin excitedly. 'It's you, isn't it, Tarble?'

'Yes, it is!'

Krillin laughed and Vegeta growled, already growing impatient to succeed.

'Krillin, now try searching around the room to see who else you can pick up,' Tarble instructed. 'The rest of you just keep feeling out in front of you. Aim for my voice if it helps.'

'It would probably help if you had a power level worth a damn,' said Nappa darkly, but Tarble suffered the insult silently as he was used to.

'You know, I think I've done this before,' said Krillin. 'When Frieza's ship was passing by us on the way to Earth, I could feel something similar to this, only it was huge and horrible. I thought it was Frieza.'

'That's impossible,' said Vegeta, still with his eyes closed. 'Frieza's ship never got closer than five thousand galactic miles from us!'

'No, he's right,' Tarble contradicted, trying to keep his voice as light and soft as possible to try and not antagonise Vegeta. 'I felt him too. It's not usually possible to sense people from so far away, but Frieza's power appears to be just _that_ big.'

Vegeta opened his eyes. 'You never said anything.'

'You wouldn't have believed me anyway,' said Tarble, and then cringed because he had forgotten to completely curb his attitude. 'Your Highness,' he added. Vegeta snapped his eyes shut again and continued his search.

'If you have to, put the chi in your fingers again to remind yourself what you're looking for, then release it back to your centre.'

Kakarott was the next to grasp it. 'I did it!' he announced.

Vegeta snarled in frustration.

Bulma abandoned the table and sat behind Nappa and Vegeta to try again. Puar was waving her paw around blindly, sitting by Vegeta's knee.

'It helps if you're not too agitated,' Tarble said quietly, and Vegeta opened his eyes to glare at him, as if it was Tarble himself making these rules. Then he took a deep breath, settled himself and let his face relax into something approaching calm. It was not long before his expression turned smug.

'I have it. I can sense your chi, Runt.'

'I can't get anything,' sighed Puar.

'I _think_ I can feel something,' said Bulma, her eyes scrunched closed, pointing directly between Vegeta's shoulder blades. 'Not sure though.' Tarble supposed it might have helped her to have a big target right in front of her.

'If you can sense one person, spread your awareness around the room. See if you can sense everyone else. Feel their relative sizes and qualities,' Tarble instructed.

'I don't know if I'm really getting this,' said Raditz, opening his eyes. 'I think I feel something, but then it's gone and I probably just imagined it.'

'Maybe you did and maybe you didn't,' Tarble told him. 'If you think you sense something, try searching either side of it. If it disappears on either side, then the feeling in the middle is probably a person!'

'All this talk of feelings is making me want to beat the crap out of someone,' said Nappa.

'If you get angry you'll just make it harder,' Raditz reminded him.

'Put a sock in it, boyo.'

After another few minutes Raditz thought he had it, and Nappa thought he might have it, and Tarble was ordered to expand on the lesson by Vegeta.

'Well, it's a pretty big step, but you're all getting it really fast-'

'Not me,' interrupted Puar.

'-so the next thing to try is to sense more than one power level at a time. The eventual aim is to be able to feel outwards in a radius around you, but even just sensing two people side by side is hard enough at first.'

* * *

They whiled away the rest of the morning attempting to sense each other and widen their spheres of detection. Bulma was still not sure at the end of it if she had actually really felt anything at all and began to get sulky. The ability to sense someone sneaking up on you shouldn't just be a skill confined to the boys, like the flying was. It wasn't fair.

She broke out a carton of muesli bars for lunch. She estimated there was still much more than half of the food supplies left in her biohazard sample satchel, but the Saiyans had put a sizeable dent in it already. Which reminded her of something rather important.

The Saiyans clustered around the carton on the step so they could snatch more bars with ease while Bulma, Puar and Krillin had backed off with their modest share. After watching Vegeta down four bars in quick succession she decided her worrying tidings could wait no longer. She was about to blurt it out in front of everyone, but at the last moment bit her tongue. If she told Vegeta in private it would seem more like she was confiding in him - after all, last night he had confided a fair amount to her, and she wanted to continue building that bridge between them.

Instead she blurted out, 'Vegeta, can I talk to you alone on the flight deck?' and everyone turned and looked back and forth between her and Vegeta. It was instantly awkward. Nappa was frowning, Raditz looked suspicious, Tarble looked upset, Goku looked curious, Puar looked confused and Krillin looked appalled. Bulma could have kicked herself. Vegeta stiffened and swallowed his mouthful before nodding at her and leading the way to the stairs. Everyone else watched them go in silence.

Upstairs Vegeta turned slowly to face Bulma, not sure at all what this was about. When he caught her eye she held his gaze for a moment before tearing it away again and he felt a very strange flutter in his stomach.

'What's this about?' he said, and was surprised at the softness of his own voice. He cleared his throat.

'The ship's power sources,' she replied, and the fluttering in his stomach stilled and turned to an ominous weight.

'What?'

'I checked out the solar power system when we were back on that planet and I found the problem. The junction box that connects the cells to the batteries is rusted out. I can't repair it – there's almost nothing left to repair. It needs replacing.'

'Dammit!'

'I know. But there's worse – I thought that we'd be okay because there's the fusion drive, but…' She grimaced, cringing as she looked at him.

' _What?_ ' he demanded.

She walked around him to the map table and padded through some of the menus on the touch panel, bringing up a schematic of the ships innards that Vegeta couldn't make head or tails of.

'There,' she said, pointing at some purple lines coming out of a box labelled "Solar Battery Array".

'And?' he asked.

'For some reason the engineers that designed this ship decided that the solar power system could feed into the propulsion system that the fusion drive normally powers, but made it so the fusion drive _doesn't_ feed into the majority of lower-level life support systems and amenities.'

'Which ones doesn't it feed?' he barked.

'Well, lighting, for one. Water circulation and processing, sewage and rubbish disposal, everything in the kitchen, the bathroom and the laundry, air filtration. In fact, everything except heating, CO2 capture and oxygen metering, basically. And we're down to only 5.4% charge on the batteries. I think in a few days this ship is going to be basically unliveable.' She looked up at him, looking both worried and questioning. 'We need a replacement junction box as soon as possible. What are we going to do?'

Vegeta's jaw clenched down on the anger that came surging up.

'Why didn't you tell me last night?' he snarled, and Bulma took a step back, and put her hands on her hips to scold him.

'When you got back last night you weren't exactly in the best mood, plus I thought we wouldn't be taking off until morning at the earliest! Do you think I should have told you while we were running around in a panic packing up and getting the hell out of there?'

Vegeta supposed she was right, although she could have told him before they went to bed and didn't. He decided not to push that argument though; it really was beside the point. Half a day didn't make that much difference as it was not an emergency – yet. In a few days, once the batteries were drained, he supposed they could get by for a few more, in the dark, siphoning water directly out of the tanks to drink, forgoing any kind of cleansing, putting rubbish out the airlock and eating their food cold. But perhaps they shouldn't eat at all, because the part that really worried Vegeta was the no-flushing toilet part. That would rapidly become a situation that even he would agree was unliveable.

'A replacement junction box?' he mused aloud, 'Or a new ship entirely?' Stalking over to the stairs he yelled down into the living quarters 'Raditz, Nappa, get up here!'

The two bounded into sight immediately.

'What is it, your Highness?' asked Raditz breathlessly.

'This ship needs repairs in a few days time or it's done for,' he summed up. 'We need to change our course _again_ , and head deeper into the galaxy to pick up another ship.'

Nappa and Raditz both groaned. 'Well that sucks,' said Raditz.

'We need to plot a new course,' he told them, and cleared the schematic from the map table, bringing up a map of the galaxy instead. After some fiddling around he got it to show the primary and secondary trade routes as well as their current position and Planet Namek, and zoomed in on the area.

'Even the nearest secondary trade route is more than five days travel from here,' he observed in despair.

'Our best bet is a civilised planet then,' said Nappa. 'Even if they're not on a trade route, they'll have traffic coming and going form the planet to the routes. We just need to intercept a ship coming in to land.'

'If it's a civilised planet we might be able to get something to fix Brolly's crown and build a new dragon radar,' suggested Bulma.

Vegeta had almost forgotten about Brolly. 'I suppose the power from the solar cells powers the regen tank, too?'

Bulma blanched. 'Yes, you're right! When the power goes out I guess Brolly will suffocate unless we let him out.'

And that was not happening.

'Hell, what's closest?' said Raditz. 'Forget the shortest detour from the Namek-course for now; this is survival! What's this?' He pointed at a blinking blue light, in the holographic cloud and zoomed in on it. 'Planet Grenouillea II,' he read from its label. 'Why does that sound familiar?'

'Because Zarbon is from the original Planet Grenouillea,' replied Vegeta. 'Look it up in the directory.'

Raditz flicked the nametag and the map disappeared, replaced by a 2 dimensional fact sheet with a few pictures in illustration. Bulma saw pale green, blue and brown skinned people in several of them, and a picture of a rather beautiful looking city on a massive river. She tried to read, but Raditz was scanning far ahead of her, reading out the highlights.

'Tropical to Super-tropical climate, high rainfall, blah blah. Former colony of the Grenouillea Empire, it's now a democratic republic…Oh. It says it's Cold Empire aligned, but at least its a free planet still.'

Vegeta grimaced with displeasure. 'I _can_ read, Raditz. More worrying is what it says about the power levels of its people. The average power level is 700. I don't think I've ever come across a people whose average is so high.'

'It's not nearly as high as the old Saiyan average,' said Nappa. 'Certainly not as high as the _new_ Saiyan average,' he joked.

'I think you're forgetting Kakarott and Tarble,' Vegeta said. 'That brings the _new,_ new average back down. That's not the point anyway. It says that the Grenouillean people regularly produce warriors over the ten thousand mark. Think about how strong Zarbon is. We are _not_ landing on that planet. It we are recognised, or even if we're not, it could go badly for us. Even if none of them are as strong as I, if there are enough of them it could still be game over.'

'Good point,' said Nappa.

'What else is there?'

Two more days travel deeper into the galaxy was another Empire-aligned planet called Belbedo, with friendly-looking, round faced people whose average power level was only 11.

'We'll go there,' Vegeta decided. 'It even says that it's home to the largest electronics market in a hundred thousand light years, so it sounds ideal.'

'Yes, it does,' agreed Nappa. 'A good choice.'

'I'll change our course now,' said Raditz.

With a course of action decided on, Vegeta began to feel a little better. Plus, this diversion would serve well to put Frieza off their trail. It was almost perpendicular to their previous course, so if Frieza continued to search for them along the trajectory they had been following, he would not find anything. Raditz sat at the pilot's control to enter their new course and Nappa hovered over his shoulder, watching.

'What's this directory thing?' asked Bulma, playing with zooming in on random star systems on the map table hologram. 'Does every planet and star have an entry?'

'All the charted and surveyed planets and stars do,' he answered.

'How many is that, then?' she asked.

Vegeta shrugged. 'About a hundred billion stars and over a hundred million known planets, I've heard. In _this_ galaxy.'

Bulma gasped. ' _That_ many?'

Vegeta smiled, feeling a little smug that she grasped Earth's insignificance at last. 'They are not all occupied and civilised, of course. Only some hundreds of thousands.'

Bulma shook her head, trying to get it to accept the numbers. She flicked to another entry, scrolling through page after page of images, graphs and facts. 'I don't envy whoever it is that has to keep a hundred million directory pages up to date!'

'The civilised planets provide their own fact sheets for the directory,' he told her, starting to enjoy the role of bringing enlightenment to the ignorant savage Earthling. She was a know-it-all whenever she could be, so it was only fair that he enjoy displaying his knowledge on this subject to her. 'For the other planets and stars, their information comes from the most recent official surveys. The information is live – that is, the Galactic Directory is beamed throughout the galaxy via communications hubs. Whenever the ship gets close enough to one, the directory is updated.'

'Does Earth have an entry?' she asked.

'Certainly,' he said.

'Can I see it?'

'There is nothing much to see,' he told her, but looked it up anyway. Earth's short entry flicked up to fill the air.

'M-sized sized planet of average density, with breathable atmosphere and polar to tropical climate,' she read. 'Much green flora, moderate rainfall and large areas of salt-water ocean. Pre-interstellar sentient life forms detected, but inhabitants are relatively docile. Considered safe for most travellers, but not recommended due to lack of proper facilities. What!'

Vegeta chuckled at the insult she was suffering. 'Exactly as I would describe it,' he said, needling her more.

Just then the display blinked and a dialog box appeared above the entry. 'Update available. Update entry now?' it asked. All the semi-serious outrage disappeared from Bulma's face, and guessing what the update would show, Vegeta felt an uncomfortable regret for teasing her. She reached out and swiped the air in front of the 'Yes' button, and after a second of loading, the text altered. It now read:

 _M-sized planet of average density. Clear and clean, oxygen-rich and methane-poor atmosphere. A variable climate from polar to tropical, ensuring there is a comfort band for everyone, conducive to settlement, agriculture or industry. Wide variety of carbon-based flora and fauna. Life forms are generally innocuous and pose little risk to life or ease of settlement. Pleasant outlooks, and left in reasonably good-condition by former occupants. Planet is a newly acquired property of the Planetary Trade Organisation and is available for purchase by auction – please see your nearest PTO office for details or to view. No unauthorised landings permitted_.

'Former occupants!' hissed Bulma. She looked ill. 'As if we'd just moved on, rather than been slaughtered!'

Vegeta considered her distress. 'It's a sales pitch,' he said. 'Wholesale murder doesn't sell well.'

'Doesn't sell well!' she cried, her screech causing Raditz and Nappa to stop what they were doing to watch, and then she lost control of herself, heaving in breaths and releasing them in stuttering sobs. 'You!' she said. 'Shut up! You used to!'

'Used to what?'

'Purge! And _murder!_ '

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed at her outburst. ' _I_ was not the one who purged your planet!'

'No, but you've done it to other people!'

'So what?' he said, for lack of anything better to say.

Nappa straightened and grimaced at Bulma. 'If it hadn't been us it would have been someone else. If you're weak you've got to expect to be moved on by those who are stronger.'

'Weakness is not a reason to _kill_ anyone!' she screamed back. Vegeta watched, unable to summon an argument while Bulma rounded on Nappa and let loose, tears falling as she shouted. 'That should have been a reason to help them, not kill them!'

'Why would I do that? Why would I help anyone not a Saiyan?' replied Nappa. 'And why would _you_ care about anyone not an Earthling?'

'Because my heart's not made of ice, you monster!'

Nappa laughed. 'You're pathetic. Look at you crying over hypothetical dead races.'

'My race wasn't hypothetical!'

'But they _are_ dead!'

Bulma flung a fist out and slammed it into Nappa's midriff. Completely unmoved, he immediately retaliated by grabbing her around the neck. An electric shock of panic flew up Vegeta's spine and he was jolted into voice.

'NAPPA!'

Nappa let her go as suddenly as he had grabbed her, and Bulma turned and scrambled downstairs, unhurt but petrified. Vegeta looked at Nappa who smiled and then shrugged like it was no big deal.

'Sorry, Prince Vegeta, I forgot myself for a second.'

Vegeta glared at him. 'You're going to do that one too many times if you're not careful.'

'No harm came to the silly bitch, and I wouldn't have killed her, even though she _actually_ threw a punch at me,' Nappa said in his defence, his eyebrows coming down over a surly frown. 'Just when did you became so sensitive, Vegeta? I've seen you crush people's throats for less many times.'

Just Nappa mentioning it made Vegeta's palm tingle with the memory of windpipes crunching and collapsing in his fist. Bulma could have died so casually in Nappa's grasp just like that, and he silently regarded his second-in-command, wrestling with the urge to turn the tables and crush the impulsive fool's throat instead. After a dark moment, reason won out. If he killed Nappa he would very soon regret it, he was sure. He still needed the man, and Nappa had served him well enough most of the long years they'd been together.

'What?' asked Nappa, made nervous by Vegeta's wordless stare. 'She's only your dragonball-hunter, isn't she? What's so special about _this_ girl?'

'Nothing,' said Vegeta.

Nappa looked like he was going to argue, but then wisely changed his mind at the last second. Raditz let go of the handfuls of hair he'd been anxiously pulling on and cleared his throat.

'The course is set, your Highness.'

'Good. At least one of you can follow orders properly.'

In a thoroughly bad mood now, Vegeta turned his back on Nappa and headed downstairs. Bulma was still crying over her fright, sitting on a couch, clinging to Krillin with Goku on the other side of her. Tarble knelt in front of her, looking uncertain about whether he was needed in this situation or not. Hearing his footsteps on the stairs they all looked over at him and Bulma tried to gulp down on her tears. Vegeta rolled his eyes, leaping down the steps into the lounge and shooing Tarble away to take his place, standing with his arms crossed in front of him.

'I don't see any reason for you to be crying,' he said.

Bulma sniffed and wiped her eyes, then responded with surprising venom. 'Well _you_ wouldn't, would you? I thought you were supposed to be protecting me from him and Raditz?'

Vegeta saw the surprise on the boys' faces when she said this, and felt distinctly uncomfortable she'd just made their agreement public. 'I did,' he told her. 'I stopped Nappa before he could hurt you, didn't I?'

'He shouldn't have grabbed her by the throat at all,' said Krillin, which was bold for him. The boy didn't normally speak much in front of the Saiyans.

'I agree,' said Vegeta. 'But everyone is still alive – a happy outcome all around, don't you think?' he asked, looking at Bulma.

She looked unimpressed but nodded eventually.

Vegeta looked at Krillin again. He had a thick fuzz of black hair on his head now, and a widow's peak that almost rivalled Vegeta's own. Vegeta had unsuccessfully tried to ignore his presence on the ship until now, but after Krillin so easily grasped chi-sense this morning he decided that he should upgrade Krillin's status from harmless pest to unknown quantity requiring caution. Just from the weight of Vegeta's gaze the boy gulped with fright, but then he shirked Bulma's arm and stood up and attempted a pose as defiant as Vegeta's own.

'What're you looking at, huh?' he said, and his bravado mixed with transparent fear made Vegeta smile with amusement.

'I tolerate your presence on this ship, Earthling, and guarantee your safety as much as I am able. But I demand something in return.'

'Oh yeah? What's that?'

'Your loyalty.'

'My…my _what_?'

Bulma and Kakarott gasped in surprise as well.

'Your loyalty.'

Krillin glanced at Bulma and Kakarott before asking, 'Why mine in particular?'

'Because Kakarott's loyalty and obedience is a given, being a Saiyan and having tasted the consequences of _disobedience_. Bulma has already promised me her loyalty.'

'She did?'

Bulma was regarding him with a very peculiar expression. 'Well, kind of,' she hedged. 'Not in those exact words…and I _definitely_ didn't agree to obedience, no…'

Krillin looked confused, looking back and forth between Bulma and Vegeta.

'What's your answer?' Vegeta pressed.

'I'm not going to do what you say if I think it's wrong,' replied Krillin.

'And break your Earthling code of morality?' teased Vegeta, amused but not surprised. 'Never mind that. What I need is a promise from you that you will not sabotage or undermine me or my aims. If you try, I'll kill you without hesitation. Do we have an agreement?'

Krillin gulped and turned to Bulma again, his anxious face silently asking what the hell he should do.

'Just promise him,' she said quietly.

'Fine,' said Krillin, not sounding happy about it. 'It's a deal.'

'Now, as a show of good faith, you and Kakarott shall tell us how you lower and raise your chi levels.'

The afternoon was filled with even more baffling chi controlling exercises, the males sitting around the lounge and Bulma withdrawn back to the dining table, working on her translation program to turn Earthling into Galactic and vice versa. She couldn't even pretend she was following the chi lesson any more. She couldn't feel the pit of power at the base of her spine when Krillin told them to look for it. She couldn't funnel it under pressure, compact or settle it, "put it to bed", or any of those things because she couldn't feel it at all. Puar attempted to keep up but was soon sitting in Bulma's lap, defeated and yawning with tiredness.

Krillin was mostly taking this lesson. Though Goku could do everything that Krillin mentioned, probably even better than Krillin could, it came so naturally to him that he couldn't explain it. At least Krillin had been schooled himself.

'Our Master Roshi lived with his chi lowered to almost nothing most of the time,' Krillin told them. 'He said it was a way of practicing constant control, so that the control would be all the greater when you actually have to fight.'

Bulma saw the surprise on the Saiyans' faces.

'Strength through weakness?' said Nappa. 'Pull the other one!'

'No, it really seems to work! And Master Roshi wasn't the only one to say things like that. At the Orin Temple when I was even younger, they used to teach us chi-controlling exercises. I didn't understand it as well back then, and I didn't have nearly as much strength to play with but…Probably the Orin Temple training was why I did so well with the chi-sensing this morning. The masters there tried to teach us to sense an opponent without sight or sound, though I never got the hang of it back then.'

'We don't care about your previous education on the matter,' said Vegeta. 'Get on with teaching _us_.'

'I'll watch Raditz next,' said Tarble. As best chi-senser he was monitoring how the others chi was moving up and down. But so far, aside from Krillin and Goku's, no one's chi was changing at all.

Raditz's face took on a look of concentration.

'Have you started?' asked Tarble.

'Yes!' Raditz snapped. 'Don't distract me!'

Everyone watched in silence as Raditz trembled and his face began to turn red.

'Don't forget to breath,' suggested Krillin.

Raditz's pent up breath exploded out of him and he slumped a little. 'This is _hard_ ,' he groaned.

'This is boring,' muttered Bulma. She stood up. 'I'm going upstairs to read from the ship's computer,' she announced. Actually she was going to see if she could connect her laptop to the ship's computer, but she didn't want to share her scheme with the Saiyans in case they objected. Puar plonked herself on her shoulder to come along for the ride.

Upstairs she turned the map table on and looked up the frequency that the ship's wireless data transfer ran on, then opened her electronics kit capsule that she'd placed in her pocket that morning. She made the necessary adjustments to the laptops receiver so that it could pick up the right frequency from the ship and voila, it…wouldn't connect. The ship's computer and her laptop had a fit of mutual rejection. She should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Neither device had any protocol for dealing with the other.

Sighing, she decided that her next step should be to begin to learn the programming languages and format of the ships computer. She was pleased to find that it was at least a binary based format. Picking something simple – a calendar program - she took several attempts trying to access its source code, and then when she felt she had it, trying to find a program like a text editor that would let her view it. Thankfully galactic coders seemed to use similar tools to Earth ones, and eventually she found something that would let her have her first taste of alien coding.

It was, of course, initially baffling, but quickly she began to see patterns. To her great delight, the programmer had left notes in the code, and with these she was able to begin working out the phrasing and syntax of the language. Puar talked to her now and then, asking questions about what she was doing. Bulma answered her automatically – she was intent on this new stimulation. Testing her theories she wrote her first extremely simple script. When it was run it printed 'Hello' to the screen. Bulma laughed at her brilliance. What should she do next? Write her own calendar program? Or investigate something more complex? She wondered if the Saiyans would get upset if they knew she was dabbling with the source code on board the computer. If they caught her she would just tell them it was essential to being a good ship's mechanic.

Puar yawned and said she was going to take a nap. As the cat made herself comfortable on the widow seat cushions on the other side of the room, Bulma was struck by another, completely different idea, and she leapt to her feet.

'Puar, get up!' she said, and grabbed the seat, lifting it, cushion and all without waiting for Puar to move. Underneath was the storage compartment that Tarble had mentioned, and there were books and other oddments inside.

'What are you doing?' asked Puar as she climbed up the seat to look down.

'Looking for Vegeta's diary,' whispered Bulma, and Puar was instantly alert. She leapt into the compartment to help Bulma rummage the contents faster. There were small devices, yarn, some things that looked like brain-teaser puzzles, a grooming set, some non-fiction reading, but nothing she turned up looked like the book Vegeta had been writing in.

'You're on his shoulder most of the time,' Bulma whispered. 'Did you see anything he wrote in it?'

'I never got to take the reading lessons,' Puar reminded her.

'Damn!'

The compartment thoroughly searched, Bulma replaced the seat and moved onto the next section of the couch. It seemed to be divided into four sections, each with a lid. Halfway down the couch was a narrow cabinet with a hard, flat top. Finding no diary in the second section either, Bulma opened the cabinet. It was full of empty bottles, some with residue at the bottom. Out of curiosity she opened one and sniffed it. A smell partway between crème-de-menthe and methylated spirits wafted out.

'What are you doing?' said a voice behind her.

Bulma jumped with fright and unsuppressed guilt and saw Raditz's head near the top of the stairs, emerging from below.

'Looking for a drink,' she lied.

'Good luck,' said Raditz. 'We drank that liquor cabinet dry months ago. We should have picked something up on Earth while we were there.'

Bulma stood up, internally congratulating her own fast-thinking. 'What are you doing sticking your head up here anyway?' she asked.

'Vegeta says that as we're all busy, _you_ have to make the dinner.'

' _I_ do? I'm not the house drudge for you Saiyans, you know!'

'Well if you don't do it, I guess we're not getting _any_ dinner then.'

Bulma considered. 'Fine! I'll dig something out. At least the food will taste good!'

* * *

o

* * *

Yamcha's footfalls had been becoming more erratic as time went by. How long had they been running now? The time passed in a strange way here, sometimes seeming to pool endlessly, so that each thought and action lasted an age, and other times it skipped and jumped like a jolted record player. He rested his eyes, closing them for a few seconds at a time. His eyelids seemed to be getting really heavy. He imagined how good a soft bed would feel right now – the cool crispness of a fresh cotton pillowcase against his face. Or a warm bath. He imagined the big tub in the master bathroom at Capsule Corporation. Mrs Briefs had let him use it a few times. A bubble bath with a plate of Mrs B's cupcakes on the side and a hot chocolate. Or maybe a beer?

'Don't let my Mom catch you drinking beer in the bath tub!' laughed Bulma.

'What are _you_ doing in here?' he asked her, seeing her up to her shoulders in the bubbles at the other end of the tub, nibbling on a cupcake. Was she completely nude under there?

'What do you think I'm doing?' she said teasingly, running her foot up the inside of his leg.

Yamcha's face slammed into the unyielding stone of the pathway. While he was too shocked with pain to understand what was happening, he felt someone stand one of his arms and someone else trip over the other. His yelp of pain mixed with a girl's scream.

'Dude, look out – oh crap!' shouted a boy's voice

Yamcha opened his eyes and pushed himself up to see Yajirobe leap over him to where Chichi's hands were holding one of the serpent's scales, her body out of sight on the outside of the walkway. He must have tripped her over the edge! Before Yajirobe got there though, Chichi hoisted herself forcibly back up onto the pathway, colliding with Yajirobe and knocking him back over Yamcha.

Yamcha sat up, nursing his head which was ringing with pain. His chin was grazed and bruised and his teeth felt loose.

'You nearly sent me to Heck!' cried the girl. Her helmet was gone, lost over the edge of the path, and she looked shaken and pale and like she was about to cry again.

'I'm sorry!' said Yamcha. 'I must've fallen asleep on my feet.'

'You fell asleep while you were running?' asked Yajirobe. 'Dude, don't you know when to take a break? I've been saying we should stop for hours! We should be asleep right now; I feel like I've been up for days.'

Yamcha was reluctant to agree as they still hadn't caught up to the other two, but he _was_ tired. 'You're right,' he admitted.

'Do we just sleep here on the path?' asked Chichi, her voice still tremulous from her fright. 'It doesn't look very comfortable.'

'I don't see anywhere else to sleep, do you?' answered Yajirobe harshly. He unbuckled his scabbard from his belt and dumped himself down on the path next to Yamcha, collapsing. 'Not sure it matters anyway, I'm totally bushed.'

Yamcha laid himself back down where he'd fallen and watched Chichi wander a little way away, take off her cloak and fold it into a pillow before settling down.

'What's your name, anyway?' asked Yajirobe, and Yamcha realised that they hadn't actually been introduced. Yamcha had only deduced Yajirobe's name from the list of names King Yemma had read out.

'Yamcha. You're Yajirobe, right?'

'Yup. You really a bandit?'

Yamcha hesitated. 'I _was._ '

'Well don't try and steal from me, Yamcha, or I'll cut your hands off with my sword.'

'Hey! Relax, man!' objected Yamcha. 'I said I _was_ a bandit. I'm not now, and I'm not going to steal anything.'

'Yeah, every bandit I met was a man of his word,' said Yajirobe in tones of deep sarcasm.

'Master Roshi said that he's a good sort,' said Chichi in his defence.

'And I have no clue who that is, so that means squat to me,' replied Yajirobe. 'What about you then, Chichi? You a real princess?'

'Well, my dad is the Ox King, so I guess I am.'

'Ox King? Never heard of him. I suppose it's true what they say though - death is the great leveller, after all.'

'What do you mean?' asked Chichi.

'A princess, a bandit and a wandering Samurai sleeping rough together. Not like we've got much in common, is it?'

'That's not true,' said Yamcha. 'Let's not forget why we're all here.'

'Why's that, then?'

'Because we're all _fighters_.'

'Well...' mused Yajirobe. 'You look like you've got some muscle on you, but I won't believe the Cream-Puff Princess can fight until I see it.'

'I can fight!' Chichi protested. 'My father taught me how.'

'What did he teach you? How to drown people with your tears?'

'Hey, that's kind of a shitty thing to say,' said Yamcha.

'So? It's probably true. All she's done is cry so far. We'll probably end up carrying her most of the way unless we get so sick of her crying that we throw her over the edge.'

No sooner had these words left his mouth than Chichi dropped like a ton of bricks from the sky onto Yajirobe's unprotected meat-and-two-veg. Yajirobe's breath left his body and he folded up like a greeting card around Chichi's delicate foot.

'Argh!' screamed Yamcha on Yajirobe's behalf, because the boy was clearly unable, turning red in the face, his eyes bulging. Neither of them had heard any sound of an impending attack – Chichi had simply sprung out of nowhere, and now she jumped aside and began crying all over again.

'Look what you made me do!' she sobbed. 'If you hadn't been so mean I wouldn't have lost my temper! Are you okay?'

Yajirobe didn't answer, merely rolled to his knees, his head on the ground and his hands cupping his testicles.

'What's wrong with him?' she asked Yamcha with honest confusion. 'I didn't get him _that_ hard.'

'You landed on his balls!' Yamcha told her. 'He's lucky you didn't kill him!'

Chichi turned red and clutched her face in horror as she crouched over the fallen samurai. 'I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to kill you!'

'Can't die,' gasped Yajirobe. 'Not sure...if that's a good thing...or not…!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, if you're enjoying this story, or even if you're not enjoying this story, please consider leaving a comment saying what you liked or didn't like. It helps me either way. I promise I don't bite.


	24. Playing Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So recently on tumblr I heard a fan fiction reader say that they didn't leave reviews on stories they really liked because they felt intimidated by the author, didn't want to bother them, or felt their their review somehow had to be as insightful or entertaining as they thought the story was. Well, that was kind of shocking to me as a fan fiction writer, and probably all fic writers, because we all know that reviews feed us. I don't mean to imply that this story is a great one that people might be timid of reviewing, but if you've ever felt this way about any story and held back from reviewing because of it, you should let go of those feelings and just blurt out what you want to say. The best and most encouraging thing you can give to a fic writer is feedback - even if you think your comment is lame or your English poor. In the eyes of an author, any feedback except an outright flame or a bald complaint about length of time between updates is valuable. Seriously. Even criticism. And if you're scared that the author might engage you in some way - well, I can't promise that won't happen, as lots of writers, myself included, enjoy responding to reviews, though others never reply and maintain their distance. It doesn't mean they don't value the feedback though. And none of us, or at least, none that I've dealt with, bite :D

Yamcha slept fitfully under the pink sky for what was perhaps hours, though it was hard to tell. After lying awake for an hour he finally accepted that his body had decided it was morning and he should get up. Body stiff from lying on the stone, he was glad at least that it was warm in the afterlife. Seeing him up, the others arose with groans and rubbed the sorest parts of their bodies.

Looking around he realised that there was no camp to pack up, no toothbrush or any toilet and certainly no breakfast to start the new "day" with. His stomach growled hollowly, and Yajirobe's innards answered in gurgle of unhappy solidarity.

'This is totally bogus,' grumbled Yajirobe, clutching his middle.

'You're a real upbeat kind of guy, aren't you?' observed Yamcha.

'Well I'm not gonna be all cheery when I'm still sore from having my balls crushed by Princess Psycho.'

'I said I was sorry so many times!' protested Chichi. 'I didn't know that hurt guys so much. I've never done it before.'

'That's very reassuring coming from one of the "Earth's strongest warriors",' said Yajirobe.

'Come on,' chided Yamcha. 'Let's get going.'

They started running again, starting at an optimistic sprint. Down the dip and up the next curve of the snake's back they went, but at the bottom of the dip they slowed and stopped at the roadblock they found.

'Well, what have we here?' asked Yamcha, more pleased than he cared to admit that they had caught up to Tien and Chiaotzu who were still blinking and rubbing their eyes at being disturbed from their sleep. They both jumped blearily to their feet though.

'Have you been running all this time?' said Tien. 'You must be exhausted. Why don't you lie down and take a nap while we get going?'

'Actually we just woke up,' explained Chichi, missing the nastiness behind Tien's words. 'We were sleeping just one hill over. Isn't that funny?'

Chiaotzu's little mouth popped open in dismay and Tien gave Yamcha a vicious glare. 'Yes, real _funny_.'

'Perhaps we should travel together after all,' said Yamcha pointedly, 'as we seemed to be travelling at a similar pace.'

Tien's lip curled up in distaste.

'Or we could just get on ahead of you while you're still getting your shit together,' Yamcha suggested. He jogged around the two of them, feeling a little worried as he passed Tien that the young man would knock him off the side of the path. Yajirobe and Chichi fell in behind him, and Yamcha grinned to himself. He wasn't grinning a few minutes later though. He heard a cry of surprise from Chichi at the rear and Tien shouted, 'Out of the way, losers! I guess it's no surprise that _Turtle_ school students are so slow!'

'Who's a Turtle student?' objected Yajirobe, but the Crane students barrelled through, jostling all three as they passed at a dead sprint.

'What a _dick_!' hissed Yamcha as they were overtaken again. 'Come on, guys, faster! We can't let them think they can get away from us! They're only going to slow down again over the next rise anyway!'

' _Faster?_ ' panted Chichi and Yajirobe in unison, but Yamcha took off without waiting for further argument.

* * *

An hour later and a red faced Yamcha had dug in hard to overtake Tien and Chiaotzu again. Yajirobe managed to overtake Chiaotzu, but couldn't catch Tien, and Chichi and Chiaotzu were battling it out in last place, neither able to pull ahead for long. Yamcha felt his lungs would burst, but they didn't. They should all be dead of thirst and exertion by now, but despite the discomfort, obviously no one was close to death or even slowed down by the lack of physical essentials, like rest or food. Yamcha wondered how long he'd be able to go on running like this, because this was his top speed, and it was a miracle he had sustained it so long.

Hearing Tien huffing and puffing and gaining on him once again, Yamcha prepared to try and drag yet more speed out of himself. He sensed Tien come up on his left, so he subtly drifted towards the left edge of the path to block him. When Tien tried the other side Yamcha drifted that way instead. He hadn't wanted to make it a competition, but if Tien insisted on trying to prove himself better than Yamcha, Yamcha was going to do his darndest to prove the three-eyed goon wrong. Perhaps he wasn't exactly playing fair, but it turned out that Tien was even less troubled with fairness.

As Yamcha's rear leg came up he felt Tien's foot collide with his ankle, hooking it just long enough to send Yamcha sprawling yet again. He hit the ground hard and slid before recovering, rolling to a crouch. Tien attempted to charge past him, but Yamcha grabbed him by his ankle, sending him to the ground in turn.

'Fool!' yelled Tien, lashing out with his other leg. The force of the kick was so great that Yamcha lost his grip on Tien's ankle and was shunted backwards, collecting against the low wall of serpent scales.

'You're the fool, fool!' Seeing red, Yamcha leapt back at him before Tien managed to get to his feet, landing a few blows before Tien roared, grabbed one of his wrists and rolled over backwards, flipping Yamcha through the air and nearly sending him right off the edge of the path.

'Hey, what do you think you're doing?' shouted Yajirobe, catching up at last. He staggered to a stand still and stood panting while Tien and Yamcha both lurched to their feet, also still breathless from running.

'I didn't think we were supposed to be fighting _each other_ ,' Yajirobe said just as Chichi and Chiaotzu caught up and squeezed past either side of him.

'Yeah, tell that to this asshole,' said Yamcha.

Tien looked down his nose at Yamcha in contempt. He'd taken his green and yellow tunic off while he was running and tucked it in the back of his pants. His white undershirt was soaked with sweat and clinging to his powerfully developed chest. Yamcha had to admit that Tien looked a formidable opponent, both taller and heavier than himself.

'You were getting in my way!' complained Tien.

'If all you wanted to do was overtake, there was no need to trip me!'

'What's going on, Tien?' asked Chiaotzu.

'Nothing. We're just leaving these charlatan "warriors" behind as they're slowing us down,' replied Tien. 'Chiaotzu, shall we take flight?'

Chiaotzu nodded in return, and then to Yamcha's utter surprise, they both rose off their feet and hovered in mid air.

'No way!' gasped Yajirobe.

'So long, amateurs!' Tien called, turning away from them and flying out over the edge of the pathway. 'I'd say see you at King Kai's, but I don't think you'll ever make it!'

Watching the two figures fly through empty air, cutting off a whole loop of the pathway and heading for the horizon, Yamcha felt a part of himself starting to agree with Tien. At this rate, they were never going to make it.

* * *

o

* * *

For the next several days on board the ship, the lessons continued. Bulma and Vegeta also instituted an energy conservation plan. All the overhead lights were set to only 50% of their usual brightness, and all lights were switched off when the rooms weren't in use. Vegeta wanted to ban all bathing and showering, but Bulma managed to talk him down to one five-minute shower each, every second day. They also turned the air filtration down. Odours tended to linger a lot longer with less air filtering, and with the reduced bathing routine the ship gradually became more fragrant. The laundry regime was put on hold too, but the Saiyans didn't seem too concerned with wearing the same clothes day after day. They hardly had any clothes anyway. Tarble and Vegeta wore their Earth disguises, and Nappa wore the too-short track pants and a tight white tank top of stretchy, tough fabric he'd found in the wardrobe of the pantry/bedroom. Raditz wore one of these too, as well as a tight pair of crisp white trousers that he left unzipped and unbuttoned most of the time because he didn't fit them properly. At least he'd found some underwear also. Apparently a white cap with a black band and brim completed the outfit.

'What do you think, guys?' he said one afternoon, returning from the pantry with his find and pushing it down over his stubbornly full-bodied hair. 'Do I look like a pilot now?'

'You look like a cheap male stripper,' Bulma told him without cracking a smile. Vegeta, Krillin and Nappa laughed while Raditz scowled at them all, but especially Bulma.

'I was _joking_ ,' he told them. 'Course I wasn't going to wear that stupid hat for real.'

Eventually Bulma took pity on them and dug through her emergency supply capsules, looking for clothes. She did find one with a very plain selection of Capsule Corporation branded sweatpants, hoodies, T-shirts, socks and underwear in shades of black, white and grey marl. Krillin and Goku were glad to have a change of clothes, and Tarble acted like she'd given him an early Christmas present, but the older Saiyans grumbled about the material, styling and range of sizes.

'You ungrateful pricks! Go without pants for all I care!' she snapped at them. Nappa gave her a shrewd look in return and Bulma immediately tried to back track. 'On second thoughts, please, for the love of god, wear pants!'

It gave her a funny feeling to see Vegeta padding around the ship in black jeans and a black Capsule Corp hoodie on.

The lessons became less theoretical and more practical. It was Krillin's idea to play blind man's bluff with the "blind man" not only blindfolded but with protective ear muffs and ear plugs from Bulma's toolkit, and in the case of the Saiyans, their noses pinched closed with a clothes peg. The "blind man" had to hunt the others using their sense of chi alone. As they got better at the game they made it harder; the hunter had to name the person they were hunting before catching them. Tarble got it right every time, and soon Goku, Krillin and Vegeta were getting nearly as good. Raditz was a bit hit and miss. Definitely lagging, but beginning to make headway was Nappa.

'You're trying to use your usual five senses still,' Tarble told him as he pulled the ear muffs, blindfold and peg off in frustration.

'I've trusted them this far through life and they've not let me down,' grumbled Nappa.

'Well, there's your problem! You've got to trust the chi too, but you refuse to let go enough.'

'Shut up you little toe rag!' Nappa barked, scaring them all. 'Watch how you talk! I was mentoring some of the greatest young Saiyans there ever was before your daddy even touched the bitch that birthed you, and I'm not going to have some dumbshit like you talking down to me like I'm stupid!'

'I…I didn't say you were stupid because of it,' squeaked Tarble, but Nappa flung the ear muffs, peg and blindfold at him, hard. Tarble cringed, but they bounced harmlessly off him, though the ear muff's headband snapped.

'Get a grip, Nappa!' Vegeta scolded him.

'Oh, I have a grip, or I'd have killed this worthless shit months ago,' said Nappa, suddenly going cold on them. 'I'm done for today. See you later.'

He stalked off towards his bedroom.

'Nappa!' Vegeta called after him. Nappa turned at the entrance of the corridor.

'I'm sorry. See you later, _your Highness_.'

He continued on his way and Vegeta growled at the insult, but did nothing more. 'Fine,' he muttered. 'The old fool was only slowing us down anyway.'

After repairing the ear muffs with gaffer tape they continued their exercise. It was one that Bulma and Puar could join in too; in fact, Vegeta demanded it, as they were considered hard targets due to their low power levels. For Puar, being caught was terrifying and potentially injurious, so after some bruises and near-broken ribs Vegeta gave her a pass. Bulma, though, had to get used to being hunted and caught by everyone. She had many trips, rough squeezes and accidental gropes. She also had some gropes from Raditz that seemed rather un-accidental.

She elbowed him in the ribs after he had grabbed her from behind yet again, and run a hand deliberately up her chest.

'Do that one more time, creep…!'

'What was that?' he said, taking the earmuff off.

'I said, do that one more time, CREEP and I'll…I'll…'

He laughed, letting her go. 'Hey, it was an accident! And what would you do about it anyway?'

Bulma glanced over at Vegeta, wondering if this kind of harassment fell under their agreement. Perhaps it did, because Vegeta glided over and grabbed the still-blindfolded Saiyan from behind, as Raditz had Bulma, and put a hand over his crotch.

'What?' cried Raditz, trying to struggle free. 'Who-! Vegeta?'

'What were my orders, Raditz?' he whispered.

'It was an accident!'

'There better not be any more blatant "accidents" then,' he warned, and squeezed Raditz's favourite parts.

'Haahh…!' came Raditz's breath, describing a pain beyond voice, and Vegeta dropped him to the floor. Watching him spend a few minutes in hell, Bulma decided she didn't feel _too_ sorry for him, and after that there were no more happy hands from Raditz.

When they first started playing, the bluffers had crept around as silently as possible, not moving too fast, even when the hunter was close. But as they got better, and as they all got rather into the spirit of it, the efforts of evasion got more and more earnest. The boys had an advantage in that they could fly silently away from the hunter, but Bulma had to rely of good old dodge and run tactics. Everyone had to stifle yelps when dodging blind arms flailing at them, and sniggers at the absurdity of the situations the blind man sometimes found themselves in. Krillin flew into the underside of the stairs while chasing Tarble. Tarble bumped his head on the lowered part of the ceiling above the lounge. Vegeta sailed crotch first into the corner of he breakfast bar, and Raditz was unable to contain his mirth at what he felt was natural justice.

Bulma hated to admit it was fun, but it was, though she wasn't able to engage in it the same way the others could. She still wasn't sure if those feelings she thought she had felt the other day been her imagination or actual chi, but after watching the boys get better and better at it she decided the only way to find out was through testing.

'Who's turn is it now?' asked Krillin as he took the blindfold off.

'Mine!' said Bulma.

'Really?' said Krillin.

'That would be a waste of time,' said Vegeta. 'You already admitted you can't do it, and it's not like you can fight anyway.'

'This chi sensing must have a lot more uses than just making you a better fighter,' she objected. 'And I don't _know_ that I can't do it. Maybe I can – that's what I want to find out. You guys have been doing this all day for the last two days. I don't know how many times I've been chased through the ship, now I want a turn! It's only fair!'

Vegeta sighed. 'Very well. But if you take too long we'll call off the hunt.'

Bulma took the blindfold, earplugs and ear muffs from Krillin. Before she put them on though she decided to add some conditions.

'You have to make it easy for me,' she said. 'I can't fly, and I haven't had all the chi-sensing practice that you guys have, so you should all stand still on the floor and not move while I come hunting.'

'Whatever hurries up this exercise,' said Vegeta.

'And you all have to stay in the lounge.'

'What!' objected Raditz. 'That's too easy.'

'I don't want to fall off the steps and kill myself,' she said. 'I don't float in the air and I'm not made of vulcanised rubber like the rest of you.'

Once the blindfold and ear muffs were in place, Puar took her hand and had her spin in a circle three times. Presumably the boys all switched up their positions while she did. She stood and listened and could hear nothing. All she could hear was her own breathing and the sounds of herself swallowing, loud in her ears. She took a couple of experimental steps forwards and banged into someone.

'That doesn't count,' she said. 'I hadn't actually started yet.'

The body disappeared and Bulma tried to repeat the exercise that Tarble had taught them on the first day, trying to send her energy into her hand, then send her awareness past her hand in front of her. For a long minute she did nothing but stand there searching for something, even something imaginary. She felt like she felt something warm to her right, and turned, waving her arm out, not sure is it was body heat she was feeling or not. Nothing was within reach though. Then she very slowly turned in a circle, deliberately testing she space in front of her in a way that she hoped was correct. She didn't really feel anything, until she had turned full circle, and then she felt that very faint warmth again. Or perhaps it was more of a buzzing? Curious, she took one, then two cautious steps forward, sliding her feet along the ground so that she didn't trip, and the feeling grew more, almost electric, like standing near someone whose coat had just come out of the tumble drier. Another two more steps and her hand bumped into a shoulder and she grabbed hold with both hands.

'Got you!' she said, smiling at her victory. Then she remembered that she hadn't said who she was hunting. She gave the name now, even though she considered it might be cheating, as she just _knew_ who it was, whether by feel or smell or what, she wasn't sure.

'Vegeta!'

She heard faint noises and pulled the earmuffs and blind fold off in one movement. It was indeed Vegeta standing before her, looking at her shrewdly. The others were congratulating her as she pulled the earplugs out. Puar was telling everyone that she wanted a go now too.

'Seems you may have picked up something after all,' said Vegeta. 'Though it could have been fluke. One doesn't draw conclusions from a single experiment with so much potential for accident.'

'Of course one doesn't,' she replied with mock seriousness. 'I am a scientist after all. The experiment needs to be repeated.'

'Of course,' said Vegeta smiling and narrowing his eyes at her at the same time. He nodded at the blindfold in her hand.

'Okay then,' she said.

They tried Bulma three more times. Each time she took a while, but eventually managed to find someone, though that someone was always Vegeta. The last time they all decided to move about the lounge in the air without telling her. It took her a lot longer, and once she figured out what they were doing she complained loudly at them.

'I can tell you're flying!' she said. 'Not fair!' Catching the trajectory of her target, she hurried, anticipating its movement and boldly jumping at it with arms stretched. She found herself with her arms around Vegeta's waist, bumping her face against his chest, and hung on tightly as she overbalanced. Vegeta landed on the floor and she pulled all the guff off herself again.

'Trying to be tricky and I still got you!' she crowed.

'Yes, you still got _me_ ,' he said. 'Can you not sense anyone else?'

'Well…no,' she said truthfully.

'Don't you think you should be expanding your horizons then? Or must I always be your victim?' Something in his tone caught her attention and she looked up into his eyes. Something lurked there, something playful, something droll and mocking, but not cruel like she might have expected. For an inexplicable second she was caught up in noticing the dark, red-brown details of his nearly-black irises for the first time, before she recovered her cool.

'Do you think I'm singling you out for special treatment?' she cooed. 'That's adorable!'

'If the shoe fits…'

'But until now the shoe has been on the other foot, hasn't it?' she said airily. 'As you must have hunted _me_ down a good two dozen times already, I must conclude that I am getting the extra-special, super-duper Vegeta treatment.' Vegeta's eyes went wide at the idea, and smiling, she turned away to find everyone else watching their conversation.

'I have no preference!' he spluttered behind her. 'I was just stretching my abilities by choosing the weakest target!'

'Whatever, buddy!' she teased, even though she knew he told the truth.

Puar had a turn next, and like Bulma, was able to find Vegeta after a while. Unlike Bulma though, on her second turn she caught Goku.

'Yay!' she cried. 'I think I'm getting the hang of this!'

On Vegeta's next three goes he caught Tarble, Goku and Krillin.

'I'm feeling all left out now,' Bulma mocked him. 'Have you gone off me?'

'Girl,' he growled, 'I was never "on" you!'

She laughed, but next time he had the blindfold on he had barely finished spinning when he called 'Bulma!' with is face set in an expression of vindictive delight that gave Bulma the willies.

 _Oh no!_ she panicked, as Vegeta was shot towards her at a speed rather reckless for a blindfolded man, and she squealed and ran along the wooden platform. Vegeta bumped into the top of the regeneration tank before he could stop himself and Bulma dashed across the lounge and up into the kitchen.

'Ooh, you've got Vegeta worked up now!' sniggered Raditz.

Unfazed and still smiling, Vegeta dashed through the air of the lounge, slightly clipped his foot on the kitchen bench and sent a roasting pan and utensils crashing to the ground. He was dead on aim though, and Bulma screamed to see him coming at her, crotch at face-level, and she dropped to all fours. Scrambling underneath him before he could touch down, she got up and ran through the doorway into the corridor, not looking back as she sprinted around the curve of the corridor, but as she got to the other end she saw that Vegeta had taken the short-cut, down the straight wall of the lounge and met her at the other end of the corridor. Skidding to a halt, she shrieked again, though she wasn't sure if it was from real fear or just the childish thrill of an all-out cat and mouse game. Turning, she knew he was almost on her, so she grabbed the handle of the nearest door and ran into the bedroom.

Nappa was sitting before the central window in just his pants, and he turned, looking first surprised and then angry as Bulma leapt up onto the bed, poised and waiting for Vegeta to come at her. He did, and she dropped low again, rolling off the edge of the bed while he bumped into the wall and knocked the large black and white artwork off its hook. Bulma bolted for the door, but Vegeta flew straight over the top of her head, knocking the door shut, and then twisting and landing before her with his arms stretched wide to receive her.

'No!' she trilled, and threw herself to the ground to avoid the collision, then took to all fours again, crawling as fast as she could back towards the bed to hide under it.

'Vegeta!' roared Nappa, but Vegeta either didn't hear or didn't care. Laughing he shot along the floor after her, his hands finding her hips just as she was getting her shoulders under the bed. She screamed as his hands grabbed her either side, and then he leaned down and wrapped and arm under her, hauling her out like a rabbit from its hole. She struggled like a rabbit too, squealing and gasping between the hysterical laughter that was starting to bubble up as he held her with her arms pinned at her sides, sat in his lap as he knelt on the floor.

'How'd you like the VIP treatment?' he snarled wickedly in her ear.

'VEGETA! What the fuck do you think you're doing?' shouted Nappa, shattering them out of their focus on the game. Bulma looked up to see Nappa standing over them and flinched. Vegeta let go of her, pulling the ear muffs and blindfold off. The peg was long gone, probably when he first hit the regen tank. Bulma slithered away, feeling suddenly ashamed.

'What are you doing?' repeated Nappa, incredulous.

'Training of course!' replied Vegeta.

The door opened and the other boys rushed in. 'Bulma, are you okay?' said Goku, looking grimly determined to _do something_ about it if she wasn't.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'That's some interesting fucking training, your Highness,' Nappa said, smirking slyly at Vegeta. 'What exactly are you training _in_ again?'

Vegeta was getting red in the face. 'Chi sensing of course!'

'Oh really?'

'Shut up, Nappa! You couldn't bother trying to keep up with us, so keep your comments to yourself. You have no right to scold me for whatever way I chose to train!'

The humour in Nappa's expression faltered, and anger flashed across it for a second before Nappa closed his eyes, took a breath and opened them again.

'Of course, your Highness. I was only amused by your methods.'

Satisfied with this answer, Vegeta nodded curtly and turned to the others grouped by the door.

'Let's get back to it, then.'

As they started filing back out, Bulma saw Raditz exchange a dark look with Nappa.

'Vegeta,' said Nappa quietly, following them to the door. 'Can I have a word, before you go?'

Bulma turned back in the doorway, wanting to know what Nappa had to say to Vegeta, but the giant man reached past Vegeta and closed the door in her face.

'Huh! Rude!' she muttered to herself as she joined the others in the lounge.

'Vegeta didn't hurt you, did he?' asked Tarble.

'No,' she said, surprised.

'He made a mess of the kitchen,' Raditz observed sullenly, throwing himself down on the couch and rooting around for the remote. Tarble and Goku joined him on the couch.

'Is that it, game over then?' she asked them.

Krillin still stood next to her, and glanced up at her.

'I think the mood is spoiled,' he told her, an unhappy look on his face.

'What? But things were just getting really fun!' she said, but he just looked grumpier and joined the others. She heard a muffled thump from the corridor and figured that another of Vegeta and Nappa's discussions was coming to blows again. It made her cringe a little. Vegeta had come to her aid against Nappa a couple of times now, and the thought made her glow inside, and preen herself over her ability to bend such a dangerous boy to her will. But she didn't like the way that Vegeta still turned to violence to end so many disagreements. Even though she was no fan of Nappa, the guy probably didn't deserve another broken cheekbone just for being sassy.

Shaking her head, Bulma slouched over to the couch, taking in all the glum faces and wondering what had got up everyone's nose (well, except Goku, who seemed perfectly serene). Before she made it there though, three beeps sounded around the room. She looked at the hologram, but Raditz was still in the menu and looked surprised.

'What's that?' she asked just as the beeps sounded again.

'Fuck!' said Raditz, hopping to his feet.

The bedroom door opened and Vegeta and Nappa both exploded out of the corridor, causing the boys to leap up out of their seats.

'What's going on?' Vegeta barked, and the beeps sounded a third time.

A series of brief, consternated glances was exchanged, and then they all charged for the stairs, en masse, Vegeta leading the way.

Vegeta felt sweat prickling on his brow as he tore upstairs. Up on the flight deck he skidded to a halt before the console and immediately saw the problem. It was not a proximity alarm as he had feared, but another.

'Bulma! Get here!' he shouted, much to the surprise of Raditz who had come up behind him. Vegeta pushed him aside and dragged the startled looking girl to the front.

'"Critical CO2 filtration fault,"' she read aloud. 'That doesn't sound good!'

Vegeta blinked at her obtuseness. 'Yes, I called you because I wanted your inane comments on the matter. Have you studied the CO2 capture system?'

'Yes,' she said, sounding very uncertain. 'Kind of. A little. Is there no other information?'

She reached out and pressed the button that had appeared saying "Details", but all it told her was there was an E13 fault.

'What the hell does that mean?' she asked, though it was clear she was talking only to herself. 'Out of my way!' she commanded, standing up and attempting to push her way through the men behind her and not really succeeding until they stumbled aside to let her through. She popped up the display on the map table and rapidly found the relevant chapters and schematics she was after. Vegeta watched her flicking through, backwards and forwards between the entry on errors and the schematic. He tried to follow the schematic himself, and was beginning to get his head around it when Bulma announced, 'I've got it!' She marched downstairs and they followed. Nappa grumbled into his ear as they started down the stairs.

'How do you know that this girl knows what she's doing?' he asked.

It was a good question, but Vegeta only knew that she knew better than he did. He had dulled his mind on the manuals and schemes and innards of the ship for months, and Bulma had only been studying it for nine or so days, but she grasped it better than he. He had to admit; she might be as good as her bragging.

Downstairs Bulma had pulled up one of the sections of flooring to get the ship's tools out. Then she rushed to the corridor, opening the linen cupboard and dumping the contents into the hallway. Pulling the shelves out after them, she revealed the compartment in the metal cladding and opened it using the tool from the ship's kit. Inside were two long canisters, about four foot long each. Even Vegeta could see the problem – one of the canisters was split along its length, and pale grey and black powder caked its outside and the compartment.

'Oh no!' said Bulma. 'One of the carbon scrubbers exploded! I thought it was just you hitting Nappa, but it must've been the canister.' She leant inside, shining the task lamp from the tool kit around the alcove. The boys pressed around, straining to see as well, and jostling Vegeta annoyingly. He was too intent on the issue to tell them off though.

'Why the heck did that happen?' she mused aloud. 'And the other one isn't looking too shit-hot either!'

The small worry he'd been feeling until that point began to blossom into something colder and pricklier. Bulma stepped out of the cupboard and turned to him, her face plainly scared.

'I don't know why this has happened,' she said, 'but half our CO2 cleaning capability is kaput, and the other half is very close to giving out.'

Vegeta didn't move as he absorbed the news, but Nappa and Raditz made small sounds of disquiet.

'Is that bad?' asked Krillin.

'Yes,' said Vegeta without looking at him. If they ended up having to take drastic measures to reduce their CO2 production, Vegeta pegged the Earthling kid as first to go.

'Carbon dioxide is the waste product of respiration,' Bulma explained to the younger boys. 'In a sealed environment like a space ship, the carbon dioxide, the CO2, builds up, and you need filters like the CO2 scrubbers to get rid of it. If it builds up too much, because the filters aren't working, we would start to hyperventilate, get headaches, feel confused…and eventually die.'

Tarble, Krillin and Goku's eyes opened wide in identical expressions of horror.

'Can you fix it, Bulma?' asked Goku.

'I don't think I can,' she said, glancing at Vegeta. Vegeta was suddenly struck by the unfairness of the universe. Fate apparently hadn't finished cursing him yet.

'But you can fix anything!' insisted Goku.

'You're the mechanic,' growled Vegeta. 'Do something!'

She turned and gave the canisters another looking over, shook her head and then pushed past them all, heading back to the map table upstairs. The rest of them followed her like a flock of nervous sheep to stupidly watch her poring over logs and manuals, pulling on her hair and biting her fingers with anxiety. Vegeta was aware that he was as helpless as all the others, a feeling that didn't sit feel at all, and he found he couldn't take his eyes off Bulma, watching every flicker of emotion over her face, expecting at any moment either a breakthrough or a breakdown that would signal their fate.

'The scrubbers were flushed just a little while ago,' she said eventually. 'I think that's when it split. I suspect it split because the scrubber got full of dirt.'

'Dirt?' Vegeta echoed. 'How did dirt get into the CO2 scrubber?'

She twisted her hair around her finger anxiously. 'The CO2 scrubbers are hooked up directly after the air filtration system. When we turned it down to conserve power we effectively began to feed dirty air into the scrubbers. The scrubbers and filters were probably already under a lot of pressure just because we've got nine people on board this ship instead of the four it was designed for. The dirty air must have blocked them up enough that when they were flushed one of them exploded.'

Vegeta nodded in understanding, keeping ahold of the urge to howl in frustration. The energy saving measures that Bulma and himself had put into place had caused this disaster! 'And what can we do about it?' he asked.

'I think we should turn the air filtration back to full and land the ship as soon as possible,' she said. 'Preferably somewhere with replacement parts. In the meantime we should pray that the second scrubber doesn't explode before we get there.'

'Oh, gods,' muttered Vegeta. He knew what this meant. They were going to Grenouillea II.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay guys, this is it for a while. I've got to write a few more chapters before I get back to you.


	25. A Prince and a Princess, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello! I've been busy, as I'm sure most of you were! But now I'm back bearing treats!

The next two days passed with a certain amount of anxiety. The training was abandoned, and without discussion, the morning katas stopped too, almost as if everyone feared that one false move could trigger the second CO2 scrubber to explode. Bulma knew that once that happened they would have only hours before the CO2 build up began to affect them. Instead they lay around the living area, despondent and fidgeting. Bulma retreated to the flight deck, fretting over the feedback from the ship's various systems, visited frequently by Vegeta, who joined her in anxious over-vigilance, and Puar, who was a natural worrier.

Whenever Vegeta left her alone, though, she also expanded her knowledge of the programming languages of the ship. She tried to figure out how to send a signal to her laptop that the device would actually be able to do something with, and also tried to hack the signal coming from the nearest communication hub and gain access to it. She didn't get far with that, though – the ship's own computer seemed to have measures in place to prevent tampering with the signal. This was more than annoying; Bulma was feeling a gnawing loss of control of her situation ever since the day they left Earth. Filling herself with knowledge about the ship was one way to exert a little more control. She'd also read the flight manuals, so she knew a little theory about how to pilot it too, although she had no hands-on experience and very much doubted that Vegeta would let her practice. The theory was a little comforting though; she was reasonably confident that if push came to shove, she could commandeer the ship if she had to. Now she also wanted more information about how this galaxy she found herself in  _worked_. The Galactic Directory was useful but brief, and gave no hint about how things really operated, the political landscape, nor the social or economic one. She felt blind with ignorance, and it was a horrible feeling indeed.

Whenever she was with the others, she would try and draw more information out of the Saiyans until she irritated them to the point of anger. Nappa, she found, had a good knowledge of many alien cultures and planets, mostly from the perspective of the denizens of bars, gambling dens, brothels and other centres of hedonistic delight. If she'd been planning a pan-galactic bachelor party, he would have been he perfect person to consult, but as that wasn't the case, and also as most of his information was given in an effort to shock her or else relive lewd memories, she got more useful stuff out of Raditz and Vegeta.

'You said that the capital planet of the galaxy is Axis-Rosetta, right? But Frieza is from this ice-lizard planet somewhere. Why didn't he make his home planet the capital?' she asked them at dinner. She had taken Tarble's seat, forcing the boy to sit on the steps with Goku and Krillin, but Bulma thought she was well within her rights to get a seat at the table now and then, and none of the older Saiyans would have let her get away with taking their place.

'Because the hell hole he climbed out of isn't even  _in_  this galaxy,' replied Raditz.

'Oh.  _Really?_ ' said Bulma.

'There are  _other_  galaxies?' asked Puar, who was sitting on the edge of the table.

Vegeta chuckled. 'Of course, Daemon. And all the other galaxies are populated too.'

'Uh, the universe just seems to keep on getting bigger and bigger,' observed Krillin from the steps.

Bulma wasn't surprised at that, but she was surprised that there was any kind of contact between galaxies. 'But the distances involved in travelling between galaxies…surely it would take too long!'

'Yes, that's why Frieza rules this galaxy from within it,' Vegeta told her. 'It's a journey of around three years between the heart of this galaxy and the nearest – the one Frieza is from.' He tore a strip of meat from the bone of the joint he'd been eating from and offered it to Puar. The cat glanced up at him. 'It's the softest part of the beast, next to the bone, much better than that tough part you ended up with before,' Vegeta tempted, and Puar relented, taking the morsel from his fingers with her teeth. Puar chewed while Bulma stared. So much for Puar's haughty disdain at being treated like a pet. What was next? Curling up on Vegeta's lap while they watched the holograms?

'Why did he come here then?' she asked. 'Why didn't Frieza stay in his own galaxy and rule  _that_  one?'

'Because that's his father's galaxy,' said Nappa. 'That misbegotten demon has a father, King Cold, who has ruled the West Galaxy for millennia. His spawn had to spread out to find new pastures to enslave.'

'Yes, it seems like there's only room for one Cold family member per galaxy,' Vegeta added, feeding Puar another piece of meat. 'Frieza's brother Cooler rules the East Galaxy, and together the three of them and their governments form the Cold Empire.'

'I thought Frieza was the head of this Planet Trade Organisation thing, though?' Bulma asked. 'It sounds more like a company than an empire. He doesn't even call himself a king or emperor.'

'Oh, he calls himself a Lord,' said Vegeta. 'He wouldn't dare give himself a title to compete with his father's. And the PTO is many things. It's a trade and commerce company that controls trade of everything it can get its tentacles into, up to and including the sale of planets. It's one of the ways Frieza makes his money to keep his army, which in turn he uses to control more trade. The other way is through the Cold Empire Banking system, though his father also takes a cut of that.'

'Does he control the whole galaxy?' she asked.

Vegeta shook his head. 'He wishes. There are many uncivilised planets that remain ignorant of Frieza, and even amongst the civilised ones, there are hold outs and rebels and even those that have gotten by simply because Frieza hasn't had the chance to deal with them yet. Those are the "free" planets. There are also Cold Empire Aligned planets that are allowed autonomy in return for having their trade and banking routed through the Cold system.'

'Right.' Bulma was starting to get the idea now. 'So he's running a galaxy wide racket. And you guys were some of the muscle he used to pressure planets?'

Raditz and Nappa sniggered, but Vegeta looked at her coolly.

'We were not merely brawn; we were the shock-brigade. He didn't send us for just any old planet,' he bragged, dragging a bone through the grease on his plate. Then he lifted the bone to his face and sucked it clean. Bulma made a face of disgust, and so he picked up the plate and licked the grease right off the plate, watching her to see what effect it had on her.

'Oh, stop it! Don't you have any table manners?' she snapped at him, taking his bait, even as she knew it was bait.

'Better table manners than you have, I bet,' he told her. 'I just see no point in wasting them if there's no one to impress.'

'You're not impressing me,' she said.

'Exactly.'

* * *

As they approached the Grenouillea II system, the Earthlings found themselves filled with nervousness watching the Saiyans getting edgy.

'What do you think they mean, "Change ships"?' Goku asked Krillin quietly. They were sitting in the bubble of the bathroom window, which had become a common place for them to retreat to when other corners of the ship were occupied.

'I asked Tarble that,' Krillin replied. 'They're going to hijack another one from somebody.'

Goku frowned. 'What are the other people going to do when they get thrown off their own ship?' He looked at Krillin and Krillin looked back, each working through their thoughts.

'I'm not sure they'll be in any state to worry about it,' admitted Krillin.

'Well, I'm afraid that they'll be dead,' said Goku, missing Krillin's inference of the same thought. 'We can't let that happen.'

'I'm not sure we'll have any choice!' replied Krillin.

'There's always a choice. A choice between trying to help someone and not bothering to try.'

Krillin flinched. 'Yeah, I guess you're right. But what  _are_  we going to do about it, then?'

'I don't know. Maybe we should go talk to Bulma about it.'

Krillin shrugged, feeling an unpleasant weight in his chest. 'Yeah, we should. But I think Bulma might have her own plans that she's not included us in.'

'What do you mean?' asked Goku, surprised.

'I don't know…she's just so…buddy-buddy with  _Vegeta_. She'd even rather sit with them at dinner instead of us.'

Goku gave him an incredulous look that made Krillin doubt his own suspicious heart. 'I don't think she will have forgotten about trying to save the people of Earth.'

'I don't think so either, but you know Bulma – she gets…distracted.'

Goku shook his head. He didn't know of course, and Krillin sighed. Maybe he was just being paranoid himself.

'Okay, then,' he said. 'Let's go talk to Bulma.'

They walked as quietly as they could through the den of Saiyans and climbed the stairs to the flight deck. As usual, Bulma was poised over the console of the ship, reading and typing in the alien script faster the either boy could follow.

'Hey, guys,' she said without looking up. 'What's up?'

'You realise when they "Take another ship" those Saiyans are probably going to kill its crew?' Krillin said without preamble.

She did look up now, looking uncomfortable. 'Yeah. And?'

' _And?_ ' repeated Krillin.

'And they shouldn't,' stated Goku.

'Why are you two looking at me like that?' she complained. 'It's not like it's  _my_  decision! Of course they shouldn't! What am  _I_  going to do about it? For that matter, what are  _you_  going to do about it?'

'We don't know.'

'Please tell me you're not going to fight all four of them on a space ship!'

'If we have to.'

'No!' she snapped. 'You can't win! Goku, I will  _ask_  Vegeta not to kill anyone, but that's as far as we can go. If we fight them over this we'll never get to Namek, and then not only will we die, but all of Earth will stay dead too! And we DO need to change ships. If we don't, we'll still die, so let me do the talking, and if that doesn't work just…don't think about it and wait till we get the damn Namek dragonballs!'

Goku growled and Krillin felt frustrated by his own maelstrom of feelings. He could hear the sense Bulma spoke, but he was torn between that pragmatism, his own cowardice and what he felt to be the right thing in his heart. He didn't have long to stew in it, though. The ship began making one of its many alert chimes and a message appeared on the console.

'We're dropping below the speed of light,' said Bulma after reading it. 'We're almost in the Grenouillea II system.'

* * *

Raditz put them in a slow orbit around the solar system. They turned the fusion drive off and all its scanning equipment on and laid in wait for passing craft. Bulma watched for an opportunity to make her plea for mercy to Vegeta, but it didn't seem to present itself. She was half certain he would scoff in her face anyway, but her instinct told her he would  _never_  agree to spare their victims if she asked him in front of Raditz and Nappa. Instead they all sat miserably around the darkened flight deck.

'You all know your parts?' Vegeta asked the other Saiyans. They all replied in the affirmative, so he then made sure that the Earthlings knew what their part was.

'Keep quiet, keep out of the way, and when we say it's safe, start bringing everything onto the new ship. And don't you  _dare_  interfere,' he ended, glaring at Goku.

But no ships came.

An hour passed and their attention wandered. Tarble began unwinding his finger-knitting and starting over. Bulma got her laptop back out. Puar fell asleep on the headrest of Vegeta's chair.

'Are we on the wrong side of the solar system?' Raditz pondered. 'Perhaps all the ships approach from the other side?'

'Maybe there's not that much trade at all?' suggested Nappa.

'Move the ship to the other side of the system,' Vegeta ordered.

Then something happened that was the last thing anyone wanted. The other CO2 scrubber gave out, and the alarm went off again.

Panic brought Bulma to her feet before she realised there was nothing she could actually do.

'We've got about eight hours,' she said. 'And only about six of those thinking coherently!'

Vegeta looked at her, his own panic visible in his strained face and deepened breaths. 'Raditz, take us in closer to the planet. There's more chance of finding a ship there, and if all else fails, we can land.'

The ship turned inwards, towards the sun at the centre of the system, which dawned over the console in a burst of shocking light. Even as the reactive filters on the flight deck's dome compensated for the intense brightness, it still dazzled, and Bulma found she could not keep her eyes away from it. It was beautiful and ominous – an intense orange that painted the crew and the flight deck in razor sharp stripes of amber light and black shadow.

'I just got to guide us through this junk-cloud first,' Raditz told them. 'Maybe that's why there's no ships here – there's no big channels through this asteroid and dust field close by.'

' _Welcome to Grenouillea Two aerospace, a Cold Empire-aligned Free Planet_ ,' a female voice spoke loudly on the flight deck, causing them all to jump in surprise.

'What the…?' asked Bulma as they all looked to Vegeta and Raditz for an explanation, thought they looked as startled as everyone else.

'It's just a pre-recorded message,' Raditz assured them, still clutching his chest from the fright, but the voice continued to speak over the top of him.

 _'We hope you enjoy your visit and advise that in addition to Cold Galactic Law, visitors must abide at all times by Grenouillea laws and regulations while within the bounds of this system's outer debris field. A copy of these laws and regulations are being transmitted to your ship's on-board computer now_.'

Both the screens on the dashboard and the holographic map table burst into activity, displaying line after line of text scrolling so fast that Bulma couldn't make out a single word.

 _'No landing is permitted on any of the uninhabited planets of the Grenouillea system without express consent. Controlled landings are only permitted on Grenouillea Two. By proceeding you are agreeing to abide by Grenouillea's laws and regulations and permit Grenouillea Space Traffic Control access to your ship's remote operating facilities, manifest and other personally identifiable information deemed necessary by law and to provide a satisfactory visitor landing service._ '

'Fuck!' swore Vegeta. The scrolling stopped and a single question hung on the screen before Raditz.

_I hereby grant Grenouillea Space Traffic Control access to this craft's remote operating facilities and agree that any attempt to disengage remote control before the craft is fully docked will result in immediate threat response. Yes? Cancel? Assistance?_

'Threat response?' repeated Krillin. 'That doesn't sound very…friendly.'

'It's completely over-the-top,' complained Raditz.

After a pause the disembodied voice spoke again.  _'If your ship lacks remote operating facilities, or if you need to speak to a space traffic controller please choose the option of assistance. Should you continue into the debris field without relinquishing control of your craft, a threat response will be triggered and your craft will be destroyed._ '

Vegeta hissed. 'What the hell is this? We don't want to land, and we certainly don't want to give up control of the ship to complete strangers!'

He reached over and hit cancel, and the voice chimed in again. ' _As you have chosen not to abide with the established landing protocol you may not enter the Grenouillea Two system. On your present trajectory you will be within the bounds of the debris field within two galactic minutes. We advise you change your course immediately to avoid repercussions._ '

'The fuck!'

'Woah, that is just a  _little_  bit extreme, don't you think?' said Bulma.

'Raditz, turn us around. Quick!' Vegeta ordered.

Raditz grasped the controls and the sun slid out of view again. Then he turned to Vegeta.

'Well, where are we going to go then?' he asked.

Vegeta rubbed his hands over his face, then glowered at the console. 'Continue skirting the solar system. Hopefully a ship will present itself to us.'

'For how long?' asked Bulma. 'We're kind of on the clock!'

'Yeah, I don't want to suffocate,' added Raditz.

'For a while!' snapped Vegeta. 'I'm not racing down to hand over everything to some super-charged, paranoid bureaucrats if I don't have to!'

Puar whimpered a little and Nappa huffed and sat down on the couch next to Bulma, jiggling his leg with tension. Bulma lasted about another two minutes before she couldn't take the restless waiting and undercurrent of desperation any more, and went downstairs. She busied herself by taking inventory of her capsules, packing away clothes and anything else that was out of their capsules, ready for a quick transfer to another ship. Everything except her laptop. This she opened and checked that her "Ship-computer emulation program" (for lack of a better name) had compiled, which it had. Heart leaping with excitement she fired it up and got her laptop talking with the ships computer within moments. She could see that a communication port was being held open by the Space Traffic Control and force-shut it, just to be safe. Then she had the ship look for a signal from a communication hub, and finally she was connected to the galactic information superhighway.

'You're so  _clever_ , Miss Briefs!' she congratulated herself, but her delight was short-lived. It was more of a galactic country lane than a superhighway that she had hacked. The information from the Galactic directory was open and unencrypted, but the rest was encrypted and there was surprisingly not much of it. The decrypting programs that she already had on her laptop didn't seem to make much headway on those, though they made short work of the usernames and passwords on the edit functions of the directory. She was tempted to leave a vague threat against Frieza under the Earth's entry, something like 'The wages of sin are death!' or 'Bulma Briefs will have her revenge!' but chickened out.

Instead she checked the CO2 levels from the ship's sensors and felt a tingle of alarm. They had already risen 2%. They might actually have less time that she had thought. Racing back up stairs she told the others what she'd found.

'And how do you know that?' asked Vegeta, standing up out of the pilot's seat.

'Because I connected my computer to the ship,' she admitted, blushing because she'd not meant to reveal this.

'This girl-!' choked Nappa.

Vegeta's eyes bored into her, obviously furious with her, but the crisis of the moment was apparently enough that his anger at her was put aside for now in favour of his anger at the choice they now faced.

'Dammit! We could get torn to pieces on that planet!' he complained to them all. 'If we're going down there, there's no telling what will happen! The Grenouilleans are too powerful, too paranoid and too Cold-aligned for comfort.'

'I'm not saying it's a good option,' Bulma replied. 'I'm saying it's our  _only_  option!'

'I know!' he fumed, turning to Raditz who was looking up at him expectantly. 'Do it.'

Raditz turned them into the sun again, and before long the pre-recorded warning sounded again. When the "Yes? Cancel? Assistance?" dialogue boxes came up Vegeta leaned over and pressed "Assistance". A video link sprang up in place of the dialogue box, and a beautiful, pale-brown skinned man with golden eyes and chestnut hair smiled wanly at them.

'This is Bonzanard of Grenouillea II space traffic control. How may I assist you?' And Bulma's breath was momentarily taken away by the beauty of a mere support-desk operator.

'You can assist us by allowing us to pilot our own ship into land,' said Vegeta, getting up to stand at Raditz's shoulder and look down at the man.

'I'm afraid that's not possible, sir. It is Grenouillea policy that ships are either landed by traffic control or guided in by military escort. I see your ship is equipped with remote operating facilities, so I recommend you let us use them. If you opt for the military escort there will be a substantial additional landing fee.'

Vegeta made a disgusted huffing noise and then replied, 'Fine. We'll do it the easy way. What is the standard landing fee?'

'There is a fee of twelve hundred credits for a vessel of your class for the standard landing service at one of the three major ports, an additional fee of three hundred credits for landing at one of the secondary ports, or an additional six hundred to land directly at one of the provincial centres. I would like to advise you that standard landings are taking an average of four hours today, but if you'd like to upgrade to our express service for another nine hundred and fifty credits, you can expect to be planet side in just over an hour.'

Bulma was shocked. She hadn't expected space to be so user-pays. The service assistant smiled again in a patently false manner and looked away at something to the side of the camera.

'You're going to pick the express service, right?' asked Bulma quietly, sidling up to Vegeta.

Vegeta was staring hard at the screen, looking very concerned. 'I don't think so,' he said.

'Four hours is cutting it a bit close, though!'

'I'll give you a moment to decide,' said the assistant. 'Just select the "yes" option in the permission screen when you've made up your minds.'

He disappeared, replaced by the previous screen.

'Are we going to suffocate because we can't afford the  _landing fee_?' asked Raditz, and Bulma realised the reason for Vegeta's reluctance.

'Do we have four hours?' he asked her.

'I think so, but I can't be sure. Really, if you have the money you should pay for the express!'

'We've only got about three thousand credits all up,' he told her, which, although she had no idea what the worth of a credit was, sounded ridiculously meagre to her ears.

'We'd better hope that we don't have to pay for departure too, then,' said Nappa. 'Or the repairs! Fuck! We should have dealt with this money situation before it got so tight!'

'If there'd been a chance, we would have,' said Vegeta in annoyance. 'But we don't normally go anywhere near planets like this one, so it didn't matter that much until just now!'

'Do you have, like, an emergency fund somewhere?' asked Bulma.

'No.'

'More money in a bank? Is there a way of getting a transfer?'

Vegeta looked at her like she was an idiot. 'No! There is no more money! Anywhere!'

This was uncomfortable. One thing that Bulma had never had to worry about on any adventure was running out of money.

'We'll use the standard,' Vegeta said eventually. Raditz hit the "Yes" button and the assistant returned.

'And what is your decision?' he asked, glancing back and forth between the camera and another screen.

'Standard service,' replied Raditz. 'We're not in any hurry.'

The man nodded and began typing, still most of his attention on whatever screen was to the side of the camera. A sign lit up on their console and the man said, 'I've engaged the remote operating facility. Do not attempt to disengage it until your craft is fully landed. If you need more assistance just press the "Assistance" button and I will attend to you. Enjoy your landing…' Suddenly he froze and turned to look at the camera again.

'Enjoy your landing, your Highness,' he said in a much more deferential tone.

On the flight deck there was a collective intake of breath and they all glanced at Vegeta, who had turned rigid and a little pale. Vegeta stared at the assistant for a heavy moment, and then asked, 'How did you know it was me? I'm not standing in the range of the pilot's camera.'

'Forgive me, Prince Doritoni,' said the assistant, seeming a bit flustered. 'I read your name from the ship's manifest. I believe you are travelling with the Princess Cee-Cee, a female aide and a male pilot. I deduced who I was talking to.'

Earthlings and Saiyans alike let out a breath of relief.

'You are correct,' said Vegeta.

'Don't hesitate to contact me should you need anything! I'm your humble servant, your Highness. Er…goodbye,' he signed off, looking apologetic.

As soon as the video link severed they sagged in relief before being elevated to anxiety again.

'I don't know whether it's good or bad that they think we're someone we're not,' said Vegeta.

'Surely a good thing?' said Raditz.

'I suggest we don't tell these assholes that we stole this ship and killed the precious prince and princess,' said Nappa, causing prickly horror to wash down Bulma's body and Krillin to moan.

'Obviously they can't know who we really are, but we certainly don't want attention,' said Vegeta. 'Not to mention, we don't have the money to pull off imitating those royal twits. Once we land, we're lying low until we can figure out how to get what we want and off the planet again.'

'After we've paid this landing fee, how much will eighteen hundred credits get us?' asked Bulma.

Vegeta looked a little wild-eyed. 'Maybe the CO2 scrubber. Or the junction box. Certainly not both.'

'If they think you're this L'Goontian Prince, do you think we should look and see if there's anything about him in the Galactic Directory?' asked Nappa.

Vegeta grunted. 'Good idea, Nappa.'

He made his way to the map table and searched the directory for the entry on L'Goonta. The rest of them clustered around.

They read the short factsheet on L'Goonta, some of which they already knew from watching the hologram library, though "factsheet" was probably not the right word, as it was remarkably light on "facts". It proudly proclaimed the planet a free and independent one, then warned that unsanctioned visitors were not welcome before launching into a description of the virtues and situations of the L-Goontian monarchy. The current (wise, shrewd and level-headed) King was very advanced in age, and his oldest son (visionary and natural leader) hovered to inherit the throne. The King's oldest grandson (the People's prince) had recently married his second cousin Cee-Cee (a delightful and compassionate woman) and they were currently on honeymoon. A honeymoon that went badly wrong apparently, thought Bulma as she frowned at Vegeta.

'Oh, no,' groaned Radtiz as they scrolled down the page. 'There's a picture of the Prince. If they look this page up at all they'll see it's not you!'

The L'Goontian crown Prince Doritoni was a long-faced man with sallow-gold skin.

'Balls,' hissed Nappa.

'And if they realise this ship is stolen…' said Vegeta, trailing off.

But Bulma practically danced on the spot with excitement. 'Guys! I can fix it! I already hacked the Galactic Directory!' she gabbered, and then raced down stairs to do so before anyone could respond. A couple of minutes later the raced back up, carrying her laptop under one arm to find the Saiyans looking confused and wary.

'The photo disappeared,' said Raditz, sounding almost angry about it.

Krillin chuckled. 'That's our Bulma.'

'Yay, Bulma!' said Goku and Puar together, and Bulma posed, preening.

'Not just a pretty face,' she cooed.

But Vegeta was staring at her hard. 'Girl, you altered the records…how?'

'By knowing how programmers work…right across the galaxy, apparently,' she stated.

He looked astonished. 'How? You couldn't even read Galactic plain script ten days ago!' Then he shook his head and leapt on a more pressing question. 'Can you alter the Cold Bank communications? We need money!'

'Well…I don't know. Do you think the bank is in constant communication with the planet?'

'Yes!'

'Well, in that case I couldn't when I tried before, but I only spend a few minutes trying to get at the encrypted data…'

Nappa shook his head. 'No way, Vegeta. No one can break the security around the Cold Bank. Besides, you know it would take days to get a signal to the bank and back this far from the centre of the galaxy.'

Vegeta's face clouded again. 'I suppose you're right. But if she can do it in time, it could be a solution our future cashflow problems.'

Nappa humphed in doubt.

'So you don't have any money in a bank?' asked Bulma.

'Not anymore,' Raditz told her. 'Frieza froze our accounts. Even accessing them sets off alarms.'

'So your…"credits" are cash?'

'Stored-value credit chips,' said Vegeta.

'Which are stolen,' clarified Raditz.

'Speaking of which,' said Vegeta, 'Nappa, Raditz, hand over your chips.'

The other two did so, making noises of reluctance, while Bulma propped her laptop on the end of the console, thinking to have another look at the encrypted traffic. Goku, Krillin, Puar and Tarble clustered around the map table to read aloud the information on L'Goonta and Grenouillea II, but they were soon interrupted by a ping from the console, and the screen next to Bulma came to life again. Vegeta wheeled around, caught in the scope of the pilot's camera and froze as a different face filled the screen. This one was older, greener and wearing some kind of uniform jacket, and twin braids each side of his head, clamped with gold at the tips. Vegeta held up a hand behind him to forestall the others from coming closer.

'Yes?' he asked.

'Greetings, your royal Highnesses,' the new man said smoothly, his teeth sliding back between each movement of his lips to reveal an oily grin. 'I am Major Nobuzz of Grenouillea Traffic Control and I have just been informed of your impending arrival. We'd like to extend a complimentary military escort to the Spawn City spaceport.'

They all hesitated and waited to see what Vegeta would do, and after just a second he replied, 'Thank you. We look forward to landing.'

'Do I have the pleasure of speaking to Prince Doritoni?' the man asked.

'You do,' answered Vegeta stiffly while the rest of them held their breath.

'I'm sorry I was unaware of your visit ahead of time. It is usually our policy to provide an escort to all Heads of State and their representatives. Neither did our Foreign Affairs office know of your coming. May I ask what the nature of your visit is today?'

Vegeta drew a slightly hissing breath. 'Urgent repairs,' he admitted.

The man nodded and smiled again. 'I understand. An unexpected detour. There are several highly skilled and experienced engineers I would recommend to you based at Spawn City spaceport, and I will have them call on you to quote for the job as soon as it's convenient to you.'

Vegeta flinched slightly and Bulma moaned quietly with dismay. This was not low profile, nor did it sound like the cheap, DIY repair job Vegeta had been hoping for. She didn't moan quietly enough, though, as the sound attracted the attention on Major Nobuzz.

'Is that the Princess Cee-Cee I can just see to your right?' he asked. 'I can just see an arm and a delightful shade of blue hair.'

Bulma locked eyes with Vegeta, and saw his alarm barely hidden below the surface.

'It is,' he replied tersely, and Bulma shuffled slightly into view.

'Hi,' she said, and Vegeta shot her a glance of disbelief.

Major Nobuzz grinned again. 'I hear that congratulations are in order for the newlyweds. L-Goontian bachelors must have swooned with dismay when you selected your beautiful bride, Prince Doritoni! I trust you have been enjoying a pleasant honeymoon?'

'I hardly think this is appropriate conversation,' said Vegeta darkly, and the Major looked surprised and then embarrassed.

'My apologies, your Highnesses. I look forward to greeting you in person soon.'

The screen went dead again, and the flight deck erupted in groans, growls and cries of 'What do this mean now?'

Raditz rushed to the other pilots console and began tapping about. 'We've got six interceptors in close range about us!'

'It means we're screwed!' snarled Vegeta. He cast a searching eye over Bulma, then Puar and Raditz. 'Raditz, bring up the ship's manifest.'

Raditz did so, and read it aloud.

'Prince Doritoni, second in line to the L-Goonta throne; Princess Cee-Cee, wife of Prince Doritoni; Captain L'Cheez, pilot and bodyguard; and Lady Pringella, personal chef and aide.' He looked up at Vegeta questioningly as did the others.

'This is worse than any trap,' warned Nappa. 'We've got to fight our way out of this right now while it's just six interceptors we're dealing with.'

'And what?' snapped Vegeta. 'Suffocate in a few hours time? No.' He looked around him at all the younger boys, then back to Bulma and Puar. 'Our strategy has changed. We're going to hustle.'

'Hustle?' echoed Bulma.

'Yes,  _Princess Cee-Cee_ , hustle.' He pointed at Puar. 'You're the personal chef. Make like a L'Goontian woman.' Then he nodded at Raditz. 'Put your strippers outfit on; you're the pilot and bodyguard. The rest of you don't exist as far as the Grenouilleans are concerned, and we need to keep it that way.'

* * *

The next hour was spent in frantic activity. Bulma made the preparations Vegeta asked for and then tried and failed to make headway against the alien encryption on the data passing through the communication hub again. Giving up, she went downstairs to join the others making plans and donning disguises.

'Your earpieces, will they work on this planet?' asked Vegeta the moment she set foot downstairs.

'I don't see why not,' she replied.

'Then find them. We'll need to stay in communication with Nappa, and we may be split up from Raditz and Puar at times.'

Bulma located them in her capsule of electronics, handed one to Krillin, one to Puar, and kept one for herself. Vegeta watched her and then took them all away again, handing one to Nappa, one to Raditz and putting the last in his own ear.

'Rude!' she exclaimed. 'It's like you don't trust us.'

'You Earthlings are too ignorant of alien cultures to be the effective communicators, plus overall too stupid,' he clarified. ' _And_  I don't trust you.'

Bulma didn't waste the time arguing – today their aims were identical – stay alive, fix the ship and get away safely.

'Now for the disguises,' said Vegeta, leading the way into the bedroom.

Bulma and Vegeta knelt side by side in the open wardrobe to tear through the jumble of clothes on the floor that had been pulled off their hangars and left there since the Saiyans took the ship. Bulma detangled crushed dresses and skirts with increasing worry. Cee-Cee and Doritoni had both been tall and skinny, and none of their clothes were a proper fit for Bulma and Vegeta, but a few pieces here and there could be used – a red, silk shirt with gold embroidery down the front that Vegeta tucked into his jeans so it wouldn't be noticed that it came halfway down his thighs, and a ceremonial sword and belt.

'Vegeta, you need to do something about your hair,' said Nappa, leaning over the two of them. 'It's too recognisable for anyone who knows what you look like.'

Vegeta put a hand over his distinctive stiff spikes and looked at Bulma. 'Bulma, do my hair like on Earth.'

Hurriedly, Bulma decapsulated her own wardrobe and pulled out a brush, hair-tie and the gel, then dragged them all through Vegeta's hair and tied a pony tail at the back while he sat on the corner of the bed. It didn't look much like a pony tail though, as it stuck out in a spray of spikes that were far too cheeky for a proper prince, Bulma decided. A lab technician could get away with that look, but not a future king. Ordering him to hold still some more, Bulma twisted the ends into a knot and pinned them, smoothing the stray hairs in with more gel.

'Urgh, you've tied it so tight I can't move my eyebrows properly,' Vegeta complained as she let him go.

'That's probably a good thing,' she replied. 'It'll stop you from scowling at everyone. Didn't you say we need to lull people into trusting us?'

He didn't reply, merely attempted to scowl anyway, but was interrupted by Raditz walking gingerly into the bedroom followed by Goku, Tarble and Krillin. Raditz had all the pieces of his pilot's uniform on again, his great mane hanging down his back from under his cap.

'Gods, I hope I don't have to sit down in these pants; I'll split the ass in two for sure.'

'What about  _his_  hair?' asked Puar, pointing at Raditz.

Vegeta frowned. 'That is also too recognisable, and worse, it's a mess! Bulma, see to it.'

Raditz looked as if he was going to object, but Bulma beat him too it.

'And how long is that going to take? Vegeta, I have to get ready too, you know! I haven't even found something princessy to wear! Can't someone else do it? Goku?'

'Me?' asked Goku, and looked up at his towering over brother. 'Okay, I'll give it a shot.'

'Or even faster than making it presentable, why don't you just cut it all off?'

Nappa and Raditz both gasped in horror but after a beat Vegeta laughed. Raditz clutched at the ropey mass protectively.

'Don't you dare!' he cried.

'Well, you  _are_  always complaining it gets in the way,' said Vegeta.

'You wouldn't get shit in it when you wipe ever again,' Tarble suggested quietly from the rear, to which Vegeta sniggered and all the Earthlings grimaced but pretended they didn't hear.

'Calm down, Raditz! He's joking!' said Nappa.

'Am I?' teased Vegeta. 'Bulma, cut his hair.'

Nappa frowned. 'You don't cut a Saiyan's hair, Vegeta – it's his very identity! You know that.'

'Yeah!' cried Raditz.

'Don't be stupid!' scoffed Bulma. 'A hairstyle is not an identity! You look like you're way past due a good hack, anyway.'

'Saiyan hair doesn't grow back, you butcher!' said Raditz, backing away.

Bulma was surprised, but, 'Even so, do you really need all of it?'

'Yes!'

'Well, what are you going to do with it, then?' She picked up the brush that she'd left on the bed and then opened one of the drawers in her wardrobe, wondering if she had any hair scissors. 'We can tie it back, but I really think you should let me give you a trim.'

Raditz continued backing up, stepping on and stumbling over Krillin before he reached the door. 'I'm not letting you anywhere near it!'

'Raditz, I was joking!' said Vegeta, but Raditz grabbed Goku and Krillin by the backs of their necks and dragged them, protesting, back down the corridor. 'What an idiot,' Vegeta mumbled and strode after him, trailed by Nappa and Tarble.

Finally Bulma was left alone to salvage the Princess's wardrobe. Princess Cee-Cee liked long dresses and skirts with loose or low waists and warm hues. She could have been a bit more youthful and sharp with her fashion sense though, Bulma thought with annoyance, and then caught herself with a shock. She was complaining over the contents of a murdered woman's wardrobe! The disquieting thought shocked her into a moment of stillness and shame, but then she flung herself back into her task. She hadn't known the dead woman's name until an hour ago, and had barely spared a thought to her existence and end before then. Now the clothes in her hands now somehow felt dirty, like they were covered in traces of blood.

She knew she didn't have anything she considered royal-esque in her own wardrobe – just a few short, simple dresses amongst her shorts, pants and t-shirts, and a few fancy-dress costumes in her other adventure-capsule collection. Any items she thought might be useful later she flung into her own wardrobe, and then settled on a strange overdress that seemed to be made of looped scarves in red, purple and magenta. It draped, rather than fitted, so she thought no one would notice it was too big. She put on one of her own short, pink dresses underneath for modesty with the overdress on top, draping it as she hoped it was meant to be worn. It was too long, and touched the floor, but she realised that maybe that was a good thing, as she had no shoes to wear with it. The closest thing she had to appropriate were a pair of purple canvas flats.

'I look stupid!' she said to her reflection in the bedroom mirror, holding up the hem of the gown to show her cute, but exceedingly childish (she realised now) footwear. Then she searched the desk drawers, the bedside table and the wardrobe again, looking for jewellery, but found nothing. Surely it was inconceivable that a Princess of a planet had no jewellery, unless the L'Goontian idea of fashion and status was vastly different from her own? What she did find though was a holographic photo in the bedside drawer of a young, horse-faced looking couple, standing hand in hand on the marble steps of some grand building. The dress and train were purple, and the man wore a robe instead of a tuxedo, but she sensed it was a wedding photo, and looking at the obvious happiness in their faces, Bulma suddenly choked on a sob. They'd had no idea what had been about to meet on their honeymoon…

Saiyans.

She bit her lip and forced the tears and thoughts back, and on impulse, threw the holograph into her own wardrobe. Then she dug out another capsule with make up in it. She only wore make up when she was dressing-up, and this occasion definitely qualified as dressing-up, but what she desperately needed was the bronzer. Vegeta was olive skinned enough to pass for L-Goontian, but she wasn't. After dusting herself she hurriedly applied some pink eye shadow and some mascara in what she hoped might pass for a daytime-casual princess look. Grimacing at herself in the mirror, she decided she'd failed, but gave up and packed up her make up and wardrobe again.

Returning to the lounge she saw that Tarble, Goku and Krillin were each braiding a long, tapered plait down Raditz's back while he sat on the steps. Vegeta was inspecting a gorgeous, golden-skinned woman who was pirouetting on the spot before him, wearing a high collared, but figure-hugging dress. Bulma was struck through with shock and anger before realising that it was, of course, Puar.

'Do you think that'll do?' Puar asked Vegeta.

'Very good, Daemon,' he replied, smiling.

'Rather overshot the mark, haven't you?' Bulma grumbled under her breath. Then she turned on Vegeta, feeling suddenly quite belligerent towards him. 'Do you know where the Princess's jewellery might be?'

The males all looked over at her and Vegeta's smile dropped into a frown, and Nappa's frown turned into a smile.

'What the  _hell_  are you wearing?' asked Vegeta.

Bulma blushed in anger and embarrassment. 'One of the few things that will actually fit me!' she shouted back.

'Are you  _sure_  that actually fits you?' asked Raditz.

Bulma ignored him. 'Where is the jewellery?' she demanded.

'We sold it months ago,' replied Nappa.

'Hot, fucking damn!' Bulma almost shrieked, and the younger boys cringed. She felt close to tears again. 'How am I supposed to pass for a real princess with crumpled clothes and no jewellery?'

'Well, what do you want us to do about it?' asked Vegeta, not quite calmly, but quiet enough. 'Go back in time and un-sell it?'

'No! I don't know! Maybe while you're at it you could go back in time and un-murder the prince and princess?'

Vegeta's expression grew darker and he turned to Puar. 'Perhaps you should play the princess, Puar? Bulma seems to be rather emotionally disorganised right now, not to mention you are wearing an adult's footwear.'

Bulma stamped her foot and fumed, and Krillin and Goku instinctively backed away. 'I packed for adventure, not for some high-stakes intergalactic con game!'

Nappa and Raditz both chuckled at her temper tantrum while Bulma and Vegeta stared each other down. His face was ice cold, while she felt like she was aflame. Into the silence, Puar spoke softly.

'But…Prince Vegeta, that Major guy, he's already been introduced to Bulma as Cee-Cee.'

'Hnn,' Vegeta said in acknowledgement. 'Then I guess I'm pretending to be  _married_  to this mess of a female.'

Tears pricked Bulma's eyes again. 'You can talk, Vegeta. What kind of prince wears a furry, brown belt?'

'I do!' he roared back at her.

'Well, it looks stupid!' she told him spitefully. There was an intake of breath around the room, and not even Krillin came to Bulma's aid as Vegeta stalked towards her, his "belt" unlooping and lashing through the air behind him.

'What do you suggest then, idiot? Cutting it off like Raditz's hair?' he hissed.

'Don't be dumb,' she hissed back, not moving an inch as he mounted the first and second steps before her. He couldn't take the top step without either stepping into her or going around her, and now he found himself stuck, looking up to her, waiting for her to fall back in fear, but she wouldn't. Without his trademark spikes, Vegeta's face was allowed to command the watcher's full attention, and Bulma found her eyes wanting to flee the intensity of his cruel and handsome features. She forced herself to keep his gaze though, almost vibrating with this strange feeling of anger and dissatisfaction she had towards him.

'I have some gold body paint,' she told him, trying to calm herself down. 'We should paint your tail gold to disguise it as something other than a  _tail_.'

They glared at each other a second longer, and then Vegeta looked away. 'All right, then. And hurry up; we're surely almost out of time.'

Still glaring at his profile, Bulma hopped down onto the step behind him, opened the fat tube of paint she'd taken from her makeup bag and squeezed a big dollop into her hand. Then she grabbed hold of Vegeta's stiff tail to smooth down its length, but it was immediately wrenched out of her hand, almost yanking her off the step. Vegeta danced away, a truly startled expression on his face as he turned on her.

'What?' squawked Raditz, in amusement or scandal, Bulma wasn't sure. Nappa choked, and even Tarble made a noise of astonishment.

'Don't let her grab your tail!' said Goku helpfully. 'It'll make you go all funny.'

'What did I say to you about touching my tail?' asked Vegeta, turning red.

'Oh, so what!' said Bulma, trying to get her wits about her. 'I just…forgot! Jeez! Don't make such a big deal about it! It was a mistake! Here!' She followed Vegeta and grabbed his hand instead, roughly smearing the paint into his own palm. 'Do it yourself, Mr Sensitive!'

Still red, Vegeta wandered away to hide behind the breakfast bar while he slathered his own tail with paint, while Nappa cocked a brow at Raditz, and Raditz continued to laugh under his breath.

'You paint your tail, too, Raditz!' Vegeta commanded, catching his expression.

Raditz grinned and leaned back, unrolling his tail towards Bulma, the three young boys still labouring on his locks.

'You can do  _my_  tail,' he told her in a mockingly seductive voice.

'Get fucked, Raditz,' she replied, but this only made Raditz and Nappa laugh harder.

* * *

As the ship dipped under the level of the high cloud, the bright green jungle and swampy green water of the planet loomed up outside the window. A city appeared over the horizon, with tall, white towers and smudges of white, grey and brown structures spreading out from its centre. Closer than the city was something that looked like a smaller, flatter city, but when Nappa looked over Bulma's shoulder to see what she was looking at he said, 'That must be the spaceport we're headed to. Reckon we'll be there in a few minutes.'

'Then let's get into place,' said Vegeta.

Krillin, Goku, Tarble and Nappa went into the airlock to hide in the pods. They weren't sure what would happen when they landed, but just in case technicians or customs agents immediately mobbed the place, Vegeta decided that they should be well out of sight.

Vegeta, Bulma, Raditz and Puar gathered near the rampway, and Vegeta stood with his head bowed, rubbing at his lower lip and generally looking ill-at-ease. Bulma had every capsule she thought they might conceivably need stashed in one of Princess Cee-Cee's clutch bags, and her laptop in its carry bag, still turned on so that it could act as a relay for the earpieces. She was nervous, far more nervous than when she'd been on any dragonball hunt, and uncomfortable with the incompleteness of their plan. The Saiyans were nervous too, and that's what set her on edge. There was such a lot riding on this bluff.

The ship glided into port and then touched down with a soft thump. Bulma reached for the rampway button, but Vegeta knocked her hand away.

'Wait,' he said. 'We're royalty, and they're waiting on us, not the other way round.'

'But we're ready to leave,' she objected.

'So?'

Hearing a noise like a voice from the airlock she glanced over, past the regeneration tank…and then she did a double take.

'Shit! Brolly!' she exclaimed. He still hung naked in the tank, on full display of anyone who cared to walk in. The others gasped at her realisation.

'Gods!' said Vegeta. 'I got so used to seeing him there in the tank I forgot all about him.'

'What are we going to do with him?' asked Raditz. 'We can't take him out of the tank!'

'Maybe we could cover the tank with a sheet?' asked Puar.

This seemed liked such a thin disguise, but no one else could come up with a better idea, so that's what they did; Puar rushed to get some sheets and Raditz to find paper and pen to make a sign saying "Do Not Remove Cover – Light Sensitive Material".

Bulma eyed the closed rampway while she waited, and clutched her gut as it clenched with tension.

'What is  _wrong_  with you today?' asked Vegeta, seeing her with her arms around her middle. 'You're all over the place.'

She shook her head. 'I don't know. I guess I'm not happy about pretending to be a dead princess.'

'You don't need to be happy about it; you just need to not screw it up. Speaking of which, when we get out there, don't say "hi" or some other inane garbage when they welcome you. Follow my lead and play dumb if you don't know what to say.'

She dismissed his irritability with a roll of her eyes and then asked, 'If things start going wrong here…you're going to start dropping bodies, aren't you?'

Vegeta gave her an odd look. 'Probably. Why?'

She looked around the ship unhappily before turning glowering at him again. 'Do you think you could maybe try  _not_  killing innocent people? Maybe it's a foreign concept to you, "Live and let live", but it means only attacking when attacked, not harming those who mean you no harm.'

Vegeta's mouth opened in surprise. 'Why? What does it matter?'

'Because it just does!' she said. 'Because it matters a whole heap to the people who are just going about their business, and then, boom! Their life is ended because they happen to cross paths with  _you_ , or people like you. Like Frieza!'

'I am  _not_  like Frieza!' he retorted.

'You and the others killed the people that you stole this ship off! Other than  _scale_ , how is that not like Frieza?' She suddenly felt shocked at her own words, wondering if they were true.

'I'm…not like Frieza,' Vegeta insisted.

'Oh yeah? Explain to me all the ways you are not like Frieza. And I don't mean in terms of appearance and biology.'

Vegeta stared at her, outraged, insulted, and speechless. 'I…I…'

'Don't care a fig about other people's lives, just like he doesn't?' she suggested.

'Just shut up!' he spat back at her, losing his tempter. 'Everyone kills at the top of the food chain, and you have no idea what you're talking about!'

Puar and Raditz had hung the sheets and the sign and now stood by watching them argue. Vegeta glanced over at them and then took Bulma's arm, giving her a short, vicious shake.

'Get yourself together! We can't step outside until you can behave yourself. I thought you wanted us to succeed as much as the rest of us do?'

'Of course I do!' she replied, wrenching her arm free.

'Then we'll do what has to be done, and you won't complain about it.'

She glared at him sullenly, fighting the voice of the other part of herself that said he was right – the Earth needed this to succeed, and if Vegeta ended up saving their bacon, she wouldn't stop him no matter what his methods.

She turned away from them all and stared down at the ground for a moment, stewing. She wanted to punish Vegeta for the things she knew he'd done, but maybe she wasn't quite so pure either? He was way more able to kill, and way more eager to as well, but if she had to choose between the lives of strangers and the lives of her friends and family and herself, she knew she wouldn't pick selflessly.

'Okay,' she said. 'Let's do this, then.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Doritoni, get it? New Zealanders might get the Cee-Cee pun, and L'Cheez (Cheezel, ha ha!), but I'm sure we all get Pringella. Oh, the puns are fun to do!
> 
> I don't think it'll be long for the next chapter. As you might guess by the name, this was once one chapter that I chopped in two.


	26. A Prince and a Princess, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews, guys! I'm glad you're all still happy with the way things are going (or at least those that are reviewing are...).
> 
> Before we get started here, I just once to say that although many of the Grenouillean names are puns borrowing from French (including Grenouille(a)), this is in no way intended to be a likeness, satire or critique of French culture and society. I just borrowed the language to make the insulting names sound fancy, because as all English-speakers know - to make something sound more sophisticated you use the French for it, and these Grenouilleans think they're pretty top-of-the-pile.

The rampway opened and the heat rolled up the ramp; so hot and humid it took Bulma's breath away for a moment. They walked down the ramp, Raditz and Puar in the lead, who then parted to let Vegeta and Bulma between them. Bulma was instantly sticky with perspiration. A phalanx of tall warriors were fanned in front of them, but Bulma forgot all about pretending to be a princess as she panted. The air smelled thickly of duckweed and algae. She felt like she was in the sauna and someone had just poured pond-water on the coals.

The ground of the spaceport was a very smooth concrete substance, stained all over with grease and oil. Looking this way and that, Bulma had the impression that she was in a city, only instead of houses and buildings on the blocks, there were ships in a huge array of sizes and shapes. Between the rows were gaps as wide as roads, and they were marked like roads too, with light traffic nipping back and forth along it; small diverless motorised units towing wagons full of cargo and luggage and people.

Hearing a metallic clunk behind her, she turned and saw that two burly men, stripped to the waist, were busy shackling a large metal clamp to the leg of their ship. The clamp was hinged into the ground, and Bulma gulped with worry, not knowing if this was a normal security procedure or if the Grenouilleans were already onto them and sought to prevent their escape. Vegeta seemed unruffled though, so she faced their welcoming committee again and attempted to smile.

Two men stepped forward. One was Major Nobuzz, and the other was older and less warrior-esque. His green skin was almost yellow, and a bit loose here and there under the eyes and chin, but still very good-looking, Bulma noted. The rest of the men wore long braids with silver clips, identical armour and very short shorts, similar to Raditz's old style, and she concluded they were soldiers of some kind. And they were all handsome.

Major Nobuzz and the other man bowed to them – not deeply, but decently. Vegeta gave a barest nod of a bow in return, and Bulma, not sure what to do, gave a bobbing curtsy, like she'd seen women do when they met the King of Earth. Before any other greeting happened, the yellowish man spoke.

'I'm afraid we have no idea what your native L'Goontian protocol is, so I hope you don't mind if we use standard Galactic protocol?'

'Of course,' replied Vegeta. 'Go ahead.'

At this Major Nobuzz stepped forward and raised an arm towards Vegeta, who reciprocated.

'Welcome to Grenouillea Two, Prince and Princess!' he said, pressing his palm to Vegeta's. Bulma raised her palm too, but Nobuzz didn't appear to notice, and then motioned to the other man. 'Allow me to introduce the honourable Écume D'étang, Grenouillea's Secretary of Foreign Affairs.'

'Honourable?' said Vegeta softly. 'I've never met an "honourable" politician before.'

The other men both laughed at his joke, and Vegeta smiled, though Bulma suspected he wasn't joking and the other two knew it.

Écume stepped forward and offered his palm as the Major had done. Vegeta accepted, and then Écume's crow-feet-crinkling smile was turned on herself. She started to raise her own palm, but instead Écume took her hand and clasped it in both of his as he examined her, his eyes raking swiftly down and then back up to her face.

'Princess Cee-Cee, we did not know to expect someone of your beauty!'

'Oh, thank-'

But Écume was speaking to Vegeta again without waiting for a response from her. 'Congratulations! Your new wife is lovely, and I am very happy that your honeymoon has brought you to Grenouillea Two, even if it is only from necessity.'

He patted the back of Bulma's hand absently and stepped back again.

'I must confess, I have never met a L'Goontian before. Your race's…reticence in galactic affairs hasn't allowed the opportunity.'

Vegeta nodded, offering neither argument or explanation. 'I have met a few of your race before.'

'Indeed?' On your own planet?'

'No.'

'Oh. Well, I hope they gave you a favourable impression of the Grenouillea?'

'They were mercenaries,' replied Vegeta.

Écume looked rather shocked by that. 'Then they were most likely survivors of the original planet Grenouillea – they are quite a different thing than your average Grenouillean Two resident. Our peoples were ideologically distanced for centuries before the original Grenouillea met its end.'

'Hmm,' was all the response he got from Vegeta. Bulma was on her toes wanting to step in and alleviate the awkwardness of the conversation, but wondered if maybe Vegeta was being this way on purpose.

Écume was nonplussed, but rallied. 'Well, let me change your first impressions of our people! Now, I understand that your ship is in need of repair?'

'It is,' replied Vegeta.

'May I ask what happened?'

'Something to do with one of our energy sources and a life support system. My pilot can explain more.'

Bulma wondered how he had managed to forget the details and before she could stop herself she spoke. 'The junction box for the solar array corroded through, leaving us with not enough power for all our regular systems. It put pressure on the CO2 scrubbers, and we lost one of them a couple of days ago. The second gave out as we were landing.'

Vegeta gave her a  _look_ , and Écume stared at her in astonishment before smiling again. 'Well, I see  _someone's_  been paying attention to the ship's mechanic.'

'Well, I am-' Bulma jumped, distracted by Vegeta suddenly reaching out and grasping her hand to give it a squeeze, and not in a loving way. She had been about to tell Écume that she  _was_  the ship's mechanic because she didn't like his patronising attitude, but realised at Vegeta's warning that it was unlikely a princess would be working maintenance on her own vessel. 'Am interested in that sort of thing,' she finished. 'Along with watercolour painting and…um…embroidery. My hobbies.'

'Charming! Well, it sounds like the two of you had a very close call. I'm afraid that all of the shipwrights and engineering shops at the spaceport are closed for the evening.'

'Evening?' echoed Vegeta, and Bulma was surprised too. The height of the sun through the overcast clouds gave every impression that it was the middle of the day.

'Oh, yes, a peculiarity of this planet. The days are very short. It's been our custom since it was first settled to treat one day and night cycle as morning and afternoon, and the next as evening and night. It suits our body rhythms much better than the 10 hour days. Have you given any thought to where you would like to stay?'

'Does the city have some acceptable accommodation?'

'Yes! There are many fine hotels in Spawn City, but I ask because I would like to persuade you to stay at The People's Palace of Enduring Freedom.'

'The what?'

Écume smiled. 'It was named by our forefathers who were rather excited by their newfound independence from the old Grenouillean Empire. It is one of the state residences. Both the President and Vice President live there for much of the time, and visiting heads of state and their representatives are usually housed there. Don't worry – it is at least as luxurious as the best hotel in the city.'

'Very well, then.'

'Excellent, excellent. Nenufar!'

A tall, willowy woman with a tablet in her arms stepped between the line of soldiers. She had pale blue skin and white, silken hair that spilled right down past her rear, and her face caught Bulma's breath as much as any of the Grenouillean men's. If she were on Earth every fashion designer on the planet would be knocking down her door to get her to stomp the catwalk in their creations, blue skin not withstanding. The clothes she wore wouldn't look out of place on a catwalk either - they looked expensive, although hardly there. It was some light, floaty dress that only made it halfway down her leanly muscled thighs before calling it a day. Bulma instantly felt shorter and even more ridiculous in her badly fitting clothes.

The woman joined Écume and Bulma expected him to introduce her, but instead he just told her to inform the palace that they would there shortly, and to prepare suites for the Prince and Princess and their two servants.

Nenufar nodded her head in understanding. 'The wagons are ready, your Honour,' she told him and turned away again, hopping back through the line of soldiers.

'My assistant,' explained Écume. 'Now, if your servants would like to gather your luggage, we can escort you to the palace now.'

Bulma and Vegeta glanced at each other and then at Puar and Raditz. Puar stepped in close.

'You don't have any luggage!' she whispered.

'I know that!' replied Vegeta. 'Go find a bag, any bag, and stuff it with something.'

Puar went back inside the ship while the rest of them stood around awkwardly watching the soldiers break ranks to let a motorised unit in, towing several low carriages with seats on them. The soldiers arranged themselves fore and aft, leaving the central carriages for the VIPs. When Puar returned it was with Bulma's tiny backpack and a laundry bag stuffed with clothes. Écume and Nobuzz looked rather shocked. Bulma felt herself blushing at how impoverished they appeared. Well, they  _were_ impoverished, but they were meant to be royalty.

'Packing light, I see?' said the Major.

'Most of our clothes were ruined when the corroded junction box was discovered,' Bulma found herself lying. 'Rusty water flooded the laundry, and now we find ourselves with barely a stitch to wear in public.'

Nenufar made a noise of sympathy.

'Another calamity that can be remedied tomorrow, if you'll allow us!' said Écume. 'Some of our designers are known even outside Grenouillean society.'

'Thank you!' replied Bulma.

They boarded the wagons. Bulma ended up facing Nenufar with Vegeta next to her and Écume opposite him. The other three were in the next carriage. Sweat was trickling down Bulma's neck and into her cleavage. She tried to discreetly pluck the dress away from her skin, but Nenufar noticed.

'Is there something I can help you with, your Highness?'

Bulma shook her head. 'It's a lot hotter on your planet than I'm used to.'

'Don't fear, your rooms are air conditioned, as are most of the indoor spaces in the city,' said Écume. 'The spaceport is notoriously hot as it gets very little breeze.'

After a few minutes the wagons cleared the ships and were waved through some barriers onto a wide concourse facing out across a stretch of green water at the city. From this angle the city looked rather imposing, the buildings getting noticeably taller towards the centre, and the tallest of them piercing the clouds. Only a thin line of white connected the island of the spaceport to the mainland. A few other wagons were coming and going, and Bulma watched as one group rolled to a stop and then all eight occupants, including some children, jumped into the air and flew away towards the city. They didn't expect her to do that, did they?

'I have read that L'Goontians don't generally have the ability to fly. Is that the case?' asked Écume.

'Well, I can, but my wife can't,' said Vegeta.

'No problem,' replied Écume. 'We'll take the bridge.'

They all disembarked and were guided along the concourse to the bridge by the soldiers. Bulma watched another group touch down on the concourse this time, and then commandeer a waiting wagon.

'If they can fly, why don't they fly right into the spaceport?' asked Bulma.

Écume seemed surprised that she didn't know. 'Because of the chi-suppressing dome of course.'

'That's standard around major spaceports, Cee-Cee, you know that,' said Vegeta. 'To stop people getting in the way of landings and take offs.'

'Oh, of course!' said Bulma and gave a false giggle. 'How could I have forgotten that?'

'It prevents people stealing ships or attempting to take off without paying their port fees, too,' said Écume.

The bridge was as wide as a narrow road and only a couple of feet above the still water. As they stepped onto it and Bulma almost sagged to see how far she had to walk in this heat. On almost the first step she tripped on the hem of her dress and Écume caught her elbow.

'Oopsie!'

'Now mind your step, your Highness, as we get on the porting belt.'

'The what?'

She stepped over a dotted red line on the whiteness of the bridge, squealed and grabbed Écume again as the ground beneath her moved. Like a travellator at an airport, but much more invisibly, a strip of the bridge was moving towards the city, and a strip towards the port. Dotted red lines marked the edges of the moving areas, with arrows also pointing in the direction of travel.

'Good gracious, I should have given you more warning,' laughed Écume.

'My wife is not very well travelled,' said Vegeta from behind them. 'I apologise for her ignorance and naivety in this and probably many other matters.'

Bulma blushed in anger but said nothing. She hated being made a fool of.

'No need to apologise for that,' said Écume. 'Ignorance and naivety are a small price to pay for a sweet and innocent bride.' He patted her hand again and Bulma almost convulsed with the urge to rip herself away from the slimy man. Instead she extricated herself politely and coolly. The breeze created by travelling at speed was lovely though, and as they began walking along the porting belt they began to cover a lot of distance. Some other people came the other way and whizzed past.

When they were nearly at the city, Bulma saw a woman haul herself out of the water onto the bridge. She was fully clothed in a short jumpsuit that was now plastered to her, and even wore high heels. She got on the conveyor belt in front of Bulma, and thinking that the woman had been in an accident or perhaps assaulted, Bulma rushed towards her, as Écume gasped and shouted, 'Your Highness, wait!'

'Are you okay?' she asked the woman. Behind her she could hear the Major calling orders and soldiers rushing about.

The woman stood up, every bit as tall and beautiful as Nenufar.

'Of course I am,' she said haughtily, then turned her back on Bulma to stride towards the city, only to find her way blocked by the soldiers that had turned and formed a disapproving wall in front of her. 'Son's of toads, let me past!' she spat, pushing at their solid shoulders.

'What?' gaped Bulma, but then Major Nobuzz and Écume were by her side. 'Why was she in the water if she was okay?' she asked.

'I expect she just wanted to swim home,' said the Major, lightly.

The woman continued abusing the soldiers who barred her way until two of them grabbed her by the elbows and hauled her forward up the belt, marching her quick-time into the city.

'What was that about?' said Vegeta, catching up to them.

Écume laughed. 'Nothing at all. Our women can be very spirited at times, and yours was rather concerned for this one.'

When they got back on the travellator Bulma made sure to stand next to Vegeta.

* * *

The city appeared to be built on the water. The city streets, if they could be called that, were the same kind of low platform that the bridge had been, many of them with porting belts on either side, like sidewalks. In between, where the road should be, were open canals. Some traffic moved up and down the canals, but it was all people powered. Punts and swimmers went this way and that, and people standing in sopping wet clothes on the sidewalk were apparently completely normal in Spawn City. The rest of the traffic was in the air. People zoomed hither and thither over the city, no motorised vehicles to be seen anywhere.

Before too long Bulma could say a number of things about the Grenouilleans – they were amazing swimmers; they were generally tall; they didn't like to wear too many clothes; and there weren't many fat ones. Bulma had never felt so short, frumpy and unfashionable in her life. Attracted by the military escort, many people were giving their group an interested eye, but no one was stopping or gawking, or even slowing their pace. Instead they stared and then flung their noses in the air, continuing on as if they were far too important and busy to care about mere aliens. They weren't the only aliens either. Plenty of those they passed appeared to also be from elsewhere and seemed as equally at ease in the streets as the natives. . Bulma tried not to gawk or gasp at the stranger species walking past, but she was sure that she didn't look either comfortable or prepossessed.

* * *

The escort led them deeper into the city, forcing pedestrians to the side to let them pass. The canals became narrower and the buildings taller, closing off more light until the canals petered out and they were on solid ground. The city was quieter at ground level here, though lots of traffic swarmed above still, landing and taking off from rooftops and terraces. The people they passed at ground level in this darker area of the city were generally not even Grenouillean, but other aliens.

They were guided to one building frontage that seemed rather grander than the rest. It had an imposing portico and a tropical garden area either side of a wide pathway. Soldiers ranked before it and at the doors as well. Beside her Vegeta made a humphing noise of unease, but Bulma didn't hesitate, determined to reach the solace of air conditioning no matter what dangers it concealed.

Inside they were greeted by a much more ebullient man.

'Your Highness, your Highness! So glad to meet you!' said the green skinned man. He had a lustrous curl to his hair and flicked it about as he rushed Vegeta. Vegeta only got his hand up just in time to stop the bland galactic 'handshake' becoming a hug. Bulma didn't get away so easily, and the man leaned in and got her in a swift embrace. Vegeta growled and took hold of Bulma's arm as if to pull her away.

'Jervois! We are going with Galactic protocol!' snapped Écume from behind them.

Jervois jumped back again. 'Oh, I do apologise!' he said, and stood silently while Écume introduced him.

'This is Jervois Quay, the Head of Housekeeping at the People's Palace. He will settle you in, and anything you need, he and his staff I'm sure can provide you with.'

'Delighted,' said Jervois. 'I love entertaining royalty.'

'Now, I believe the Vice President is in residence tonight, but he is busy at this moment?' asked Écume to Jervois.

'That's right,' the man confirmed. 'But he assured me that in half an hour he will be free to meet our guests in their rooms. If that's acceptable to you, Prince and Princess?'

Vegeta nodded, not looking too happy about it. Bulma didn't feel too happy either. Already this felt entirely different and out of their control compared to the scenario Vegeta had described.

'Splendid! Let me show you to your rooms.'

* * *

'This is one of the oldest buildings in the city,' Jervois explained as they rode a glass elevator up the side of the building. 'Its only fifty-eight stories high, which was considered tall at the time, but as you can see, the newer buildings downtown top it by a long way. All the official residences are on the top eight floors. The lower floors function as a legal library, reception and function rooms, staff areas, official offices and secret service headquarters.'

'Secret service?' murmured Raditz, exchanging a glance with Vegeta.

'Oh, you must be the bodyguard,' said Jervois, giving Raditz a good once-over with his eyes before smiling. 'Of course you are! Well, rest assured that no evil will come to your charges at the People's Palace. It's one of the most secure buildings on the planet; no one who isn't meant to will be getting either in or out.'

'Uh. Great,' said Raditz.

On the 51st floor they disembarked, and there were only a few doors off the wide corridor. At the first door he stopped and had them all stand in front of it for a second.

'I've just programmed the door to recognise all your biometrics. This is a twin share apartment that we've prepared for the Captain and Lady Pringella.'

'Who else can get in besides us?' ask Vegeta suspiciously.

'Well, myself obviously. And the staff and security, but of course, we won't enter without calling first, unless it's an emergency.'

He repeated the same procedure at the next door. This one was a grand double door.

'We've put your Highnesses in what we like to call the Honeymoon suite.'

'What do you mean, "Honeymoon suite"?' asked Vegeta. Bulma shot him a glance of disbelief – everyone knew what a honeymoon suite was, didn't they?

'Well, we call it that for the décor. It's one of our best-appointed apartments, and has a private swimming pool on the terrace. Let's just say that many an influential couple has consummated their visit to Spawn City in this suite,' he said with a gleeful smile.

He spread the doors wide and the four of them wandered in, Jervois following in the rear. After a small ante-chamber with couches on either side, lamps, side tables with screens and keyboards on them, art on the walls and a coat stand, the space opened out into a huge lounge, flooded with light from the floor to ceiling glass windows. Bulma felt giddy as her eyes absorbed a level of luxury and style that had been unknown to her before now. The lounge was carpeted in deep red, and the cream leather of the lounge furniture seemed adrift on it like ice cream on a raspberry soda float. There were ottomans covered in white and black fur, elaborately carved side tables in an ebony-dark wood, life size statues carved from white marble (she did a double-take at the statues – they were not merely classically nude, but erotically posed). A huge holographic unit half filled one wall, showing an inferno of blue flames, and an enormous aquarium of brightly coloured fish and molluscs screened the entrance to the next room. Through the windows, some of which were rolled back to let the air flow in, was a tropical terrace garden.

Bulma let a tiny whimper of delight escape her, earning a glare from Vegeta. Puar sidled right up to her and whispered in her ear, 'This looks really, really…grown-up!'

'It's to your liking?' asked Jervois.

'Oh, yes, it'll do nicely,' replied Bulma, and Jervois grinned as if he saw straight through her reserved praise.

He indicated the small screen on one of the side tables, which must apparently be some sort of communication device. 'If you need anything at all, just call housekeeping. If you're hungry the palace kitchens are open around the clock. There's a menu and a list of services available in the building, but if there is something that you want that isn't listed, please let us know and we will see what we can do.'

'Thank you,' replied Bulma.

'I will just show your servants to their rooms now,' offered Jervois, but Raditz spoke up excitedly.

'Wait a sec! Let me check this out first.'

'Of course! A bodyguard is hardly worth his salt if he doesn't check his master's environs.'

Raditz raced away, Vegeta trailing him, and Bulma touched the screen and began to thumb through the menus of food and services while she waited. There were massages, a range of what appeared to be spa treatments, tailoring, secretarial services, and local guides listed. When Vegeta and Raditz returned Raditz nodded at her, though he looked a little stunned.

'It's all cool, my Lady.'

Then Jervois led him and a very nervous looking Puar away.

Vegeta and Bulma exchanged a look across the length of the lounge. As the outer door whispered shut Bulma asked, 'Are we screwed, Vegeta?'

'Too early to tell. At least we don't have to come up with money for food or accommodation now.'

'Let's see the rest of this place, then,' she said, and made her way past him and the aquarium to the next room, which was a dining room with seating for eight, and also opened out onto the terrace. Vegeta followed her as she went next into the kitchen, which was small, but well equipped, with a large basket of alien fruit on the bench, drinks and bits and pieces of other things in the fridge (when she actually found it). After the kitchen and dining was a study with a window out onto the garden again, and then came a bedroom, nearly as large as the lounge, and Bulma was stopped in her tracks by surprise.

Two walls of the room were glass – one looked out over the garden terrace and the other was completely seamless glass and looked out over the city, giving the impression that nothing stood between the carpeted floor and a death drop at all. The other two walls were  _mirrors_ ; they reflected the view from the glass walls, and the overall impression was that the room was just a platform hanging in the sky. This was stunning enough, but then an examination of the bedroom furniture revealed more to be shocked at. An easel held a large piece of artwork, which had beautiful, flowing paint-strokes depicting a Grenouillean couple; the man holding one of the woman's legs over his shoulder as he penetrated her, an expression of beatific pleasure on each of their faces. Bulma blushed and turned to the bed, which was free standing and simply the largest bed she had ever seen in her life. It would easily accommodate four, maybe even five or six people if they didn't mind being cosy. The lamps on the bedside table gave suggestions as to might be done in the bed – they were a complimentary set, one with a woman holding up a globe, her legs open as a man twined about them and twined his tongue about her most intimate parts, and the other with a man holding up a globe one-handed while he grasped the head of the woman swallowing his genitalia on the other side of the bed. There were a couple of easy chairs as well, and even these had had their arms and legs carved into the shapes of naked bodies.

'Oh, jeez!' she said, blushing more, unwilling to look at Vegeta at that moment, but she couldn't stop a grin appearing on her face. 'Is this the Grenouillean version of romantic?' she asked.

'A symptom of perversion, more like,' replied Vegeta.

'Where's the bathroom? I didn't see one, did you?' she asked.

Vegeta walked toward the other mirrored wall and contemplated it. Reaching out, he touched one mirrored panel, and it opened up to reveal a walk-in-wardrobe as big as half of Bulma's bedroom at home. Moving further along the wall he touched another panel and the large bathroom was revealed. It too had a floor-to-ceiling view over the city, and also a double shower, double sunken tub, double vanity and even double toilet pots, 'In case we want to take a dump together!' Bulma chortled, unable to contain her incredulity. Looking in the mirror behind the vanity she saw Vegeta looking extremely uncomfortable, and followed his gaze to the waist high tiles that ran around three of the walls. They were deep relief sculptures of an orgy, rendered in loving, high detail and stained to provide contrast. Bulma's body reacted in an instant, sending a rush of warmth through her, and Vegeta fell back against the door before turning and leaving, his face red.

Bulma took a few more seconds to examine the scene in front of her (promising herself she'd have a better look later when she used the bathroom) before gathering her own cool and stepping back out.

'Well, gross, is all I can say,' she proclaimed loudly. Vegeta was looking out into the garden, his back to her. 'No need to be so uptight about it though, Vegeta.'

'I'm not  _uptight_ ,' he told her, his back still turned. 'I was merely unimpressed with the crudity of Grenouillean ideas of décor. You seemed quite stimulated, though.'

Bulma nearly choked – it was as if he knew what dirty thoughts had erupted in her mind, but that was impossible. He wasn't a mind reader.

'Ha, ha!' she said. 'I was just amazed by the effort some artist put in to carving all that "crudity". It was astonishingly skillful.'

'Hmm,' said Vegeta. Then he slid the glass panel of the window open and stepped out into the garden, and Bulma followed him.

There was a paved ledge with some pot plants on it before the garden dipped down a few steps, allowing a view over the garden and the terrace wall to the city. Down the steps, a path led through some palms and ferns to a patio surrounded by beds of large and intriguing looking flowers. The smell of the dark, wet soil of the flower bed mingled with the sweetness of the flowers and chlorophyll of the leaves to make a heady, tropical aroma that seemed to touch her all over her body in the hot, damp air. Vegeta paused next to the patio furniture to wipe sweat of his brow and then followed another path under a bower. Bulma stopped to sniff a few of the flowers – they could pass for the weird and wonderful hot house flowers back on Earth, and some of them had similar weird features – honeyed traps, spikes, hooks, protuberances and "eyes". If Bulma forgot everything that had led her here, she could believe that she was just on some fantastical holiday.

Passing through the bower she found Vegeta leaning against the outer wall of the garden, looking out over the city. Beyond its outer limits, green jungle and green water spread out, disappearing into deep grey clouds.

'Lightning,' observed Vegeta as one of the clouds lit up ominously.

Bulma studied the scene for a minute, then studied Vegeta out the corner of her eye. 'Do you think it's coming this way?' she asked, not because she cared, but because she was alone with him, and it didn't seem like an opportunity that should be wasted on silence. It was a pity she couldn't think up something better to say though.

'I think so.' The barest rumble of thunder reached them at last.

'Did the art in the bathroom embarrass you?' she asked, tentatively. She didn't really want to tease him – she was genuinely curious.

'Pah!' he replied, turning and giving her a cocky smile. 'Of course not. It's not like I haven't seen such things before.'

Bulma smiled back at him, taking this as a sign she could press further. 'You did seem pretty frazzled though. You can admit you were thrown by it – I was fairly shocked myself.'

'You seemed more than frazzled,' he threw back at her. 'Entranced, I'd say!'

Bulma blushed red. ' _Slightly_  curious, is how I'd put it. Intrigued in an anthropological sense.'

'Turned on is what you mean,' Vegeta corrected for her. 'Pervert.'

'Oh, and you  _weren't_  turned on?' she accused him, seeking company in her embarrassment. Too late she realised that he might have been, and that's why he'd rushed out. Vegeta's grin disappeared and then it was his turn to flush red, seemingly at a loss for what to reply.

'Shut up,' he said, eventually. 'Raditz and Puar are coming back.'

'How do you know that?' she asked.

He tapped the earpiece. 'You should know, moron, you made these things.'

Feeling like the moron he accused her of being, Bulma realised that Nappa and Raditz had likely heard every word of their "private" conversation. Urgh, she was going to have to hold their lack of privacy in mind every time Vegeta had the earpiece in.

She trailed him in through the dining room and into the lounge, where she opened her laptop on a side table and turned the speakers on.

'There's porn in the bathroom?' she heard Nappa say. 'Now I get it!'

Raditz was laughing, his voice coming through the speaker and from the door simultaneously as he and Puar entered. 'It would make it difficult to leave the bathroom, you think? Or at least I would find it hard. What about you, Vegeta?'

'Shut up, fools,' Vegeta snapped, his face still red with embarrassment. 'We've only got a short amount of time and a host of complications, so focus your thoughts somewhere North of your dicks already!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yeah guys, get your minds out of your pants! Pffft!


	27. A Hot Sticky Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yo. Thanks for your very encouraging reviews! I'm going back to work next week. I've got like 2 and a half chapters in the bag after this one, but the pace of posting might slow up a little again. We'll see. Now, where were we? In the honeymoon suite of the People's Palace of Enduring Freedom!

They discussed their situation.

'Well, Nappa and the boys aren't going to be able to sneak in here, that's for sure,' said Raditz. 'Did you notice the chi-suppressing field around the building? You can't fly into this building, and if you tried, there are guards on the outside of the building on the roof and every few floors.'

'We'll have to improvise a pick up on the streets then,' said Vegeta. 'Sooner or later we'll be out of this building, either to the port or maybe to buy clothing if we must. Nappa, you might have to get something together fast.'

'Righto, Vegeta. Do you think we'll have trouble blending in, in the city?'

'No, there are lots of aliens,' replied Vegeta. 'They're mostly rich though. Your clothes might draw some attention. Remember not to be brash, Nappa. Brute force won't work here, so curb your instincts.'

Nappa sighed.

Before they could discuss much else the doorbell sounded.

'That'll be the Vice President,' said Bulma, feeling nervous all over again.

'Puar, go answer it,' said Vegeta.

Puar went, the bright green eyes of the L'Goontian woman she was pretending to be wide with anxiety, and Bulma quickly turned the speaker off again and closed the laptop.

'Come right in, ah, Mr Vice President,' Puar said, and a few moments later she reappeared with three men on her heels. 'Your Highnesses, the Vice President is here. Um.' She skipped to the side, not sure what to do with herself, leaving the Vice President facing off with Vegeta. He was pretty heavyset for a Grenouillean, an older man, and his pale green skin was so faded that Bulma couldn't shake the feeling that he was just a very ill human, though his eyes were still an inhuman gold hue, like doubloons hammered into that attractive trapezoid shape almost all the Grenouilleans shared. He wore gold too, and jewels; earrings, a diadem, necklace and wrist-cuffs. The other two men hovered behind him, even taller that the average Grenouillean, and broader built. Though they weren't wearing any armour, something about them suggested they were military of some sort. Maybe it was the way they seemed to have no sense of humour at all. Bulma might have found their long braids funny, but something told her that they took their braids very seriously. Their eyes skimmed the room, then one of them raised his chin to Raditz in a subtle salute. Raditz, tall, muscle-bound and braided, was apparently recognised as a kindred fellow.

Meanwhile, Vegeta and the VP were looking each other up and down. Vegeta shifted his stance, moving his feet apart and crossing his arms in his default pose. Bulma cursed him silently for projecting neither friendliness nor trust.

'Prince Doritoni, Princess Cee-Cee, I am Pétoncles Gâtés, Vice President of Grenouillea Two.' He watched Vegeta carefully as he introduced himself, and Bulma had a feeling he could tell Vegeta was uneasy and unsure of himself. He was not being as deferent as Ekume or Nobuzz had been.

'Well met, Mr Gâtés,' said Vegeta a last.

'Please, call me Pétoncles,' said the older man, and stepped forward, pressing his hand to Vegeta's briefly and almost casually. Bulma didn't bother to extend her hand this time. She was getting used to being ignored by Grenouillean men as a mere extension of Vegeta, though it was starting to piss her off more and more. Pétoncles turned and sat on one of the sofas without being asked, leaving Bulma and Vegeta, the supposed hosts, awkwardly standing as if waiting on him. Bulma sat, and after a hesitation, Vegeta sat too.

Pétoncles settled himself before speaking again. 'President Zidane is currently in a meeting on the other side of the planet, but he sends his welcome and hopes you enjoy your stay here. Do you have any refreshments?'

'Not yet. We've only just arrived to our rooms,' said Vegeta stonily.

'You must join me in a toast of plum brandy, then,' said Pétoncles with a smile. 'It is the signature spirit of the Extreme North – the province where I was born, and we have some of the very best in house right now. You will love it.'

'Will we?' muttered Bulma under her breath while Vegeta uttered a sullen thank you.

'Bardoza, have them bring it in,' he instructed one of his bodyguards and the man left. Then he turned back to Vegeta and smiled.

'I have had our foreign office send a message through the official channels to the L'Goontian Royal household that you arrived safely,  _just_ , on our planet.'

'How long until we receive an answer, do you think?' asked Vegeta.

'The turn around time on a message to L'Goonta from here is about three days, my staff inform me.'

'Good,' said Vegeta, and Bulma felt her heart, which had begun racing, slow slightly. 'My parents…and subjects, will be reassured.'

Pétoncles's smile turned to a grin, as if he found Vegeta's reaction rather amusing, then he quizzed Vegeta briefly on their travels and the misfortune that brought them here. Bulma was mildly glad to be ignored for once. Vegeta was free to lie however he wanted and she was not required to show off her ignorance of the galaxy. The bodyguard came back with a female servant bearing a tray with a bottle and three glasses, which she set down, and after opening the bottle and pouring a splash into a glass the Vice President inspected and sniffed it, then nodded. At that unspoken signal the servant filled the glass and two others, offering them around and then standing aside, looking far more natural about it than Puar and Raditz.

Whatever a plum was on this planet produced an almost fluorescent yellow spirit. Bulma took a cautious sip and was glad she hadn't taken a larger one as it was powerfully alcoholic, full of esters and flavour but no sweetness. She almost choked as it was. The Vice President was swirling his liquor around the little crystal glass and inhaling before knocking back half the glass in one gulp.

'What does your L'Goontian palette make of that?' he asked Vegeta. Vegeta hastened to follow his example, and Pétoncles switched his attention to Bulma instead, his gaze sweeping over her speculatively. Something about this man gave her the willies.

'It's very good,' she said, hoping that this would break his silent contemplation of her and remind him she was a sentient being. She took another swig and pretended to consider it. 'A bit on the strong side, but quite…er, aromatic.'

'Yes, it is, isn't it?'

Vegeta added his verdict. 'Nice.'

'I wonder how it compares to your local spirits, but there is no way of me knowing.'

'How do you mean?' asked Vegeta.

'Well, what with the L'Goontian King's refusal to trade with anyone but the Farsiders and the Crytonians, it's almost impossible to lay hands on any L'Goontian goods.'

'Of course,' said Vegeta. 'It wouldn't stop determined collector though.'

'No. But he would need very deep pockets to fund an export via Crytonia. You know the President and I are very interested to have you here on our planet, your Highness. I had heard that L'Goontians don't travel much, as a rule, which would make you and your wandering bride a bit of an anomaly, is that so?'

'Yes,' said Vegeta, uncertainly. 'My father called me foolhardy to want to travel so far afield, but I have always thought it necessary for someone who may one day rule a planet to have knowledge of the galaxy that planet lies in.'

'And your wife?'

'Oh, I've always been an adventurer,' said Bulma. 'My parents always said you couldn't  _nail_  me down.'

'Really?' said Pétoncles. 'You must have been strong-willed girl to give your parents such trouble. Have you enjoyed your explorations?'

'For the most part,' replied Vegeta before Bulma could get another word out.

'It seems as if attitudes in the L'Goontian Royal family are set to change then. More?' Pétoncles motioned to the bottle of brandy on the side table beside him. Bulma still had half a glassful, but it was nice stuff, so she took advantage of the offer, and crossed the carpet to pour herself a top up, which made Pétoncles chuckle. He picked up the bottle before she got there, and instead poured it for her, which she found a little baffling.

'A lady shouldn't have to pour her own drink,' he said, smiling up at her darkly. The amusement in his eyes made her feel both very young and ignorant.

'Oh, well then…cheers,' she said, flashing him a smile to cover her confusion.

'Independent, too,' he said, his eyes flicking back to Vegeta. 'Your wife is charmingly without airs.'

Bulma saw red for a moment at being talked about as if she wasn't even there, but she sucked it up and sat down again, flushed in the face. Vegeta gave her a look of disapproval that could have curdled milk.

'Her charm only just overcomes her lack of decorum,' he said and Pétoncles laughed again, refilling his own glass and taking another mouthful of brandy before continuing.

'Forgive my saying so, but you both appear very young to be newlyweds,' he said, his eyes as hard as a crocodile's as he smiled.

Bulma and Vegeta both hesitated, but Vegeta took the lead. 'I have heard it said that the L'Goontians appear very youthful compared to other species of the same age. I am twenty galactic years and my wife is eighteen.' The information about Doritoni's age was on the galactic directory, and Bulma was glad Vegeta could remember it, because she couldn't.

'Is that so?' said Pétoncles, his smile softening a little. 'I guess I have encountered no other L'Goontians to compare you to. That rather brings me back to my earlier point about space travel. And traditionally, of course, the L'Goontians haven't been overly fond of interstellar  _visitors_  either. I would have so liked to visit, but I'm afraid your grandfather turned me down.'

'I'm sure he had his reasons,' said Vegeta.

'Maybe he did, although he never shared them with me. He also turned down all my predecessors and all the Foreign Affairs Secretaries for the last forty years, so I don't take it personally, though I do regret it. I can't help but feel that both L'Goonta and Grenouillea are missing out on valuable cultural and…economic benefits of contact. But seeing his grandson here in the capital of my own planet brings me hope for the future.'

'I see,' said Vegeta. 'And I agree. My grandfather's policies are isolationist. I see no reason to continue them.'

A huge grin spread across Pétoncles's face. 'I am  _very_  pleased to hear you say so, Prince Doritoni. Grenouillea produces many luxury products. I do hope you sample as many of them as you can while you are here. Were our planets to be, say, trading partners in the future, you could expect to see some of them in your very own shops and warehouses! The rare ores your planet produces would fetch a good price here, I can assure you.'

'Sounds good,' said Vegeta.

'Would you say your father held a similar attitude as yourself?'

Vegeta shrugged. 'He is not as bad as my grandfather, but I have some influence on him.'

'Oh, well good! I am surprised though,' said Pétoncles, frowning a little again. 'I had suspected that it was the desire to avoid Frieza's attention that kept the L'Goontians to themselves. Do you not fear making yourselves a target?'

Vegeta looked a tiny bit disconcerted, but then he looked Pétoncles right in the eye. 'No. I believe that Frieza will be dead before I get to the throne.'

'Really?' said Pétoncles, sitting up straight all of a sudden. 'What makes you think that?'

'I hear there are rebels and powerful renegades moving against him,' said Vegeta, and Pétoncles relaxed a little, regarding Vegeta cautiously.

'You're talking about the rumours of the young terrorist? One of Frieza's pets gone feral?'

Bulma held her breath as she watched Vegeta.  _Why the hell would he bring_ himself _into this conversation?_

'I hear that the terrorist is a real danger to Frieza. That Frieza is worried.'

Pétoncles laughed. 'I don't know who your sources are, but they are surely exaggerating! Lord Frieza has never been worried about anyone, and there have always been rebels, though they never prevail in the long-term.'

Vegeta's jaw clenched in anger at this and seeing it, Pétoncles suppressed his amusement. 'This is perhaps a sensitive conversation for a first meeting, forgive me. I'm sure L'Goonta has its reasons for not wanting to enter the Cold Empire, and I can certainly not predict the future. Frieza must meet his end one day or another, as all living things must.'

Then he shrugged slightly and smiled again.

'While you are our guests here I hope you will make yourselves at home. I have arranged for a guide and escort for you to show you about the city, or even the planet if you wish to go further afield.'

'Thank you, I'm sure that will be very useful,' replied Vegeta, nodding his head almost like the gracious guest he was meant to be.

'Before you get too far away though, tomorrow evening the President and I are hosting a gala for our major campaign donors at the State Opera House, and I insist you come as our guests. It would be a chance to sample one of our capital city's best cultural attractions, as well as food and society.'

Vegeta hesitated, frowning. Sensing he was looking for an excuse to turn the invitation down Bulma stepped in and gave him one.

'We'd love to, but our wardrobe was completely ruined by the junction box meltdown in the laundry,' she explained. 'We hardly have more clothes than those we sit in, let alone anything worthy of a grand gala.'

'Oh, yes! D'étang told me about your misfortune there. Well, that just leaves another opportunity for you to experience Grenouillea Two – tomorrow the guides will take you into the designer shopping district where you are sure to find something fit for the occasion. Or any occasion. It would honour our people to see you clothed in their best.'

Vegeta flicked a look at Bulma that seemed to say that she should have kept her mouth shut. Then he added his own excuse. 'After our close calls on the way here, we are very tired. Tomorrow-'

But Pétoncles anticipated him, incorrectly. 'Yes, for tomorrow you must be rested! Forgive me for keeping you up – it is late, and I had forgotten you might be tired already. Who knows when your day began, eh? Well, I will send details about the gala with the guide tomorrow. You can always reach my office or the palace through the guides with questions, don't worry.'

He stood up, still holding his glass. 'Good night, your Highnesses, and enjoy the plum brandy.'

Vegeta got hastily to his feet as Pétoncles left, throwing a smile and a casual wave over his shoulder at the prince. Bulma got to her feet too, but by that time the Vice President was halfway out the door.

* * *

Vegeta glared at the back of the man who took his leave as if he was at a friend's house and not in the presence of royalty. Vegeta knew how royalty was meant to be treated, and he knew that his father would have had this man prostrated by force if he'd tried this attitude on him. The Vice President clearly thought himself an equal, if not superior to Vegeta. He also knew that if he had come here as Freiza's representative like he might have in the old days, this fool would have been falling over himself to please him.

This day was turned out both much worse and much better than he had expected. He wasn't comfortable acting out a part that he didn't know by heart, and going to a society event tomorrow was only going to add to that pressure not to put a foot wrong, plus there were more people to possibly recognise him. The Vice President already knew more about L'Goonta than Vegeta did – it was only a matter of time before he or one of the others goofed up badly. Probably Bulma, going by her lack of etiquette training on display just now.

He eyed her, taking in her confusion. Despite her social position on her home planet she seemed to have no formal mode. Vegeta could put on a show when required – he'd been trained to even as a young child, but it had also been expected of him at times under Freiza. Freiza preferred impeccable manners, even if he didn't always display them himself, and he liked to put on a charade of high-geniality for clients and those in thrall to him.

'Oh Gods, I'm so hungry,' groaned Raditz as soon as the door closed behind the three men. Vegeta agreed, and ordered dish after dish from housekeeping; everything they had on hand that was suitable for carbon-based, haemoglobin-carrying mammals. The four of them scoffed their meal in the dining room, or at least Raditz and Vegeta did. Bulma and Puar just picked at things and complained as they usually did until they found something to their liking and shut up long enough to put some food in their faces. Nappa moaned about the unfairness of listening to them eat while he was still hungry and stuck in the ship, until Vegeta grew weary and pulled the earpiece out. Just because Nappa was uncomfortable didn't mean he had to be too.

They left the dishes on the table and wandered back into the lounge. Puar yawned.

'I really am tired,' she said. 'That man was right – I've no idea when our day started, but it feels like a long time ago.'

'You should get to bed then,' Vegeta advised. 'It looks like tomorrow might be another long day.'

'Okay.'

Raditz and Puar went back to their own rooms and Vegeta turned around to see Bulma pouring two more glasses of brandy.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

Bulma brought a glass over to him. She had ditched the silly dress and shoes after the Vice President left and now just had a simple, pink one on that suited her much better.

'Good liquor going to waste,' she said, and then frowned. 'Didn't you like it?'

'No, it was fine,' he admitted and took the glass. She grinned and clinked her glass against his before taking a sip.

'Oh, la la, a brandy nightcap,' she said. 'How grown up we are tonight?'

She looked at him expectantly, and he looked away, not fully able to face the playfulness lurking in her eyes. He was starting to know Bulma a little better now. She was planning some foolishness, he could tell. His gaze fell on the statue they stood next to – of a woman leaning back into a man's arms, one of his hands clutching a small breast and the other buried in the cleft of her legs, and his heart clenched with something like fright as he imagined Bulma suggesting they enact this scene, though he had no reason to think she would. His damn brain had just leapt there of itself, and this stupid apartment was to blame. It was outright provoking, as was she.

Bulma took another sip and choked on the brandy.

'Ha!' he said. 'Yes, you're  _very_  grownup.' He chugged his glass in one to show her how unaffected he was by the brandy while she spluttered.

'It's a bit stronger – ack – than what I'm used to!'

'And what are you used to?'

'Wine spritzer?'

He had no idea what that was, but assumed it was weak stuff and laughed at her. Well, he wasn't going to hang around to see what she would draw him into. 'You learn to drink properly. I'm going for a swim.'

The promise of the swimming pool on the terrace had been beckoning him since they arrived, and he walked out of the lounge window now to find it. The sun was setting, spreading orange and pink on the underside of the rain clouds. Bulma followed him again. It was like she was attached to him with a length of elastic. He couldn't get very far before she bounced right back to his side. Perhaps being on an alien planet made her clingy with anxiety?

The pool was flush with the edge of the terrace, and held another surprise.

'What the…? Huh!' he exclaimed, seeing straight through the clear water to the city street far, far below.

'Is that a glass bottomed pool?' gasped Bulma.

Vegeta tried to contain a laugh. This was something he'd never encountered before in all his travels. Of course, hanging high above a city was not new for someone who could fly, but it would be novel to float above one without any use of chi. The section of terrace wall it butted up to was glass as well – it would be like swimming in the sky.

'I'm tempted to get in too,' Bulma said, still sipping from her glass. He shucked his shirt and then his pants, then paused with his hands in his waistband of his underwear. She was still standing on the step and he was in full view of her.

'I'm getting naked now; are you going to watch?' he asked. To his dismay it sounded less of an admonishment and more as an invitation. Clenching his teeth and eyes in anger at his own careless tone he listened as she gasped and then laughed. A couple of weeks ago he could have cared less who saw him in all his glory. Now the virtue of modesty had taken on new importance around Bulma; somehow her refusal to be seen naked made him shy of revealing  _himself_. He didn't want her casually observing his nakedness as if it was nothing; judging his paraphernalia without sharing hers, as if her modesty were worth more than his.

'Go ahead, make my day,' she purred and giggled again.

Vegeta looked at her in disbelief. 'Are you drunk already, Girl?'

'Don't be stupid!' she said. 'Strip, if you're going to strip! See if I care.'

Vegeta huffed and turned his back on her. She  _was_  drunk. Well, he wasn't going to forgo a cool bath for her sake, but he wasn't going to give her full frontal either. He ditched his underwear and streaked into the water – likely faster than her eyes could follow.

The water was as refreshing as it looked, and Vegeta swam a few lengths along the glass bottom of the pool before surfacing. When he did he saw Bulma standing near the edge of the pool, glowing pink in the setting sun, an almost sad expression on her face. Conscious of how clear the water was he swam right up to the edge of the pool before stopping so she couldn't get too much of an eyeful while he reached up and tried to undo the knot in his hair. She twirled her empty glass in her fingertips while she watched him, swallowing heavily. For a second he thought she might be about to cry and wondered what had brought on this change of mood.

'What's wrong?' he asked, feeling uncomfortably naked as her eyes lingered on his face.

She looked a little troubled by his question and then shook her head, her gaze sharpening again. 'Nothing. I just wanted to get in too,' she said.

'Then get in.'

'But you're in there!' she replied, as is this was an obvious barrier.

'So? It's a not a  _huge_  pool, but we'll certainly both fit.'

'What?' she scoffed. 'You think I'd just strip off in front of you and swim about naked? Oh, you'd  _like_  that, wouldn't you?'

He snorted in disbelief. 'You just watched  _me_  undress! And you told me to strip in front of you! What's the difference?'

'There's a big difference buddy, believe me!'

'There is not!'

'You want to watch me undress, then?'

Too late Vegeta realised she had caught him in a trap of words. 'No, that's not what I said…'

'Nice try, Jerk. And you call me a pervert!' She turned and started back up the steps to the lounge.

'Wait!' he called.

'What?' she snapped back, pausing on the top step.

'I need you to take my hair out of this tangle you've put it in,' he said. 'I can't undo it.'

She make her way slowly back down the steps. 'Say please.'

'Whatever. Please.'

'Getting better,' she said with a tiny quirk of her lips, and crouched down at the pool's edge. Vegeta turned his back to her so that she could get at the knot on the back of his head. With a bit of tugging and fumbling she had his hair free at last, and it bounced up a little, his scalp screaming at the release of tension. Bulma teased the spikes out from the solid mass that the gel made them, and he let her. It was a strange feeling having someone fussing and handling his hair. He thought it should irritate him, but it didn't. He liked it.

With one last motion Bulma skimmed her hand deeply through the back of his hair, her warm fingers cradling his head for a second before withdrawing, and the sensation went straight through Vegeta, touching his innards with the same bubbling excitement he'd felt a few days ago when she had wanted to talk to him in private on the flight deck.

He turned to see her face, but she was already walking away.

'I'm going to take a shower,' she announced, and then was gone.

Vegeta stayed where he was for some moments, struggling with the urge to call her back and demand that she stay with him. Then he cursed aloud. It was only a couple of days ago that Nappa had pulled him aside after that last game of blind man's buff and point blank accused Vegeta of being attracted to the Earth girl. Vegeta had of course denied it, lying out of embarrassment for his weakness, but the size of the lie seemed to be growing. Was this what attraction felt like? This tremulous, puppyish hope? He knew desire, and had felt it at the sight of many females he had come across, but this was something more than that ever was. Was this what Nappa meant?

'It's becoming obvious that you're attracted to that Earth girl, your Highness,' Nappa had said. 'I guess that's natural, given your age - in fact I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner - but don't let the feelings carry away your senses.'

'What feelings?' Vegeta had replied. 'I feel nothing towards her! Don't presume to know my thoughts!'

To which Nappa had looked very doubtful. 'Okay then,  _if_  you were to have feelings for her or any woman, just remember that they're just passing things. You've got to keep your head, so  _if_  you have feelings, acknowledge them to yourself and act on them if it's right, but you can't let them rule you.'

'The feelings?'

'The feelings, or the  _women_. Or else you'll find it's all a trap the hard way.'

But that was as far as the conversation had gotten before the first CO2 scrubber exploded. Vegeta wasn't sure in what way Bulma should be considered a trap, but he wasn't intending to fall into it anyway.

Now she'd gone and left the scent of her hands in his hair. He would have liked her to run her hands through his hair again and again. She was right; he would have liked to watch her undress and get in the pool with him, though he wouldn't have known what to do if she had…

'Stop it!' he muttered at himself, then swam laps underwater, holding his breath so long that his vision began to dim and he surfaced with a grateful gasp and whopping of air; his body's other urges suppressed by the need to go on breathing. Whatever was happening to himself, he would overcome it. This was nothing but a passing thing.

* * *

Bulma found her cool shower didn't wash away her heavy heartedness.

_Vegeta…Vegeta…_

It wasn't the sight of his body that really got to her, though that was appreciation worthy, no doubt about it (she had only glimpsed a few flashes of his hindquarters through the water, and his tail covered much of them, and hadn't seen his front at all). It was the way he blushed when she'd ordered him to strip, and how he looked blinking water out of his eyelashes when he'd surfaced. When he'd softly asked her what was wrong, she could have forgotten entirely who it was that asked, for how could it be the same boy who half-killed Goku and scared her witless? But his face…She had just been taken by surprise with how…wanty she felt for him at that moment.

He was a spectrum, and when he was showing off the soft reds, the ultra-violence was out of range, and she reminded herself that, but when he had asked her to take down his hair, thinking of his dark and light sides hadn't stopped her feeling a thrill in touching him. She could still feel the softness of his hair and the warmth of his scalp in her hand – she had dared pet the monster and gotten away with it.

She made a mental list in her head.

Reasons to like Vegeta:

1) Hot body

2) Endearing prudishness

3) Fun to argue with

4) Close proximity

Reasons to avoid Vegeta like the plague:

1) Will be an eventual enemy

2) Too short (seriously only an inch taller than me, if that)

3) Pre-existing boyfriend Yamcha (far nobler, better-looking and taller guy who died a hero's death, that I will soon be resurrecting)

4) Is a jerk

5) And a planet-murderer

Obviously the reasons against carried far more weight than the reasons for, but even so, she couldn't get him out of her mind tonight. The décor wasn't helping either. She kept having to look away from the art for fear she was scorching the filth permanently into her mind, but her eyes turned back again and again.

 _It's not him, it's just me being horny_ , she told herself as she spent far too long cleaning her already clean breasts and stiff nipples. The art on the walls were inspiring some indecent imaginings that all involved the naked Saiyan outside (or perhaps two or three of him at the same time, as some of the carvings suggested).

Giving in to her frustrated libido she allowed her fantasies and her hands free reign, gasping silently when she came, in just case he was listening from the bedroom. Afterwards she assured herself that it was all a case of not-enough-boyfriend, and that Vegeta was obviously not a suitable substitute. There was  _no way_  she and Vegeta would ever work. Even if she could stomach his violent nature, attempting a relationship with such a psycho would be like trying to housetrain a wild wolf: doomed to failure and possibly fatal.

 _So put his eyelashes and buttocks out of your mind_ , she told herself firmly _._

She got out of the shower and dried herself, donning the pale silk nightdress she'd found in the wardrobe. The nightie would probably be mildly risqué on someone much taller than her, like a Grenouillean woman, but on her, once the straps were adjusted it was a modest knee-skimming length. It was still much more sophisticated than the long-sleeved cotton number she'd brought with her, which she felt unworthy of the apartment and didn't even bother taking out of her capsule. She added one of the robes she found with the nightie and headed back to the bedroom and then jumped with guilt when she saw that Vegeta was already back in the room, stalking around the bed in just his jeans.

'There's silk boxers in the chest of drawers in the wardrobe,' she offered.

Vegeta went to find them without even looking in her direction. With amusement she saw that he had turned the painting on the easel around so that the backing faced the room.

'Urgh,' he said when he found the shorts. 'Ridiculous.'

But he put them on, coming out of the wardrobe and scowling at the bed as if it offended him.

'I'm going to sleep in the lounge,' he told her.

' _Why?_ ' she asked, taken aback.

'Just because we're playing a married couple doesn't mean we have to extend the charade as far as the bedroom,' he said.

'Oh, don't be silly!' she replied. 'This bed is massive! If we stuck to our own sides we'd be about three times further apart than how we sleep every night on the ship.'

He contemplated the bed. 'I suppose you're right. Just don't go thinking I mean anything by it.'

'Of course not!' she said. 'As if I would!'

'Fine.'

He climbed between the sheets and the thin comforter, and Bulma did the same, ditching the robe. It still wasn't fully dark outside though, and a lot of light was coming into the room from the city.

'Have they not heard of curtains on this planet?' grumbled Bulma.

Vegeta turned on his bedside lamp and reached inside the bedside table draw, coming out with a remote. Pressing one button the windows suddenly became mirrors, and the two of them sitting in bed together was reflected into infinity whichever way Bulma looked. She gawped at the sight, taken by surprise by the surreal vision, but then Vegeta pressed another button and the windows became a nearly opaque black. He turned to her.

'Lights out.'

He turned the bedside lamp off and the room fell into darkness.

* * *

Raditz was giving his apartment a more thorough investigation, noting the commodities that could be swiped at the end of their stay (especially the small selection of alcoholic beverages). Puar was following him around, though she couldn't stop yawning.

'Right, that's about it for swag,' he decided in the kitchen. Their apartment was not  _quite_  as nice, and definitely not as big as Bulma and Vegeta's, and Raditz would have appreciated the interior decoration of the Honeymoon suite a lot better than Vegeta would, he suspected, but it was still the best accommodation he had ever stayed in.

Puar was leaning back against the workbench watching him, her elbows on the counter, which pulled the front of her Lady Pringella disguise costume tight across her breasts. Raditz stopped still for a moment as ideas occurred to him.

'What is it?' Puar asked, looking down at the front of her dress. 'Is there something weird? Sometimes I can lose control of a transformation when I'm really tired.'

'No, nothing wrong,' said Raditz, grinning. 'It's a very nice transformation.'

'Thanks,' Puar replied and stood up straight.

'Bed?' suggested Raditz.

'Yes!' she replied, and wheeled around, trotting out into the lounge in those high heels. Raditz followed her, watching her ass wiggle from side to side in the tight dress, and then suddenly, with a pop the ass was gone.

'Hey!' protested Raditz to the cat hanging in mid air. 'Change back!'

'Why?' asked Puar, looking around in fright. 'You don't think we're being spied on, do you?'

'No, I already checked for cameras. I was just enjoying the view.'

'What view?' And then she flinched as she understood. 'Of me?'

'Come on, Daemon,' he cajoled, coming closer. The little fuzz-ball couldn't be less sexy to him, but he gave her one of his rakish smiles that he knew was effective on many ladies. 'You make a pretty hot Lady Pringella. Maybe you should keep that form full time – it really suits you.'

Puar backed up a little. 'But I'm a cat.'

'Not when you're a lady L'Goontian.'

Puar frowned at him. 'I only look like one; I'm still a cat. I'm going to bed anyway, so what does it matter?'

Raditz had the shame to blush as he suggested his idea. It was a bit rushed, but he'd known some women to be in just as much of a hurry as himself, and there might only be tonight to try this. 'I was thinking, Bulma and Vegeta have got the sexy-times apartment, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun ourselves.'

'What do you mean?' asked Puar, sounding nervous now. Raditz frowned.

'Hey, no need to be worried! I know I'm big, but I won't hurt you. I can be real gentle if that's how you want it. I've been told I'm quite skilled, so I'll make it well worth your while if you come to bed with me.' He felt totally ridiculous saying this to a cat. 'Just change back and let's…just do what feels good.'

'Urgh!' cried Puar, and rocketed backwards until she hit the wall, her eyes wide.

This wasn't going well, and Raditz began to feel annoyed with her reaction and strode towards her. 'Hey, what did I just say about not being worried? I'm not going to hurt Vegeta's toy, am I? He'd beat the crap out of me, so I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. I just thought we could both have some fun together while there was the opportunity!'

'Well, I don't want to do  _that!_ '

Raditz rankled at the scorn in her voice. 'Yeah, yeah. You could have just said – no need to sound so insulted! Lady Pringella is maybe a nine, but I'm a pretty solid eight and a half myself – it's not like you're out of my league!'

'But I'm not Lady Pringella! I'm Puar! A cat!'

'Yeah, a shape-shifting cat! Surely even cats could do with a good screw now and then? Or the ones that aren't frigid do, anyway!'

Puar started crying. 'I don't! I'm only ten years old!'

'You're…!' Raditz felt shock, then amusement, then horror, then finally amusement again. 'Wait, Earth years or Galactic years?'

'Earth years!'

Raditz laughed. 'Damn! You're just a kid! You should have said something sooner!'

'I didn't need to until now!' she cried, then made a break for it, fleeing to her room, and slamming the door behind her. Raditz hoped she wasn't so outraged that she complained to Vegeta, but he felt within his rights. He'd only asked, and hadn't even touched the thing.

Feeling a little foolish and quite annoyed, he showered in the ensuite of his own room, then returned to the kitchen for one of those beverages before going to sleep. Vegeta probably  _was_  closer to getting laid tonight after all. At least Bulma was adult, more or less, and even though Vegeta was completely uptight, those two had been flirting very obviously lately. Perhaps Bulma would be the first one to get under Vegeta's drum-tight skin? He felt a flicker of something angry and unhappy in himself at the thought. Amongst his victories, Raditz had been rejected many times in the past, but never had he gotten so completely led astray as he had with Bulma.

As he passed Puar's door he could hear her still sniffling to herself. He wrinkled his nose, annoyed that she should be taking his mistake so hard. Maybe she  _would_  complain to Vegeta? He suddenly wished he'd never propositioned her. What had he been thinking? He known the daemon was timid and naïve – why would that have changed with her shape?

He knocked.

'Leave me alone!' came the thin cry in return.

'Puar!' he protested, trying the handle but finding the door locked. 'I'm not going to hurt you or do anything to you at all. I'm not into kiddies; thank you for your high opinion of me!'

'What do you want then?'

What did he want? He wanted her to not complain to Vegeta, so he needed her to not think so badly of him. Therefore he needed to…

'To apologise!'

There was a pause, and then, 'Go on, then.'

'Puar, open the door; I'm not apologising to a plank of wood.'

'Only if you promise to leave if I tell you to!'

'All right, whatever.'

She opened the door and hung in the small gap she made when she opened it.

'I'm sorry,' he said.

'Hmm,' she said. 'Is that it?'

'Yeah. I totally wouldn't have said anything like that if I'd known how young you were. Of course you don't want to screw – you're a little kid.'

Puar pondered this and then said, 'Wait. So if I had been older and I still hadn't wanted to…you know, with you, then you would have still called me frigid and implied I was a…a snob?'

Raditz shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess.'

'You are horrible, Raditz!' she said. 'I don't think any girl will ever like you!'

'Well that's not true at all,' he replied. 'Plenty of girls like me.'

'I bet, until they start to get to know you. Or else you  _paid_  them to like you.' Puar's ears turned red with embarrassment when she said this.

Raditz scowled at her. 'You're too young to know what you're talking about.'

'I know the basic facts of life! I know what a prostitute is! I've been hanging out with teenaged boys since I was seven, so I've heard things! And I know that you'll never find love if you treat girls like you do!'

'Good job I'm not looking for  _love_  then!'

'Euw! Disgusting!' She slammed the door again and Raditz sighed.

'Puar, don't tell on me!'

There was no answer.

'Please!'

When there was still no answer, Raditz turned away in resignation.

'Bah, stupid cat.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Before anyone says anything, yes, I'm aware of a frightfully entertaining fan fiction called Vengeance, by Catgirl26 that features a Puar/Raditz pairing. I started writing this story before I read hers, though I did read it at some point last year and still follow it (and I know she follows this one). I always had it in mind that Raditz might unsuccessfully hit on both Bulma and Puar because he's testosterone on legs. After reading Vengeance I was timid to even put Puar and Raditz in the same room as each other, and wondered if I should just leave it out to as not to draw comparisons. Then I had two readers already ask me if there would be any Puar/Raditz action, and given that Puar and Raditz have to hang out together a lot in the next few chapters for the plot to work I decided I would just get it out of the way - put Raditz's clumsy attempt to bed Puar out there to show that no - there will NOT be any Puar/Raditz hook up in this story, and this is why. Poor little Puar!


	28. Nappa's Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, I feel a bit bad that we're spending so long on Planet Grenouillea, but I hope you've enjoying your visit. In this chapter we start with Nappa and the others, but bounce back and forth to Bulma and Vegeta in the Pleasure Palace a few times.

Nappa opened the airlock again to check the view from the windows.

'All right, snotbags, looks like it's full dark, so it's time to move.'

'What about food-' began Goku, and Nappa shouted him down.

'No time! How many times do I have to say it?'

Goku clutched his empty, gurgling tummy. He hoped they would find some sort of food soon.

Nappa led them to the rampway and then paused.

'Coast appears clear,' he announced after a moment.

'How can you tell?' asked Tarble.

'How can I tell?' Nappa parroted. He tugged one ear. 'The old-fashioned way. Chi-sensing won't help you much here.'

'Why not?' asked Goku.

'The chi-supressing field around the spaceport,' groaned Tarble. 'I forgot. Some of the bigger ports we've visited have them. We won't be able to fly either.'

'It took you that long to realise?' Nappa scolded Tarble. 'How many times have I said that a warrior needs to be aware of his surroundings? Use all your senses all the time – and now that includes chi-sense. I've known it was deadened since the moment we landed. Could only just sense you boys in the other two pods.'

'Bu-' Tarble began, but stopped himself short.

'But?' asked Nappa, leaning down to loom over Tarble threatening. 'While you boys were playing parlour games I was actually  _practicing_  my chi sense. I'm probably better than you, now.'

Tarble cringed and Goku was glad that Nappa didn't take his reprimand any further. It appeared he was right anyway about there being no one outside; when he opened the rampway and led them out into the hot, cloying night there was no one in sight.

Floodlights on poles were scattered around the spaceport, reflecting off the low, heavy clouds, so Nappa kept led them under the ships wherever he could, and sticking to the dim periphery of the lights whenever there was no cover.

They crossed paths with a few people and machines, including once when they were out in the open, rushing through an empty few plots, but no one appeared very interested in them. No alarms sounded, and the on and off rumble of ships landing and taking off continued. At last they made it to the edge of the port, and Goku felt the as if a weight had been lifted from him.

'Stick close, brats,' Nappa instructed them. 'First task is to find some petty cash to play with.'

He rose into the air and the boys followed like a bunch of anxious balloons.

'Look at that!' said Krillin as they got a better view of the city. It glittered with lights, and glowed in a thin fog of condensation. 'A real alien city!'

'Yeah,' said Goku. It was quite different, but Goku actually found even Earth cities quite strange and new still. This one looked especially different because it had water instead of streets and most people were flying rather than walking. Goku sniffed the air with interest. He could smell warm stagnant water mixed with the greenness of plants, algae and slime, and the occasional whiff of sweetness and flowers, and as they got closer, the growing mixed mugginess of people, machines, concrete, cooked food…his stomach rumbled again.

Nappa coasted to a stop over a busy part of town.

'Oi!' he called at a passing man. The guy blinked and looked like he was going to keep going, but Nappa flew towards him saying, 'Where's the entertainment district in this town? Where do I go to get shit-faced?'

The man's lip curled back in disgust. 'You're right above it, but I hardly think that's an activity for a father and his children!'

Nappa chuckled. 'Tykes have gotta learn some time, don't they?'

The man huffed and took off at speed and Nappa turned his attention to the city below him.

'Kakarott, Baldie, I don't suppose you know how to pick pockets, do you?'

'Hey, I got more hair than  _you_ ,' Krillin muttered, but not loud enough for Nappa to actually hear.

'No,' Goku replied for the both of them. 'What's that?'

'Urgh, forget it,' said Nappa. 'Any one of those people we've flown past is stronger than you three. I'd set you to steal credits from passers-by, except that if any of you were caught you wouldn't be strong enough to escape, and none of you know how to actually do it. So instead, we're going to bait a trap just like we did outside that lab on Earth. First, we're got to find a good supply of drunken idiots and a place to ambush them.'

He settled on a nightspot where a rowdy bunch of people hung out on a terrace, a bar extending into the building. They were noisy, as was the music, and many of the patrons appeared intoxicated. Some of those taking flight had trouble doing so, and some even-more intoxicated people were taking an elevator down to street level to get on gondolas or attempting to stumble home. One man tried to take off from the balcony, but instead plummeted, splashing down into the canal to be fished out by bystanders.

'Shit-faced,' confirmed Nappa.

A little way past the commotion outside that building they found a narrow gap between two buildings – a clean but quiet alleyway. Some people passed by the entrance to it on foot, but not huge numbers.

Nappa sat down against the wall.

'Tarble, I think you know what to do; why don't you teach the new kids how it's done?'

Tarble nodded solemnly. 'The Sick Dad routine? But we're not on a ship.'

'It should work just as well on dry land.'

'What's the Sick Dad routine?' asked Goku, but Tarble hurried to the edge of the alleyway. Goku and Krillin followed him, but after a few moments Tarble scurried out of the shadow and onto the moving walkway, rushing up to a man who stumbled back and off the walkway, and fell onto his ass as Tarble came at him.

'Sir, sir, can you help me?' Tarble asked.

'What?' asked the man. He was only young, Goku thought, not much older than Vegeta or Yamcha, he guessed.

'My dad, he's fallen over and he's really sick!' Tarble cried. 'Please, can you help him?'

'Fine, I'll call a medic for you.'

Tarble looked momentarily panicked, but the man was busy lurching to his feet. 'I, er…I already did, but they said they'd be a while. Please, sir! My brothers and I are scared – we don't know what to do!'

'Aw, shit,' the man grumbled. 'Has he been drinking? He's probably just drunk.'

'I don't think so!'

'He probably is, but I'll wait with you for the medics. Where is he?'

Tarble towed the man back to them and Goku and Krillin backed up to where Nappa sat. The big man began holding his gut, groaning and panting.

'Ow, gods, I feel awful! Aw, my stomach!'

'Are you okay, Nappa?' asked Goku, but Krillin punched him in the arm.

'Goku, don't be dumb; he's acting!' his friend whispered as Tarble and the stranger came up to them.

'Hey, er…you sick, Man?' asked the green skinned youth. He stopped a few feet away, not wanting to get too close, but leant forward to squint at Nappa, until he overbalanced and staggered to get his feet bck under him. Nappa just moaned in answer.

The man lifted accusatory finger. 'You're just drunk, aren't ya? Hey, you probably shouldn't be out partying with your kids, you know? You got your kids scared. We've got standards on this planet, you know? You can't just bring your ignorant alien ways here.'

'Help me,' gasped Nappa. 'Help me up!'

'No thanks; you'll probably vomit on me.'

'I won't, I promise. Just help me out to the streetlights.'

'Hur, okay, I guess, but if you start to vomit I'm dropping you!'

The man offered Nappa his hand, but as he pulled the big man to his feet, Nappa came crashing down on him and pinned him to the ground.

'Hey, wh-' the man started, but Nappa's fist came down into his face, and he cried out instead. Nappa hurriedly tried again, hitting him harder and smacking his head back into the flagstones with a crack.

'Tough bastard,' he commentated, starting to rifle he man's pockets.

'Do you think he'll be okay?' asked Goku.

'No,' said Nappa, 'because we're going to kill him.'

'No!' said Krillin.

'We don't need to do that,' Goku told him. 'This guy didn't do anything to us. We should let him go.'

'Oh, really?' said Nappa, coming back up with a few coin-like bits of plastic. 'This guy could come around at any second and raise hell. We'll have to abandon our hiding place and try elsewhere in town  _if_  we didn't get caught first.'

'I'll get rid of him,' Goku volunteered. 'I'll take him away before he wakes up.'

'Too dangerous,' insisted Nappa. 'If he wakes up, he'll overpower you, no sweat. Gods, the shame of you underpowered runts! No Saiyan child of old would've been so outclassed.'

'I'll quickly take him away and drown him, then!' said Goku.

'Goku!' cried Krillin. Even Tarble looked shocked.

'Krillin will help me!'

'No, I won't!'

Nappa laughed. 'I don't think I believe you, Kakarott. I'll take care of him.' He reached for the man's throat and Tarble turned away, whimpering, but Goku darted forward to stand in over the victim's head, glaring across at Nappa.

'I'll take care of him!' he insisted.

'Fuck's sake, Kakarott!' said Nappa irritably. 'We don't have time for this. Fine, take him; get rid of him! Just make sure he doesn't give us away! Me and Tarble will get on with things.'

Goku grabbed the man's shoulders and dragged him out from under Nappa.

'Take his feet,' he told Krillin and when he did they walked down the alleyway with the man between them, the hapless fellow's buttocks dragging on the pavement.

'Goku, you're not really going to drown this guy, are you?' asked Krillin as soon as they were out of earshot.

'Of course not!' said Goku. 'We just have to convince him not to get the police, is all. I can understand why Nappa doesn't want the police here - they get in the way a lot.'

At the other end of the alley it opened out into a back street of sorts, much rougher than the brightly lit street to the front, with just wooden boardwalks either side holding trash cans and dumpsters, the canal in between narrow and dirty-looking, with a few old punts tied up.

'What now?' asked Krillin, dumping the guy's feet.

'Hey, wake up,' Goku told the man, patting his face. When he didn't stir, Goku rose up into the air and over the canal and dunked the man briefly in the water. He came too with a start and a splutter, and grabbed at Goku's wrists.

'Hey! What?'

Goku lowered him back down onto the boardwalk.

'Ow, my head…' groaned the man, clutching it. 'What happened?'

'You don't remember?' asked Goku, surprised.

He shook his head. 'Where is this place? Where's Clavis? And Jabez?'

'I don't know who they are.'

'What happened to my head?' he asked.

Goku looked at Krillin and Krillin raised his brows, thinking fast. 'Well, the thing is, someone threw a plant pot off a balcony up there,' Krillin waved his hand above his head. 'It landed on your head and knocked you unconscious into the canal. My friend Goku saved you.'

'Oh, thanks! Thank the Fathers you were here to save me!' He stood up and lurched around in a circle. 'How do I get home?'

Krillin pointed down the street. 'That way, two blocks, then turn left.'

'Thank you!' He made his unsteady way down the boardwalk, banging into the wall every so often.

'How did you know the way back to his home?' asked Goku.

Krillin slapped his face into his hand. 'I didn't, Goku. I lied, just like you lied when you said you were going to drown him.'

'Oh! I get it.'

When they got back to Nappa, Tarble already had the next victim by the hook. They went through the same routine three times, with Krillin and Goku "getting rid of the victims" each time. The second man woke up as they were still carrying him down the alley and Goku panicked and hit him on the head again. They raced him down the back street and put him on a punt and pushed him off down another branch of the canal. The third guy didn't seem to want to wake up at all, so they gently laid him in a dumpster and hurried back to the others.

'Time to go,' said Nappa. 'Tarble's getting some attention from the water taxis.'

They took to the skies again and reconvened on a rooftop. Nappa smirked down at Goku.

'You killed those whelps?'

'Yeah.'

Nappa chuckled. 'That's quite a turn-around from your previous stance. Not sure I believe you.'

'Well if I didn't, then no one died and no one called the police, so that means we  _didn't_  have to kill them after all!'

'You took a risk, is what you mean. Kakarott, if you weren't one of the last Saiyans alive, I'd be long through with you. Anyway, let's see what we got here.'

Nappa had collected seven credit chips. Five had numbers displayed on them and two had key symbols on them. Nappa muttered aloud, trying to add up the numbers and getting nowhere in particular fast before Tarble said, 'It's about eighteen hundred credits, all up.'

'That's right,' said Nappa.

'What do the key symbols mean?' asked Goku.

'Those are secure chips, guarded against theft. They'll have the big bucks on them if we can get at it. In the meantime, let's consolidate our winnings.'

* * *

Nappa led them a few blocks away and dropped into a dingy but brightly lit shop. It was selling packaged food and drinks to a largely inebriated clientele. There were a lot of aliens amongst the Grenouillea in the shop, and even the shopkeepers were aliens. People were buying pale peachy-pink things that looked like powdered sausages but smelled like sherbet, sticky green buns, and savoury smelling meat and other matter in disposable trays and paper wraps. Others seemed to be having difficulty buying anything at all due to intoxication.

'This looks like the kind of place.'

Nappa pushed a drunken youth aside and made his way up to a service counter. A transparent safety screen separated the business side of the service counters from the patrons, and behind it a snout faced alien with two fingers and two thumbs on the end of each of his four arms smiled as best he could with his dog-like mouth at the little group of Saiyans and Earthling. Goku couldn't stop staring at the being's extra set of arms and shoulders, or their black, wet lips and yellow teeth.

'How may I help you, sir?'

Nappa placed the four credit chips on the counter. 'I need all the money off three of these chips and put on the last one. Oh, changed my mind - keep a hundred credits on each, but clear the rest out.'

'Certainly sir, but in this establishment we have a fifty credit minimum spend before we'll do credit transfers.'

'What?' Nappa exclaimed, and then settled down. 'Fine, then we'll get some…'

'Food!' cried Goku.

Nappa cast him a downward glance and then said, 'The kid is right, we need to eat.'

* * *

They ate their late dinner on the edge of the canal, dangling their feet above the water. They had spicy jungle-fish rolls, BBQ mud-monkey skewers, creamy water-snails in garaboza cups (whatever they were) eaten right out of the paper they were wrapped in. Nappa threw his rubbish in the canal, to the disgust of a passing gondolier.

'I dunno about this Grenouillean food,' said Krillin, looked at bit whey-faced.

'It was okay,' said Goku. It wasn't the best, but he had personally prepared himself worse meals.

'No, this Grenouillean stuff isn't half bad compared to the crap you get on some planets,' said Nappa. 'At least it's not poisonous.'

'Are you sure?' asked Krillin.

'He's right,' said Tarble. 'We once visited this planet where the locals added different grades of  _sand_  to their food for added texture.'

'There was a place where I was served insects congealed in aged, fermented griffin fat,' added Nappa. 'The server got within five feet of me with the bowl and I vomited on the table – smelled like something from the pits of Hell itself.'

'Urgh,' agreed Krillin, looking even greener.

'Here, try the sweet,' Goku suggested, getting one of the long, capsule-shaped, pink things out of the bag and offering it to Krillin, who took one. Goku took one himself and passed the bag to Nappa and Tarble. Tarble took one, but Nappa on the end of the row, shook his head and sniggered. Krillin prodded and sniffed it a little before nibbling on the end of it.

'Okay, this isn't bad,' he reported. 'Bit like a slightly stiff and sour marshmallow!' Taking this as a good sign, Goku and Tarble stuffed the ends of their sweets in their mouths and Nappa burst out laughing.

'What?' asked Goku through his mouthful of sticky pinkness.

'Oh, to have a camera at this moment!' said Nappa, still laughing.

'What are you talking about?'

Tarble took his sweet out of his mouth and frowned at it.

'What's wrong?' Goku asked him.

'Nothing, go on munching,' Nappa answered for him, and now Krillin paused and considered the eight inches of soft, powdered, flesh-coloured tube in his hand.

'Huh. He thinks it looks like we're eating dicks.'

Goku looked at his own sweet. 'Oh yeah, we do a bit,' he agreed, and took another huge bite, causing Nappa to laugh harder. When he swallowed he asked, 'Why is that so funny? It's not like they  _taste_  like dicks.'

This time Nappa roared with laughter and Krillin muttered, 'Urgh, Goku!'

'And you would know that how, Kakarott?'

'From the smell of course!' replied Goku, starting to get annoyed. 'Of course I haven't  _eaten_  a dick, but I know what one smells like!' When Nappa still didn't stop laughing, Goku felt the need to defend his ignorance. 'Do  _you_  even know what a dick tastes like? Maybe you've been places where they eat dicks a lot, but I doubt it!'

'Oh Gods, this is priceless! Yes, Kakarott, you can find people on almost any planet that will eat dick, but I've never had one in  _my_  mouth!'

'You're gross,' complained Krillin, but Goku dropped it. He was annoyed with Nappa and the man was obviously talking in riddles just to make fun of him, and it was getting in the way of his enjoying the sweet.

Nappa stifled his laugher somewhat. 'And  _you_  don't get to talk to me that way, little Earthling tag-along, or you'll be regretting it a long time.'

Krillin said nothing, but look a deliberate bite out of his sweet.

Thunder rolled in the distance.

'Come on brats, finish up your penis-treats so we can get going,' Nappa told them. 'We need better clothes, and I don't want to get caught out if it's going to rain.'

* * *

The men surrounding him grinned with the surety of their superiority. Nothing pissed Vegeta off more than that. They were underestimating him like so many did, and he was going to teach them better!

'Desist, you Highness,' said one, 'or we will school you harshly and you father will hear of it.'

'No!' he shouted in return. 'You can't stop me! Just try, and we'll see who gets schooled, me or you!'

They rushed him, arms arcing down, legs striking out. They were all much taller than him, but it didn't take long for him to realise that they weren't faster or stronger. He dodged their fists and feet and ran up the outstretched leg of the biggest man to get at his face. Even with other two grabbing him from behind he managed to hook one leg over the shoulder of the third and mash the heel of his other foot into his face. The man went down, and soon the other two did as well, tossed brokenly this way and that. He jumped on them as they tried to struggle to their feet and delivered the fatal blows to the throat, like he'd been taught.

He stood back afterwards to gloat at the mess, but as he looked at the bodies his triumph faded. The man who taught him to finish an opponent by crushing his airway was one of the dead. Another was his Maths tutor, and the third was one of his father's advisers, and none of them were now able to appreciate that he had bested them. He was used to the praise of his elders whenever he'd destroyed the Saibamen clones he fought, but now there was only silence from the very men who once congratulated him.

He felt uneasy. He'd never seen a dead Saiyan before. He'd heard his father order the execution of some Saiyans at times, but maybe only his father was allowed to do that? Vegeta wasn't sure, but if it was the wrong thing to do, he now realised that he couldn't just regrow these people like he could plant more Saibaman seeds. He would get in big trouble.

'Vegeta!'

He spun at the horrified gasp, and there was Bulma blinking at him.

'What have you done?' she asked, and his fear deepened. What  _had_  he done?  _Why_  had he done it? Why couldn't he remember? Too late he remembered that she had asked him not to kill without good reason.

'They were worthless,' he said to excuse his misdeed. He looked back to Bulma but she had changed; grown taller, and now her hair was dark and long. The look of anger on her face frightened him, but he tried not to let it show. She took a step forward, towering over him now. He was barely up to her waist.

'They were loyal subjects and valuable men which you have needlessly killed! I expected more from you, Vegeta!'

'The weaker deserve to die!' he said, trying to sound brave and callous, even though her anger scared him and made him realise that he really was in trouble.

The woman's dark eyes glittered with fury. 'Is that so? And would you seek to kill me, then? That is, if you thought yourself more powerful than I?'

Was he going to have to fight her too? Vegeta's heart pounded in his chest with fear, and before he could even move a flash of light filled his vision and he started awake.

'Ah!'

On the other side of the bed, someone rolled over in the dark. 'Don't tell me you're scared of lightning?' came the girl's voice.

For a moment Vegeta was so disorientated and adrenalised that he couldn't answer as he tried to place himself in time and space. The dream felt like something that had really happened, and as he thought about it, he became sure that it was at least part real memory, though it resisted his full recollection. But Bulma hadn't really been there because it was a memory from Planet Vegeta. No, it was the woman she'd turned into that had been there -  _Aubergina_.

Thunder boomed outside before his present situation came back to him. He was with Bulma on Grenouillea Two, in the perverted apartment and Aubergina was long dead.

'Of course I'm not scared of  _lightning!_  I was just in the grip of a dream.'

Lightning flashed again, lighting up the room even through the blacked out windows. He could see Bulma half sitting up in bed, and then she started as the thunder clapped in immediately and deafeningly. He laughed.

'I can see that  _you_  are afraid of thunderstorms though!'

'No, I'm not! It's just that…heck, who can sleep through this? It sounds like we're practically inside the storm!'

As she spoke, Vegeta could feel the hairs on his arms begin to stand up of their own accord and he had a small misgiving.

'I don't think there is anything "practically" about it,' he said, and slipped out of bed to his feet. He'd been struck by lightning before – it was the closest he'd ever come to death without Zarbon or Frieza being involved, and he didn't want to repeat the experience. Surely a building like this would have precautions against lightning strike? Of course they must – even the Grenouillea factsheet mentioned the frequent electrical storms. He crossed to the garden window and guided the glass open again, letting in a flood of hot, wet air, just in time to see a fork of lightning caress the outside of the chi shield, ten or so metres beyond the garden wall, blinding him and deafening him at the same time.

'Holy cow!' screamed Bulma as Vegeta yelped and staggered back towards the bed, falling against the foot of it.

'Vegeta! Are you okay?'

He gulped air and blinked, then felt it necessary to chuckle to prove that he was neither hurt nor scared. 'Of course!'

'Why are you laughing, you imbecile!' Bulma shouted in panic. 'Close the window; it's not safe!'

'It's safe,' he assured her,

'But-'

'The lightning passed down the outside of the Chi-suppressing field. It's fine. It can't get us in here.'

She started sobbing a little. 'Are you sure?'

More lightning lit up the room and Bulma jumped and whimpered. Vegeta flinched a little too, but this time the thunder was not quite simultaneous, though still very loud.

'I'm sure,' he told her. 'We're safe. It can't reach us in here – it won't even touch the building.'

'Okay, then,' said Bulma, reigning in the sobbing.

A slow patter outside quickly turned to a fast patter, and then a loud roar of raindrops hitting the terrace and the rooftops around them, hitting the steps outside the window and splashing so hard that the tiles of the bedroom floor near the opening were soon wet. The night was turned misty as the city lights diffused through the deluge.

'Shall I close the window?' asked Vegeta. He would prefer it open, but he would not object if she wanted it closed, if that would make her less scared. He told himself it would be easier for him to sleep if she was not keeping him awake with her fussing.

'No, leave it open. I want to keep an eye on the storm so it can't creep up on me,' she replied, lying back down in bed, facing the window. Vegeta crawled over her, back to his own place and did the same.

'You're a coward,' he admonished her.

'Hey, you were scared too!' she objected.

'I was not.'

'Oh yes, you were!'

Vegeta couldn't let her have the last word. 'I may have taken a fright – who wouldn't have? But I was not  _scared_.'

'Whatever, buddy. Frightened  _is_  scared.'

He growled at her between his teeth. 'No, it's not, now go to sleep!' The next moment though he sat up in bed. Above the roar of the rain he'd heard the apartment door close. Bulma saw him sat up too.

'What is it?' she whispered, but Vegeta relaxed.

'Hmm. It's only Puar.'

A few moments later Puar cautiously floated into the room.

'Oh! You're awake!' she squeaked, sounding relieved.

'What is it, Daemon?' asked Vegeta, sternly.

Lightning flashed outside again, causing the cat to jump and squeal.

'Come here!' Bulma ordered, her arms open. Puar shot into them and let herself be hugged like a doll. Vegeta shook his head as Bulma rocked her and stroked the fur on Puar's back. The sight irked him for some reason, and inexplicably brought Aubergina to mind again. The cat moaned as the thunder rolled and crashed.

'You poor thing!' said Bulma once the thunder died down. ' _Puar_  is frightened by the storm,' Bulma told him primly.

'Don't be silly, Daemon; I've already been through this with Bulma. The storm cannot harm us inside the building.'

'But it's scary,' complained the cat.

'Do you Earthlings spend all your time being scared? Perhaps I might excuse it if there was actually any danger involved, but we are all perfectly safe right now! At least from the lightning! Daemon, go back to your room.'

'No!' cried Puar. 'Please, no! Can't I stay here? There's lots of room.'

'Yes, you can stay - can't she, Vegeta?' said Bulma pointedly.

Vegeta considered it. 'You need to be braver, Daemon, but I suppose you can stay,  _if_  you can keep quiet and not whimper or shriek anymore.'

'I won't,' said Puar from Bulma's arms.

'Girl, stop treating my Daemon like a baby and put her down.'

As if to defy him, Bulma brought Puar to her face and nuzzled her against her cheek before kissing her on the head and letting her go. Puar floated down to take a place on one of the pillows between Bulma and Vegeta. The cat flinched as another fork of lightning hit the roof of a building in the distance.

'Remember, no jumping, screeching or fussing or you go back to your room,' Vegeta remaindered her. 'You are perfectly safe, especially by my side. Bulma is not scared, and neither should you be.'

Puar nestled herself deeper in the pillow. 'Thank you, Vegeta.'

Vegeta looked down at her, wondering if he'd been too kind, and that was why the cat thanked him. He looked to Bulma see if she had noticed and she was grinning at him. He scowled at her to see if he could scare the foolish expression off her face but it didn't work and he gave up, laying himself back down. He was tired and he'd be lucky to get any more sleep over this racket.

Remembering that Nappa and the others were busy performing their part of this scheme, Vegeta plucked his earpiece from the bedside table and put it in to talk to him.

'Nappa, how is it going out there?'

'Oh. Hey, Vegeta! Yeah, it's going fine, other than the heavens opening on us.'

'Good. Do you have much money yet?'

'Well, we're just growing our investment, but it's early days yet.'

'Do not leave us hanging, Nappa!'

'I won't, don't worry. Just let me get on with it.'

'Right, then.'

Vegeta took the earpiece back out and turned to the curious faces of the girls.

'They're fine. Now, goodnight, idiots.'

* * *

They all had new clothes, albeit soaking wet ones after the torrential rain, but this didn't seem out of place amongst the citizens of Spawn City. The rain didn't stop the party on Grenouillea Two, and the Grenouilleans didn't appear to make a distinction between wet and dry. Nappa had a pair of fine pantaloons, ornamented slip-on sandals, a crossover sleeveless tunic in cream and tan, and gold jewellery aplenty – chains and medallions around his neck and several chunky rings on his big fingers. They'd all come from a very wealthy alien who bore some resemblance to Dodoria whom they had tailed and assaulted in the foyer of an apartment building after he'd gotten off a water taxi. Nappa was very happy to have a set of clothes that fit him again. Gold didn't command the same  _type_  of respect that a set of Saiyan or PTO armour did, but it was something at least.

The kids were in stylish shirts, headpieces and boots that they had taken from a group of little Hagnastians that Nappa had followed into a nightclub. After a couple of minutes chatting to them, he gleaned that they were touring musicians, and after flattering them that he was a great fan of the Hagnastian music industry and wished to start an import business he had invited them into a private booth to drink on his own tab but instead knocked them all swiftly into unconsciousness and taken their shirts, credits and jewellery.

'Now for a bigger target,' he told the boys. 'Pity it's the middle of the night – that rather limits our choices.'

The first target he picked was an all-night clothes-cleaning service, which was abandoned apart from the bored-looking young Grenouillean man behind the counter. He was playing a game on some electronic device and barely looked up at Nappa when he entered, and didn't spare a glance for the brats at all. Behind the assistant was just a blank wall with two doors in it. One gave a sliver of a view into a back room full of garments.

'Dropping off or picking up?'

'Picking up,' replied Nappa, according to the plan he had worked out with the boys beforehand.

The boy paused his game and stuck his hand out. 'Receipt?'

'Lost my receipt,' Nappa replied sheepishly.

The boy huffed and pointed at a stack of papers on the counter. 'Well, you either need the receipt, or you have to fill out one of these forms for forgotten receipts. If your description matches the description of one of the unclaimed garments we'll call you, but you've got to wait a week before it'll show up as unclaimed.'

'But I need them tonight,' said Nappa. 'Can't you just go in the back and find them for me now if I describe them to you?'

'No,' said the young man, scornfully. 'Do you know how many garments we've got here?'

'But it is my third wedding tomorrow and my kids need the pants for the ceremony.'

'Fill in a form then.'

Nappa heaved a big sigh as if this was all very traumatic to him. 'Look boy, how much money do you make on your shift?'

'A hundred and fifty credits,' said the clerk, regarding him suspiciously.

'Well, I am a wealthy man, with a very important day tomorrow and my kids need their pants for it, so there's a hundred credits on this chip, which is yours if you find them right now.'

The boy stood up in excitement but then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 'Yeah, right.'

Nappa handed over one of the chips with the hundred credits on it and put it on the counter. 'I'm not kidding.'

The boy picked it up and examined the numbers on the face, still looking uncertain. 'It's against my employer's rules…'

'Fine,' said Nappa. 'Keep that chip, and if you can find the pants there's another hundred in it for you.'

The boy's eyes locked on Nappa's in excitement. 'All right. What do these pants look like?'

'Describe your pants to the man, kids,' said Nappa.

Tarble, Goku and Krillin rushed to the counter and began gabbering a once. 'Mine are blue!' said Kakarott.

'Grey,' said Tarble, 'But a nice grey, like soft, kind of.'

'Mine are purple, I think?' said Krillin. 'Or maybe it was a kind of fuchsia, but I'd know them if I saw them!'

The employee opened one of the doors revealing an endless rack of clothes which scrolled when he pressed a pedal. 'Wait, how long ago did you bring them in?'

'Two days?' replied Tarble. 'But I'm not sure, can you remember, Kakarott?'

'Three?' replied Kakarott.

'I was sure it was more like four or five,' said Krillin.

Nappa grinned at their obvious pantomime, but the employee was too excited by his "massive" bribe to notice. Nappa shuffled closer to the electronic till and leaned over the counter, pretending to be craning to see the clothes through the door.

'These are from two days ago,' the young man was saying. 'Do you see any pants that look like yours?'

'Let's see!' said Tarble, hopping over the counter, followed by the other two. 'Look, purple ones!'

'Stop, go back! Are they them?' said Krillin, squeezing the employee through the doorway to try and see.

'Where?'

'Back, back…oh, that's not them. They're way too big.'

Kakarott pushed through and looked down the rack. 'Look, down there! I think I see mine!' and took off into the back room.

'Hey,' called the young man, 'get back here! You can't go into the rack room!' And when he stepped through to chase the boy, Nappa grasped the till machine and stuck a credit chip in it. It took him a few moments to work out the buttons on this one, but he hit 'Store refund' and punched in five thousand credits to be refunded. That didn't work, and he got an error message on the screen, which said manager approval was needed. Nappa tried five hundred credits instead, and that went through. With the pandemonium in the rack room continuing he was able to load six more of the chips with money before he decided he'd better stop.

The employee returned, pushing Kakarott in front of him. Kakarott was clutching some small blue pants.

'Just…come out when you've found them,' he said to Tarble and Krillin who were still in the rack room.

The boy picked Kakarott up and passed him to Nappa.

'Mate, can you please control your kids?'

'They are a handful at times, little darlings,' he replied and ruffled Kakarott's hair.

'Hey!' objected Kakarott, squirming in Nappa's arms. 'What're you doing that for?'

'Tarble, Krillin, hurry the fu- the hell- the heck up!' shouted Nappa. Within in a few moments the other two appeared – with grey and purple pants.

'Thanks so much, lad,' said Nappa, tossing him another credit chip loaded with a hundred credits. As the employee caught and examined it they all hurried out of the shop.

'Did it work?' asked Tarble as they took to the air.

'It did indeed, brats! We got three and a half thousand credits for an outlay of two hundred. Now if we knock off a few more jobs like that before sun-up we should have a decent packet to hand over to Vegeta.' Under his breath he muttered, 'And his little Highness didn't think I was cunning enough for this task!'

* * *

They pulled several similar stunts at different places around town. At a veterinary with an all-hours emergency clinic they pretended to be a family checking to see if their lost pet snake "Wiggly" had been turned in. Tarble pretended to slumber in Nappa's arms while they spoke to the vet on duty, and when she took them through the back to see if the snake was in one of the cages Nappa laid the "exhausted child" in a waiting room chair until they got back, only the "exhausted child" rustled twelve thousand credits while they were looking for Wiggly. As the whole scheme was Tarble's he was rather proud for a few moments.

'Twelve thousand!' said Nappa to Tarble's grinning face. 'Shit boy, you make a crap Saiyan, but a pretty good street hustler.' Tarble's grin disappeared again.

They had a few strike outs where either their distractions didn't work, or the story they'd come up with didn't check out, but they knocked off a ticket booth, an early opening fresh produce market and a barbers that was just opening its door to customers before Nappa decided it was time to consolidate their money again.

'We made nearly fifty thousand credits and it's getting light. I reckon it's time to find some place to hole up and wait for Vegeta to get back to us,' said Nappa.

Krillin was yawning his head off as they flew towards the low-rise area near the jungle. Nappa had got directions from a flying delivery man for a good place to find somewhere cheap to stay. Apparently the old, damp part of town near the jungle was it.

'I can't believe we just spent all night committing crime,' Krillin said to Goku, who flew alongside him.

'I know,' Goku agreed. 'But it's not like we stole anything real.'

'We stole money!' said Krillin.

'Not really,' said Goku. 'We just took some numbers from one place and put them another place. It's not like we took actual coins and notes and stuff.'

'But-' began Krillin, but then stopped. There was no real point to explaining to Goku just how real their crime was.

'Besides,' continued Goku, 'the people of Earth need these numbers more than this planet needs them right now.'

'Yeah, you're right,' said Krillin, yawning again. It was easy to forget sometimes what had happened on Earth. It just didn't seem real. Even the part that he'd witnessed himself didn't seem quite real. He looked over at Goku.

'Do you ever feel like if we went back to Earth right now, that everything would be just like we left it – I mean, before Frieza came? Everyone still alive and getting on with their lives, like Frieza was just a bad dream? I can't help but feel that there's no way they can all be gone. Part of me just won't believe it.'

Goku considered the question carefully. Krillin was surprised how grim his expression became.

'I know what you mean,' Goku answered eventually. 'And maybe now and then I do, but I  _felt_  them all going out…like the light fading after the sun goes down.'

'You  _felt_  them?' asked Krillin.

'Yeah, when I was in the tank and I couldn't move. I could feel it…getting colder and dimmer. Somehow I knew it was the people of Earth being killed, even though I didn't know what I was feeling until Tarble taught us how to sense chi. It was their chi being…put out.'

Krillin was speechless for a moment, feeling his stomach drop, feeling that Goku's sensation was somehow more real than his own observation and knowing. No one was waiting for them happy and oblivious on Earth.

'Krillin, I can't stand it!' said Goku suddenly. 'I know we have to go to Namek to use their dragonballs – Kami told us to! But what I really want to do is hunt this Frieza guy down and worry about Earth later! I wanna destroy him! And I can't! I can't even beat Vegeta!'

'Yeah, well, maybe one day, but for now we need to put people's lives ahead of justice for bad guys,' said Krillin, crossing his fingers out of Goku's sight. Krillin was okay with Frieza being the galaxy's problem as long as he left the Earth alone. He was too powerful an enemy for the Earth to handle and too much for Goku – someone that Krillin had started to believe was capable of anything until recently. But Goku was outclassed by nearly every one of these Grenouilleans – drunken business men, pretty ladies in cocktail dresses and laundrette clerks could probably all kick their butts, and yet the Grenouilleans still lived under Frieza's rule. Maybe their strength was why they were allowed to live while Earth had been sentenced to extermination? Or was it wealth? What was it about Earth that had made Frieza so quick to want to auction it? And how would they prevent the auction, even if the people of Earth were alive again? The penny finally dropped for Krillin. Getting to Namek wasn't even half the battle. Once they wished the Earthlings back to life, they would still be vulnerable of being wiped out again by that monster. And who would save them? Who  _could_? He felt ill.

'Well, it can't be left too late!' said Goku. 'I need to be stronger! I need to train and get as strong as Vegeta, and then stronger again! It's the only way!'

'Is it?'

'Yes. Someone has to stop Frieza some time or this will all be for nothing.'

And Krillin realised that Goku had known this all along.

* * *

Nappa checked them into two rooms at a slightly mouldy lodge.

'Vegeta, are you awake, yet?' he asked his earpiece hopefully. 'Raditz? Anyone?'

When he got no reply he groaned and threw himself down on the bed, causing it to give a very loud snap at it tried to take his bulk. Then he took their earpiece out and held it out to Tarble.

'You take this and listen out for Vegeta, okay? I'm going to get some shut eye. Wake me when he's up.'

Tarble took it without comment, knowing that it would do no good to point out to Nappa that he was tired too and how unfair this was. Instead he closed the bedroom door and crouched on the sofa in the tiny lounge-cum-kitchen area and turned the little holovision set on, but the image was so poor it was hard to watch. He carefully wiped the earpiece free of any earwax on the arm of the sofa (it practically turned his stomach to think of getting Nappa's earwax in his own ear) before putting it in with a little difficulty. His stomach was gurgling empty again, so he checked the kitchenette for any food, but it was bare except for condiments. He had a swig of some kind of relish anyway, but it wasn't very good.

'Tarble, turn that holovision off!' shouted Nappa through the wall. Sighing, the boy did. In the quiet that followed he could hear people moving about in other parts of the lodge, and the muffled sounds of Krillin and Kakarott talking next door. When the sound of Nappa's detuned-engine snore drifted through the wall the boys next door were still talking, so Tarble decided to join them.

'What's up?' asked Krillin when he knocked the door.

'Nothing. Nappa said I had to stay awake until Vegeta wakes up, and I heard you two were still up and…' But here he stopped, because he had no particular reason to come over, other than company and boredom. What if they didn't want to keep him company?

'You want to hang out with us?' guessed Krillin.

'Sure you can,' said Kakarott, appearing at Krillin's shoulder.

'Okay,' replied Tarble.

He followed them into a room almost identical to the one he'd just left. Some of the kitchen cupboards were open, and then Kakarott returned to opening the rest and the draws too.

'We figure there's not much point in going to sleep if we're just going to be forced to get up in an hour two anyhow,' explained Krillin.

'I'm too hungry to sleep!' said Kakarott as he opened the chiller. 'Why is there a fridge if there's no food in it? I thought that's what fridges were for!'

'We have to put our own food in it,' said Krillin.

Kakarott clutched his stomach and fell back dramatically on the scorched-marked kitchen floor. 'But we don't have any! That dinner we had was way too small and too long ago.'

'I know,' said Tarble, feeling the same gnawing in his own stomach. It actually hurt, and it was making him feel weak and a bit dizzy. 'I wish Nappa had thought to stop and get us some food before we came here.'

'How can Nappa stand it?' asked Kakarott.

'He doesn't feel it so much because he's fully grown.'

'Feel what?' asked Krillin. 'Hungry?' He looked back and forth between the two other boys. 'Do you mean that Goku's hunger pains and sugar-lows are actually a Saiyan thing?'

'Yeah,' said Tarble. 'Nappa and Raditz say young Saiyans need to eat quite frequently to keep going. Our bodies use up the energy too fast, and we don't have the endurance of an adult. You mean you don't get hunger pains?' Krillin didn't seem to eat much at all, and Tarble wondered for a second if maybe he was spared the biological urge to consume at all.

'Well, I get  _hungry_. And I get weak and tired if I don't get enough food, but not as fast as Goku. Huh! And I thought that Goku was just being a big baby about missing meals.'

'Let's go outside and find something to eat,' said Kakarott suddenly.

'We can't buy anything without money, Goku,' Krillin reminded him. 'Unless you want to become an actual shoplifter.'

Tarble put his hand in his pocket and fingered the credits there. Nappa hadn't collected them from him after hitting the barbershop. They had so much money, it was surely enough for Bulma and Vegeta, so what would the harm be in buying some food? But would he get in trouble for going out? He was pretty sure Nappa and Vegeta would tell him to stay put, but they were both asleep right now…

'Urgh…' groaned Kakarott.

Krillin and Kakarott seemed to have no qualm about going out alone. Tarble was never allowed out alone. It wasn't like he was a baby! He knew that when Vegeta had been his age he'd done lots of things alone, and he had ordered Nappa and Raditz about too. People his age all over the galaxy were allowed to do all sorts of things and have all sorts of responsibilities, but Tarble wasn't trusted to cross the street alone. Hadn't he proved tonight that he could be trusted with planning and executing missions? He had masterminded two of their jobs and been involved in planning the rest. Well, while the cats slept…

'I…I got some money,' he told them.

'You do?' said Kakarott, sitting up suddenly.

'Yeah. I mean, we probably shouldn't spend much, and we should be quick about it so we're done before the others are awake, but…'

'Let's go!' exclaimed Kakarott, bolting for the door. Krillin followed at a less enthusiastic pace.

'Oh, please let us find something halfway decent!'

* * *

Vegeta awoke slowly, a wash of mostly pleasant scents in his nose. There was soil and flowers, wet concrete drying off in the sun, the Daemon's fur, Bulma, and laundered sheets. More distantly was swamp water, algae, jungle scents, fish, barbeque and freshly baked bread.  _Mmm, too distant_ , he thought to himself.

He rolled over, away from the ball of cat on the pillow and reached for the vidlink screen on the bedside table. He went through the menus, ordering a plethora of breakfast foods, trying to guess what Bulma would be able to eat. She seemed to have a very picky palette and an easily upset stomach, but perhaps it was no wonder, as every piece of food he'd had from Earth was enjoyable and easy to digest. They just did food well there.

The daemon yawned and uncurled.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'Ordering breakfast. I suggest you get back to your own room and do the same before any of the housekeeping staff come in.'

'Oh.'

She floated into the air and towards the door, but Vegeta reminded her, 'Go in disguise, in case there's anyone about.'

'Okay.' She exploded downwards into Lady Pringella, wearing a nightdress similar to the one Bulma wore, with bed-hair and bare feet. She examined herself in the mirror.

'Like this?'

'No!' said Vegeta. 'Do you want to give housekeeping the impression the Prince and Princess just had a threesome with their personal chef?'

'A what?' said Puar, sounding aghast.

'Just put some clothes on!' said Vegeta.

In an instant Lady Pringella's hair was tidily up, and she wore a dress and sandals.

'Much better,' he told her.

Puar turned to him in her transformed body and stared at him nervously for a moment.

'What is it, Daemon?'

'Last night…' She blushed.

'Yes, last night? During the storm?'

'No, before…' She blushed deeper.

'Spit it out!'

She sighed and opened her mouth, but after a long pause, all that came out was 'Nothing.'

'Oh, good, nothing!' said Vegeta in annoyance. 'I'm glad we had this conversation.'

'Sorry,' she said, and then turned to Bulma, who had just rolled over.

'Who…?' she said sleepily. 'Oh, Puar.'

'See you a bit later,' Puar said and scurried out of the room.

Bulma didn't seem in a hurry to get up, and likewise, Vegeta felt inclined to be lazy. There was a lot of uncertainty involved in the upcoming day, and it felt like putting it off some minutes longer was not a bad thing. They talked about the storm and the mostly clear sky outside now that was a darker blue than Bulma was used to, and when she rolled to the edge of the bed to get up and go to the bathroom Vegeta caught a surprise eyeful of side-boob as the nightdress gaped. Housekeeping buzzed the door, and the vidlink screen lit up.

'Good morning, your Highness, breakfast has arrived!' said the Grenouillean woman who stood outside in the corridor with another servant and a whole service trolley of food.

'Thank you. Put it in the garden,' he told them.

As he watched the two setting up the patio table outside the bedroom he had a sudden overwhelming desire for this fantasy they were playing out to be real. A prince, waited upon, luxury as standard, nothing particular to do and nowhere particular to go, and a pretty woman at his side for companionship.

Bulma came back out of the bathroom sniggering. 'I'm not going to get over the decorations in the bathroom in a hurry,' she snorted. 'I think I've doubled my knowledge of sexual posi-'

'Princess Cee-Cee!' he interrupted. 'Housekeeping is setting up breakfast outside.' Well, the "woman" could do with some improvement.

'Oh! So they are,' she said with a glance out the open window. She grabbed her robe off the foot of the bed and covered her body, to Vegeta's slight relief. 'Did you order breakfast already, then, Doritoni?'

'Obviously I did, or else they wouldn't be here.'

'You ordered for me too?'

'I did. I tried to select the things I thought you would find most agreeable.'

'Oh. How thoughtful of you, dear husband!' she grinned and stepped out into the garden to greet the servants. Shaking his head at her lack of awareness of station, he dug out another robe from the wardrobe and followed her.

They ate breakfast a little awkwardly with two servants hovering to pour juice or water as needed, forcing Bulma and Vegeta to keep up their pretence the whole time.

'Did you have any of this red fruit, Doritoni?' Bulma asked. 'It's amazing!'

'No, you have all the fruit salad.'

'Would you like to try some?' She held out a slice on her fork, and Vegeta raised his eyebrows at her, pretty sure that being fed from someone else's utensil was neither dignified nor etiquette.

'I promise you, it's good,' she insisted, misinterpreting his hesitation.

With a quick glance at the servants Vegeta leaned forward and bit it off the prongs.

'Am I right?' she asked.

He nodded in agreement as the sweet, tangy juice flowed into his mouth and made it water all the more. It was hard-going eating at a polite pace with good manners when his appetite was so tempted by the quality of the food before him. Just as he had teased Bulma, he had better table manners than she, and he cringed every time she let her utensils clatter on the plate.

'What shall we do first?' Bulma asked. 'Shopping or…city tour?'

'I think a short city tour is absolutely necessary before shopping,' he replied.

'Oh, I was afraid you would say that. These are good, what are they?'

'Brown-spotted lizard eggs. You liked them last night, so I figured you'd like them for breakfast too, though prepared differently.'

'Well, you were right.' And then she giggled.

'What?' he asked.

'Nothing,' she replied, shrugging.

'Not you too,' he muttered.

'I just feel like we're finally getting to know each other properly,' she said, and Vegeta hesitated, not sure if she was speaking the truth or playing a part.

'How so?'

'Well, last night was…pretty interesting,' she said with a grin.

'Cee-Cee, we are not in private,' he warned, with a glance at the two attendants.

The younger one was struggling not to smile but the older one took it all in her stride. 'If you like, your Highness, we can leave you two in peace and come back to collect the plates later?'

'Please, do so.'

'Thank you!' Bulma called after them, and Vegeta cringed again.

Once they were gone he leaned toward Bulma and spoke in a low voice. 'You've got to try and be more Princess-like today.'

Her face fell. 'I'm not being princessy enough?'

'No, you're not being properly formal or superior enough. The mess you made of meeting the Vice President last night – pouring your own drink!'

Now her face shifted to anger. 'Well what was I supposed to do?'

'Let the maid pour it. As a rule of thumb, if someone else can do something for you, act like you expect it to happen. Don't ask; order, and if you must say thank you, don't be so enthusiastic about it!'

'Got it. To pass as royalty, be more helpless and lazy and an entitled douche. Good job I've got some good advice from a true prince,' she deadpanned.

He made a face at her. 'I don't play this exaggerated role of princedom all the time.'

'Oh, don't you?'

He ran through what they'd said in his mind. 'No,' he said, but not so confidently. Did she really think him helpless and lazy and a  _douche_? He had only a vague idea what a douche was, but in this case it seemed to be used as an obscure insult. 'I don't. And I'm certainly not helpless or lazy.'

'When was the last time you cleaned the bathroom, then?' she asked. 'Or cooked something?'

'How is that relevant?'

'Because, not only do you refuse to pull your weight with the chores, I bet you don't even know how to do them, do you? That's helplessness.'

'It's below my station. And it can't be that hard anyway if Tarble and Raditz can manage it.'

'Well, I think you'd end up having to ask Tarble and Raditz for advice.'

Vegeta was getting more and more annoyed. 'Well, I disagree.'

'Alright, then,' she said, narrowing her eyes at him. 'When we get back to the ship, how about you demonstrate that you're not helpless or lazy by whipping up a meal and cleaning up the bathroom just once?'

Vegeta snorted. 'How about no?'

'Are you backing down from a challenge, your Highness?' she taunted.

'No.'

'I think you are.'

'It's no challenge!'

'I think it is!'

* * *

After breakfast they continued their argument inside, each trying to pin the other with words and semantics while they dressed (he in the bedroom and she in the wardrobe). Vegeta considered taking up her challenge just to prove her wrong, and doing chores would surely be less effort than these verbal gymnastics, but to do that would be letting her win the argument, which he couldn't allow. Besides, he kept catching her smile and her eyes shining with mischief as she delivered aspersion after insult upon his character. She wasn't taking this seriously, more fool her.

She finally fell silent after he asked her to put his hair up. He sat on the edge of the bed while she knelt behind him, and her words trailed off as she bunched his hair and drew her brush back through it. It was a pleasant sensation, as was the occasional touch of her thighs against his back or her hand against his ear. He closed his eyes, wondering again when the last time he'd had a female, or  _anyone_  this close to him without it being some sort of violence or training or medical intervention. Maybe not since he was a small child? Nothing stood out in memory, and he would surely remember something like this.

She gooped his hair and pinned it into the knot, not so tightly this time, and he opened his eyes to see his reflection in the mirrored wall opposite. He barely recognised himself for a second. His flattened hair made him look a little diminished and softer, as did the peaceful, dopey expression on his face. Then he saw Bulma in the mirror too, comb poised, smiling slightly with her eyes locked on him, and he was alarmed that she'd witnessed him in such an unguarded moment.

He was saved from awkwardness by the discreet trill of the video link. It was Jervois.

'Good morning, your Highness. Did you sleep well?'

'As well as one can in a thunderstorm.'

'Alas, I can control many things about this building, but not the weather. Are you and Princess Cee-Cee eager to make use of the guides we have arranged? There is Nenufar, who you have already met, I believe; Ennuyeaux, an expert on the city and its history; and Duvet, an excellent personal shopper.'

'Yes, we are.'

'Good, good. They're waiting down in the lobby with your escort, ready when you are.'

Vegeta felt a ball of tension return to his stomach that the lazy morning had banished. 'We will be there within half an hour.'

'I will see you then, your Highness.'

Directly upon hanging up, Vegeta snatched up his earpiece and rammed it in, turning it on. 'Nappa, Raditz; we need to get organised and fast.'

'We'll come right over,' said Raditz.

'Nappa?'

For a moment there was no reply, and then a timid voice spoke.

'Prince Vegeta?

Vegeta frowned, watching Bulma open her laptop so she could hear too. 'Tarble, put Nappa on.'

'I can't,' he said, and the broken tone the boy used sent a thrill foreboding down his spine.

'Why not?'

'Because he's not here,' Tarble said, hiccupping. His voice shook as he went on. 'He's back at the hotel, asleep.'

'And where are you?' he demanded.

'In jail.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Footnote: Aubergina was first mentioned in chapter 21 by Tarble, if you've forgotten. I realise that this story has been going a long time now and it's easy for a reader to forget details they read months or even a year or more ago.
> 
> Author's note: I will be following this chapter with another two fairly quickly. I realise it's not a chapter that spends most of it's time with Bulma and Vegeta, but by chapter 30 I hope you will have forgiven me.


	29. Puar's Finest Hour

'You're  _what?_ '

Tarble let out a high pitched whine of distress and Vegeta answered with a wordless snarl of fury.

'Stop making that fucking noise, Tarble and explain yourself! Why are you in jail, and – where is the MONEY?'

'I-I had it,' Tarble stammered, 'but the police took it off me.'

'Fuck! FUCK! Tarble, I'll fucking kill you!'

Tarble sobbed.

'Vegeta!' shouted Bulma. 'That's not helpful!'

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Vegeta!' said the boy.

'How the hell did you let yourself be captured? And why did you leave Nappa? What a _disaster!'_  Raditz and Puar piled into the room, Raditz obviously worried.

Tarble was calming down a little now. 'Me, K-Kakarott and Krillin…we only went across the street to a breakfast bar to get some food! That's all we did! And then these police came in and sat down, but after we paid the lady behind the counter went to talk to the police, and then they came and started asking us questions, like where did we get so much money and where our parents were. And Goku – I mean, Kakarott said…urh, what did he say?'

Faintly on the other end of the line they heard Krillin's defeated voice. 'He said "We collected it to help save the people of Earth."'

Bulma and Raditz groaned with dismay, but Vegeta growled. 'Kakarott, you imbecile!' but of course, Kakarott couldn't hear him. Vegeta could hear Kakarott though, defending himself.

'It was the truth though! How was I going to know that they'd act like they did?'

'Then the police got all suspicious and asked us to come down to the station if we wouldn't take them to our parents,' Tarble continued. 'They followed us outside and we tried to make a run for it…'

'They shot us with weird stun rays!' exclaimed Krillin.

'We tried to fight them!' said Kakarott, 'But those rays sucked all the power out of us. It wasn't a fair fight.'

'So they put us in a cell together and took the money off us and said they were going to call a social worker out to see us. And that was about ten minutes ago,' Tarble finished.

Vegeta stared blankly at a statue, aghast. 'And there's no way for us to contact Nappa?' he asked.

'No,' said Tarble.

Vegeta's heart thumped hard in his chest. 'This has hamstrung us. We have no money to buy anything or pay for anything, like repairs.'

'Maybe we should tell Jervois that we're not up to going out today?' Bulma suggested.

'That's a whole day wasted,' Vegeta reminded her. 'We've only got two and a half days until we need to be out of here, and who knows how long the repairs will take?'

Raditz screwed his face up in concentration. 'Surely we can get the repairs started? They won't ask for payment on those until they're done, if they operate on a good-faith system.'

'I suppose they might do that here,' agreed Vegeta. 'In fact, a wealthy planet like this with a highly controlled port – I bet they do. Good thinking, Raditz.'

Raditz grinned at this endorsement.

'Tarble, how much money did you collect?' Vegeta asked.

'About forty eight thousand.'

Vegeta sat on the arm of a couch, his brow furrowed with concentration. 'We need that money,' he muttered.

'What about going straight to phase two?' asked Raditz.

'We need more cash than we have to even go to phase two,' Vegeta replied. "'You need money to make money", remember?'

Raditz gave him a strange look. 'You realise you're quoting Frieza?'

Vegeta shrugged uncomfortably. 'Well, it worked for him.' Then he sighed. 'Where are you exactly, Tarble?'

'A police station not too far from the hotel.'

'And where is that?'

'A place called The Fig Grove Lodge near the jungle to the East. I think the man said the area was called Greenside.'

'Okay, we're going to visit the port to see about the repairs, but Raditz…you go and see if you can get the money off the police.'

'And free the boys?' Bulma reminded him.

'And free the boys.'

Raditz nodded. 'I should be strong enough to take down some Grenouillean police, right?'

'I'm not sure that's a good idea,' suggested Bulma, and Vegeta agreed.

'They may be equipped to deal with even warriors of your power level, and the last thing we need is for you to be arrested too. Think subterfuge, not force!'

Now Raditz looked more worried. 'Then how?'

Vegeta glanced up at Puar, who was standing aside, biting her fingernails as she listened. 'Maybe Puar should go?'

'By myself?' yelped Puar.

'No. No, you and Raditz go together.'

'What should we do?'

'That will be up to you and what you find. Don't forget about Nappa either.'

* * *

Ten minutes later they met their escort in the lobby.

'I am Captain Garbanzo of the Diplomatic Protection core,' a tall, strapping but civilian-dressed man introduced himself to them. 'I will be looking after you and your escort today; taking care of security and other logistics. Nenufar here is co-ordinating.'

Nenufar nodded. 'If you'll follow me please, your Highnesses, I have arranged a litter for today, which will be much more comfortable than foot-transport,' she said, leading them out of the building. 'Where would the Prince and Princess like to go first?'

The litter stood outside the portico on its little wooden legs, with two Grenouillean soldiers either end ready to hoist it up. Bulma, Vegeta, Raditz, Puar, Ennuyeux and Nenufar arranged themselves in it a little awkwardly, with Duvet, the personal shopper, and the Captain opting to fly with the rest of the armed escort. Bulma grabbed the edges of the seat as the litter lurched into the air. The wind made the cloth shade snap like a flag but it relieved the heat of the day. Bulma had put on only her pink summer dress this morning; for all that it was very casual, it suited the local climate and fashion sense far more than the embarrassing scarf dress, and she wasn't overheating too much.

'Let me give you a little background on Spawn City as we travel, your Highnesses,' said Ennuyeux. He was a smaller kind of Grenouillean; thinner, older and browner than average, and wore a very pompous neck tie made of lace that bubbled down his front like uncorked champagne.

'The earliest settlement in the area was four hundred and two years ago, just ten years after official exploration of the planet began. The local geography and climate made it one of the most reliable space ports, plus its estuary location was useful for water transport. The original port was on the smaller island to your left, and the township was in the area we are passing above now, known since quite early on as The Rocks. The Governor of the brand new Grenouillean colony took his residence here, and for the next four decades Spawn City acted as a de facto capital until the first capital was established at Blue Pond in the Extreme North. Interestingly enough, it has always been called Spawn City, even when its population was no more than a hundred settlers. It was named in jest, but also in aspiration. A hundred years after settlement began, Spawn City was truly living up to its name, with over a million people in residence, and ninety percent of those born off-planet. Spawn City regained its capital status in…'

Bulma's lack of decent sleep, the heat and the continuing drone of the man's voice had her nodding off within a few minutes. Catching her head lolling around she started guiltily awake a couple of times before succumbing. The next thing she knew was a hard jerk around her waist and she opened her eyes to the sight of the swamp and a hundred metres of clear air spinning slowly below her, and screamed. The thing around her waist hauled her back up into the seat – it was Vegeta's arm. She had almost rolled out of the litter as they made a turn to land.

'God! God! Thank God!' she said, gripping Vegeta's arm as if she might tumble back out again.

'Oh my Fathers!' the historian was exclaiming.

'Are you all right, your Highness?' asked Nenufar, looking truly frightened.

'Yes,' said Bulma giving Vegeta a shamefaced smile. His frown flickered uncertainly, and he gave her a slow shake of his head and rolled his eyes, which she took to mean she was an idiot.

'Oh, thank the heavens and the depths! I'd have lost my job for sure if you'd fallen out!' Nenufar gasped.

Bulma gave her a disbelieving look. 'We wouldn't want that, would we?'

'Indeed, we wouldn't! Fly slower, please, Guards!'

* * *

They touched down in the space port and Bulma had to release Vegeta's arm. It was all sweaty anyway, but Bulma felt a small warmth towards him for saving her.  _Although, come to think of it, it's well within his interests to save me_ , she mused.

As they were guided onto a truck unit, Raditz and Puar hurried over to them and Raditz leaned down to whisper to Vegeta.

'Now?'

'Yes, now.'

Raditz nodded to Puar, and they both walked hurriedly between the ships to wait until they could double back into the city.

'Where are your bodyguard and aide going, your Highness?' Captain Garbanzo immediately asked.

'Running an errand for us,' Vegeta replied.

The tall man frowned a little, as if he wanted to ask Vegeta to call them back. 'We could send a few members of the escort with them – for safety's sake.'

'I'm sure they will be safe enough,' replied Vegeta mildly. 'They are both highly trained and intelligent adults.'

Bulma had to bite her lip to stop from laughing.

'I have no doubt,' replied the Captain, and pursed his lips.

* * *

At the workshop of the "best engineer in the business" they got the attentions of the boss and head engineer, Bernoz. He tried to encourage Bulma to stay in the office where it was air conditioned, but they was no way she was going to sit back while someone else toyed with  _her_  ship!

'Your Highness, I assure you, it's going to be very boring.'

'No, truthfully, I do find mechanics very interesting,' she insisted.

'We will be getting  _very_  technical,' he warned. 'And it's damn hot out there with the sun today. We have tea and cold drinks here in the office. Prince Doritoni, surely you would wish your wife comfortable?'

'No - I wish her to come with me,' replied Vegeta tersely.

'Oh.'

They turned to leave again and the civilian members of their escort scurried to get out of the way. Nenufar looked a little unhappy.

'You may stay here, Nenufar,' Bulma said. 'And you Duvet and…er…' She had forgotten the historian's name. 'You.'

'Are you sure, your Highness?' asked Nenufar with obvious relief.

'If you'd be more comfortable here. I have no wish to make you stand in the blazing heat for the sake of my interests.'

'Oh, thank you!' she said and the trio looked relieved. Duvet was slightly older than Nenufar and dressed even more elaborately, with so many bangles, rings, clasps and buckles that her outfit comprised as much metal as fabric.

'The Princess is too kind!' she gushed.

* * *

Bernoz the engineer rode the motorised unit like a sailor on the prow of a ship. He was older, but youthful in nature and not used to interacting with refined people, Vegeta thought to himself.

'Oh, look at that!' Bernoz said when their ship came into sight. 'That's a Whirlwind – Crytonian brand! You don't see many of those about these parts!'

Vegeta's heart sank at these words. It would only mean one thing – expense.

'Now, if my eyes don't deceive me,' said Bernoz, hopping off the unit before it had stopped moving, 'That's a Bambina L-Class! Expensive little number – well, isn't everything made by the Crytonians? Only a handful of these ever made.'

'Oh?' said Bulma, hurrying after the man. Vegeta growled with misgiving.

The engineer checked his tablet, and whatever it showed prompted him to say. 'Yes, nailed it! Bambina L-Class! This'll be a first!'

'You've never worked on one of these before?' asked Bulma.

'No…but don't let that worry you. There's over a hundred thousand models of ships that we carry the manual and specs for, and though it's true that there's probably only about five brands we work on regularly here, we do get a  _lot_  of unusual ships and hardly a week goes by without us working on a ship we've never encountered before, so we're used it. Take that one next door to yours,' he said, pointing it out. 'We're doing maintenance on that ship right now, too, and that is only the second Vornek Siren I've ever seen. It's no problem though – after this long in the business, there's not a lot that can surprise me. I've seen every system of propulsion and life support from one end of the galaxy to the other'

'It's not quite as pretty as ours,' Bulma observed. Vegeta supposed it wasn't as sleek, and its legs were rather thick and chunky.

'That's true,' said the engineer, 'but if you're looking for a bit on an upgrade, the owners of this are looking to sell. Similar class as yours – lightweight, luxury cruiser, but it's an eight berth.'

They approached the rampway of their own ship. 'Now, er…Highnesses, can we, er…gain entry?'

Vegeta slid the remote from his pocket and pressed the button to lower the ramp.

The engineer and his team scurried about the ship, plugging computers into ports on the flight deck to check logs and diagnostics. Vegeta and Bulma guided them to the laundry and the rusted junction box and to the linen cupboard with its exploded CO2 scrubbers.

'Look at that! You were in dire peril!' Bernoz said excitedly. 'Tell me what happened again?'

Reluctantly, Vegeta did so.

The engineer shook his head. 'The L in L class is supposed to stand for Luxury, but I've heard it said that it should also stand for Lemon. It kinda looks like that's the case. Do you mind my team taking a look to see if there's any other critical systems about to pop, so to speak?'

Vegeta grimaced. 'Look, but make no repairs without consulting us first,' he replied. From the corner of his eye he saw Bulma kicking a pair of dirty pants into the laundry. Then engineer turned and she smiled brightly at him as he passed her, heading back to the lounge.

'We so should have tidied up in here,' Bulma muttered to Vegeta as they followed. 'This is embarrassing.'

As they passed through the lounge again the man paused at the shrouded regeneration tank.

'"Do Not Remove Cover – Light Sensitive Material,"' he read, then turned to them, trailing his hand down the sheet. 'What's under there then?'

'Light sensitive material,' repeated Vegeta.

'O-kay.'

'It's an art installation,' said Bulma. 'We picked it up on planet…Earth.  _Very_  expensive and  _very_  light sensitive. A single peek and it will be ruined. We mean to take it back to the palace on L'Goonta.'

The engineer jerked his hand away from the sheet. 'Earth? I've never heard of that. Is it good?'

'The best,' said Bulma, her voice suddenly sounding strangled. Vegeta looked over and saw the girl's eyes suddenly rimming with tears.

'Just see that none of your crew so much as lift the corner of the light-shielding,' Vegeta barked, hoping to divert the man from Bulma's unwarranted emotionality.

'Of course, your Highness! I've got a very trusted crew. You don't build a reputation like mine being a nosey parker.'

* * *

An hour later, back in the office, Bernoz presented them with their quote.

'Now, the scrubbers are no problem,' he explained. 'We don't have any of those exact same proportions, but we can easily whip up adapters and put some of the more standard stock in. You do need another fusion fuel cell, but that's a standard cartridge – no problem there. The junction box for your solar intake system though…well. We have no parts, and nothing we have will be remotely suited. It'll be a case of manufacturing an all new one out of components to the specifications of your system.'

Vegeta nodded and looked down at the sheet he was handed. Bulma peered over his shoulder and her breath let out in a soft sigh of dismay. Vegeta's heart began to pound, and all he could hear in his mind was  _phase two, phase two!_

He closed his eyes and opened them again, but the figure remained. Sixty-six thousand credits. Plus whatever the landing and port fees turned out to be and the cost of clothes for this evening…

'Begin immediately,' ordered Vegeta. 'How long will it take?'

The engineer glanced over at Nenufar and then said, 'Of course, your Highness, and it'll take about five days all up.'

'Five days!' He couldn't help shouting it.

'I could do it myself in one!' objected Bulma.

Bernoz laughed uncertainly, not sure if she was joking or not. 'If you need it done before…'

'I do!' said Vegeta decisively.

'But your Highness,' interjected Nenufar nervously. 'It would a shame to cut a visit to Grenouillea Two short. Think of the many things you could enjoy while here.'

'We wish to leave as soon as possible,' said Vegeta. 'We've been away from…' He blanked on the name of the planet for a moment. 'From home too long.'

'Well, then,' said Bernoz. 'We could rush the job. I'll get a few of my boys working overtime on it…we'd have to push a couple of other jobs and have it done in a couple of days, so it's going to cost…' he said, making a face of reluctance.

'How much?' asked Vegeta, now resigned. There was no sense holding out after this threshold was crossed.

'For the overtime and the inconvenience of my other customers…another eighty thousand…'

'The what?' muttered Bulma beside him but Vegeta merely nodded.

'Fine. Get on with it.'

He left the office without another word, forcing Bulma and everyone else to trot after him.

'Are you finished here, your Highness?' asked the Captain.

'Yes. Get us out of here.' But the next moment he wheeled right around and parted the Grenouilleans at the door like geese as he stepped back inside. Pressing his arm across the doors to hold them shut and keep the others outside he asked the startled engineer, 'One last thing – do you happen to do valuations?'

* * *

The sun was going down on the first half of the day, and the litter toured the city as the lights came on while the idiot man continued bleating factoids about the city that Vegeta supposed he should be listening to in case it was a help later that evening, but instead he was listening to Raditz and Tarble's tribulations. He lifted his hands to his face and pretended to be discreetly scratch his nose when he was really trying to muffle his own whisper of 'Phase two! We need that money asap!'

* * *

'Yes, I am the boys' father,' said Raditz, taking off his hat and laying it on the officer's desk. The place made him very nervous. Not just because of the ki damper that covered the whole building, or the number of full-sized, obviously physically competent adult Grenouilleans bearing stun guns and cuffs around him, but also the bright, polished surfaces and calm air of competency the place exuded. Raditz had been in some hell holes of jails before, not ever for long, obviously, and he would have taken any of those loud, chaotic and dangerous cesspits over this place any day.

The officer eyed Raditz up and down doubtfully. 'You're a space pilot, am I correct?' He was holding Raditz's fake ID that they had made on the ships computer yesterday. It had the L'Goontian crest on it that they'd taken off the directory and some other pertinent fake information, like name, date of birth and occupation, but it was printed on thin card stock – all they had on board, and Bulma had roughly laminated it with something called  _sellotape_ , but it still felt thin and flimsy and not very official.

'Captain Randy L'Cheez?'

'That's right.'

The officer tried scanning the ID in his machine again. 'It's not one our system recognises.'

'I'm not surprised; L'Goontians don't get about much.'

The officer pressed his lips together and lay the ID down but didn't hand it back. 'I suppose we'll have to send a scan to L'Goonta for confirmation. In the meantime, do you mind telling me what your children were doing out alone with such a large amount of money?'

'Was it that large?'

' _Yes_.'

'Well, we just landed. I went to find a place for us to stay in the city and sent the boys out to get some breakfast with a handful of credit chips. Guess I gave them the wrong chips!'

'One of the chips was loaded with forty thousand credits, Captain.'

'I know…I like to always have a tidy sum on me.'

The officer gave him a flat look. 'You must know that travelling with that amount of money on an insecure chip is very unwise.'

'I can handle myself,' replied Raditz

'On this planet it's not necessary to "handle" yourself. That's what we police are for.'

'Right. Not all planets are so civilised though.'

The officer smiled with flat lips. 'Your boys also had three secure chips on them, all registered under different names.'

'Ah, ha-ha!' said Raditz. 'Those would be...my aliases.'

'I'm not sure why an honest man would need three aliases.'

Raditz wasn't sure either. 'Is having aliases illegal?' he asked.

'No,' said the officer, sounding like he regretted the fact.

'Well can I get my money back then? And my boys?'

'Perhaps, after the social worker is done with your kids.'

'What's the social worker for?' asked Raditz. 'I'm here now, so just fetch my children.'

'If your story checks out with what the children say, and the social worker sees no reason not to release them back into your care…'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Meaning that you're awfully young to have three boys your age.'

'Started young,' mumbled Raditz.

'Just go back to the waiting room,' sighed the officer. 'And don't go anywhere. We might need you for questioning.'

Raditz did so, and as he slumped in the uncomfortable chair of the waiting area a woman brushed past him.

'I hear you have a trio of alien kids for me to interview?' the woman asked.

'Yes,' said the police officer, standing up from his seat. 'We thought they might be mixed up in some organised crime. If you believe that guy out front he's their father, but I suspect he's running a petty crime group using these kids he's kidnapped. Or he's their pimp. Who knows?'

'Well, that's why I'm here; to find out,' she said as they walked away towards the back of the office. The hat that Raditz had left behind on the desk sprouted eyes and looked around furtively. A handful of other people were in the office, two chatting at the water-cooler and others absorbed in their tasks, and the hat took a big gulp and transformed into a mouse – a grey one, to blend into the carpet better. After another check to make sure no one was looking in her direction, Puar floated down to the floor and scurried as fast as she could after the social worker and the officer.

Once into the corridor, she was just in time to see them step into a room. Puar flew the rest of the way, now that there was no one to see and peered through the glass panel in the door. Goku was in there, looking angry and talking with some vigour to the two adults, though the door seemed to let no sound out. They sat around a small table, but there was nothing else in the room, and only a small, high set window in the opposite wall. So there was Goku, but where were the other two?

She backtracked, looking in the windows of the doors she had already passed, and found Krillin and Tarble each in a separate room. 'And now what?' she whispered to herself. Hearing someone walking she flew up to the ceiling and plastered herself there, trembling with the fear of discovery and the stress of making decisions like this herself. The officer passed by underneath, not looking up from his tablet as he went back to the office area.

Puar dropped down again to examine the door to Krillin's room, swiftly returning to her cat form to try the handle. It was locked, but only with a simple turning knob on the outside, so she opened it and slipped through the door.

'Puar!' cried Krillin, leaping to his feet. 'Have you come to get me out?'

'Yes, but quiet!' she said, rushing give him a quick hug, more to comfort herself than him. 'There's lots of people about.'

Carefully, Puar brought to mind the social worker that she'd seen only briefly, and transformed herself into what she hoped was a good approximation. She checked her reflection in the window.

'Come with me,' she told him and slipped back out the door, opening the next one and ushering Krillin inside. Tarble sat forlorn on a seat, cradling his hand.

'Who are you?' he asked.

'It's me, Puar!' she squeaked in reply, her voice a dead giveaway.

'What's wrong with your hand?' asked Krillin

'I think I broke it trying to smash the window.'

'Uh, I hear you there,' said Krillin, brandishing his battered fists. 'I'm going to have some nasty bruises. What're these doors made of? Titanium?'

'Now what?' Tarble asked Puar. Puar was asking herself the same question.

'Goku's being interviewed, two doors down. I suppose I could get you two out of here, but what about him?'

'We just need to get the people out of Goku's room, then.'

Puar had a think, trying to call to mind what the receptionist had looked like. She couldn't, and so settled on a generic looking Grenouillean man in an officer's uniform.

'Stay here a minute,' she said as she slipped out the door.

She knocked on the door of the first interview room, and the officer stood to open it.

'Who are you?' he asked with surprise.

'My name is…Zarbon,' she said, trying to lower her voice as much as possible. 'I'm from Central.'

'Central what?' asked the officer.

'Um, the Central Station? The, er, headquarters?'

'From White Tower? What does White Tower want with me?'

'An urgent case. We need someone with your expertise.'

The officer's eyebrows rose. 'In community policing?'

'Er, yes. A matter of utmost importance in the community. We're calling in all our best people. Could you come now, please?'

The officer laughed. 'Meli, I'm going to have to leave you to it – it appears my  _expertise_  is needed downtown!'

'Meli should go too,' said Puar, seizing the opportunity. The social worker came to the door and gave Puar a disbelieving look.

'That's Melisano to you, officer  _Zarbon_. Why would I be needed?'

'There's lots of children involved,' Puar said.

'Well I can't leave  _these_  kids hanging. I'll be along later.'

'Duty calls,' said the officer, still grinning as he stepped out and started down the hall. Not knowing what else to do, Puar followed the officer back out through the office.

'So what's this all about?' he asked as they passed through the reception area.

'Well, there was…some fighting and some real bad guys and…violence with kids…Lots of people got hurt.'

'Another General-Aggression-Outbreak incident?'

'Er…yep!' replied Puar wondering what on Earth that was.

'That's like the second this month. The city really needs to get on this and fix those transmitting towers properly.'

Puar was utterly baffled by this statement. 'The transmitting towers?'

'You know, the "secret" A.I.R.T. towers that we're not supposed to talk about?'

'Oh, yeah, of course,' said Puar. 'What do those transmit again?'

'I don't know. The A.I.R.T. stands for Amygdala Impulse Repression Towers, so maybe they transmit…impulse repression waves, if there's such a thing? All I know is that they work, for the most part.'

As they passed reception and the waiting area Puar saw Raditz gnawing anxiously on the end of a braid and tried to give him a  _look_  to show it was herself, but Raditz only looked confused, and then barred his teeth at her.

Raditz was not sure he had the temperament to sit out this plan that he had Puar had come up with. Really, it wasn't much of a plan at all, but they'd sat outside the station for fifteen minutes without coming up with a better one. He had basically just dumped the entire job in the lap of a little girl and he might not even know if things went sideways. He wondered again if he should have gotten Nappa first. He didn't want to deal with Nappa's inevitable temper when they retrieved him. But at least with Nappa they would have had a chance of overpowering this place if things went wrong. Ah well, there was time to get him afterwards if Puar failed.

Out on the street the officer jumped into the sky, and then turned around.

'Aren't you coming?' he asked Puar.

'I just gotta get a few more people first. Just go to White Tower – they'll explain everything.'

'Okay.'

Puar waited to see he was off before stealing his appearance and hurrying back inside. She stood in the middle of the waiting area for a second, not sure what to do.

'What's up, Gerbez?' asked the female officer on reception. Puar gave her a hard look, up and down and the woman responded with a sneer that seemed to say 'Get real, buddy.'

'I'm okay,' said Puar. 'I just forgot something.'

She hurried through the offices again, and when she reached the safety of the corridor at the back she transformed into the officer from reception. Then she fell against the wall. All this transformation was making her dizzy!

She risked a few moments to rest before she knocked on door to the interview room.

'I've got to go!' she heard Goku shouting as the social worker opened the door. 'You don't understand how much is at stake!'

The social worker closed the door behind her.

'Wow. I'm glad Gerbez cuffed that one to the table. If the other two are this wild it's going to be a difficult morning,' she observed.

Cuffed?

'What did you need me for?' the woman then asked.

'There's a call for you at the front desk,' Puar said, trying to imitate the receptionist's voice.

'Is it about this mysterious incident downtown?' Melisano asked with an arched brow.

'Could be?'

The woman sighed and headed back out towards the front desk. Puar followed her as far as the office and then skipped back, racing to Goku's room.

'Goku, it's me, Puar!'

'Puar!' said Goku, trying to stand. He couldn't, not fully, with his wrist clipped to the table leg. 'I can't get out of this thing and the table is stuck to the floor!'

Puar rushed over and had a quick look at the smooth cuffs. There wasn't a keyhole that she could see, but with a quick fiddle she ascertained that they did seem to be locked.

Hearing the door lock turn and then turn again outside, Puar jumped back, and then, only as the door opened, transformed into the officer, Gerbez. The woman stopped in her tracks and blinked, shaking her head.

'Is everything alright?' Puar asked.

'Oh…yes, I just…Gerbez, I thought you'd left?'

'I told them I'd go over later.'

'What happened to your voice?'

'Ah. Must be coming down with a cold.'

'A what?'

'Cold. Illness, you know.' Puar grasped the back of one of the chairs to steady herself with a shaking hand. 'Do you have the key for this boy's cuffs?'

'No,' said the social worker, giving him a perplexed look. 'You already had him cuffed before I arrived.'

'Oh, no.'

' _What?_ '

'I think I've lost the keys.' Or even, if they were unlucky, Gerbez was flying with them to White Tower, wherever that was.

'Well, I guess you'd better go find them while I finish up here.'

Puar nodded and started out the door, not sure what she should do next, but then Melisano asked her, 'Does the woman on reception have a twin that works here?'

Puar jumped a little with alarm. Of course, the social worker had gone to the front desk and encountered the  _real_  receptionist.

'Er, yes. Yes, she does.'

Melisano put a hand to her chest is if to still her heart. 'Oh, good. I thought I was going mad. One of them said there was a call for me at the front desk, but when I got over there her twin was already there and had no idea what I was talking about.'

Puar just smiled in return and hurried back to the office, then froze in the doorway of the corridor. Should she just go back and get Tarble and Krillin out? If the social worker was almost done with Goku, she would surely move onto the next room and find it empty? Then her eyes alighted on Gerbez's desk. Could the man have left his keys there? She decided to look quickly before going back and getting Tarble and Krillin.

Frantically she lifted everything on the desk to look underneath, then opened one draw after another, sifting through things she had no idea what they were, and it suddenly occurred to her that she might never recognise the key even if it was there.

'Gerbez, what's the matter with you, man?' said another officer passing by. 'You've acting like your hair's on fire or something.'

Puar was startled again. 'Lost my cuff keys,' she said, as briefly as possible.

'You all right? You're voice is-'

'Yeah, losing my voice,' said Puar.

The man's face curled up in a faint expression of disgust. 'Maybe you should go home, then? Here – you can borrow my keys for a few minutes – as long as you don't lose those too!'

He tossed a keyring to Puar. When she caught it she saw that there was just a small square of grey plastic on it.

'Thanks,' she said, bolting for the corridor. Safely out of sight she gulped air, and rested against the wall for a few seconds, but not for long, because the door to Goku's interview room opened and Melisano stepped out.

'That boy is a sad case,' she said. 'Either he's a compulsive liar or he's been completely brainwashed. He says he's on some world-saving mission, and I think your kidnapped-to-be-criminal-minions theory might be correct. Perhaps you should take the "father" into custody.'

'Oh, yes.'

Melisano walked around her and reached for the door of the second interview room. 'Time to see what cock-and-bull story this one spouts.'

'Wait!' cried Puar and Melisano jumped in shock.

'What?'

'I saw the woman from reception. She said there really is a call for you at the front desk, very urgent, and was sorry it was accidentally hung up on before. It was something about a family emergency.'

At these magic words Melisano's face went slack with anxiety, and without another word she trotted back to reception on her high heels. Puar dashed into Goku's room and grabbed the cuffs. Brandishing the grey square of plastic she could see nowhere for it to slot into, and began pressing it randomly all over the cuffs.

'Is that you, Puar?' Goku asked.

'Yes,' Puar replied, and finally the cuffs gave a small "beep" and separated.

'Yes! I'm free! Where are the others?'

'Close by, but be quiet, Goku!'

Puar stuck her head out into the corridor to check it was clear, and then rushed Goku two doors down to Krillin and Tarble.

'It's me, Puar!'

'Oh, man! We were starting to get worried!' said Krillin as soon as they were inside. 'How do we get out, Puar?'

Puar rubbed her hands over her Gerbez-face. 'It should be easy, but I've got to get rid of this social worker first. She's at the front desk.' Puar suddenly realised that this had been a foolish place to send her as it was also their way out. The problem was, though, that Puar didn't know what else was in the building further down the corridor. 'Wait here.'

She stepped out again and crept to the end of the corridor. She could see the social worker striding back again, looking upset and angry.

'I feel like I'm being jerked around here, and now I'm worried about my family,' she complained as she drew alongside Puar. 'There was no call  _again_. Is there any way to tell those twins apart? At least one of them is incompetent.'

'Not really,' said Puar, stopping short of the door. 'Shall we talk to prisoner number two?'

Melisano looked unhappy about it. 'I suppose we may as well, while I'm waiting to be called back to reception a  _third_  time.'

'After you,' said Puar, indicating the door and trying to sound casually polite. Melisano gave her a dark look, but opened the door. As she stepped inside Puar heard her begin to ask, 'Where is he th-' but Puar slammed the door on her and turned the lock in the same instant. Through the window she could see Melisano wheel around and say something, then try the handle. Puar fell back from the door, her heart beating wildly as the social worker began to pull on the handle violently, her enraged shouts silenced by the incredibly solid door.

'Phew, I'm so glad that worked!' Puar whispered to herself. Returning to the boys she told them to all just walk casually behind her, and she led them through the office to the waiting room where Raditz was pacing in obvious agitation.

'These boys are free to go,' Puar announced, for the benefit of the receptionist.

Raditz narrowed his eyes at Puar, divining who she really was. 'Good! But what about the money?'

'I forgot about the money!' Puar gasped, and then got a hold of herself. She cleared her throat and tried her deepest voice again. 'Why don't you and your kids wait outside. I'll get your money for you.'

'You'd better!' muttered Raditz, and pushed the boys out the door.

Taking her time now, Puar went back to Gerbez's desk and began to look it over again. She had seen credit chips briefly when Vegeta had made Raditz and Nappa turn theirs over on the flight deck, so she knew that they were small discs of plastic.

'Still looking for your keys?' asked the officer that had lent her his.

'I lost something else now,' said Puar.

The man snorted. 'What is it this time?'

'Some…stuff that the prisoners had when they were arrested.'

' _Prisoners?_  You mean detainees?'

'Yeah, detainees.'

'Well, surely it got put in the detainee lockers? Why would you have confiscated property on your desk?'

'Why…?' Puar quailed, afraid she was making a big mess of this. 'I'm not feeling myself.'

'You're not  _acting_  yourself, either. I really think you should go home, or to a doctor or something – you're starting to concern me.'

'I will. I just gotta get this money back now the prisoners have been released.'

Puar wandered back into the corridor, as that seemed to be the only way out of the office other than reception. Skipping past the interview rooms and the maddened face of Melisano still screaming behind door number 3, Puar stuck her head in all the other doors she passed. She found a kitchen and break room, a bathroom, a locker room (but after a quick look around, and spotting some half-dressed police officers she figured they were not the detainee lockers, and rushed back out again), a stationery cupboard, and then, finally, after turning a corner, a larger room with a desk, and beyond, a few cubicles. All of them were empty but one, which had an ill-looking man slumped in it. Puar wondered if they were cells because she couldn't see any bars over the entrances, but maybe they were invisible like the chi supressing fields? Opposite the desk was a wall of squat lockers, which was good, but less good was the officer sitting at the desk.

'You looking for something, Gerbez?' he asked.

'Some confiscated property to return to the prisoners- I mean, detainees I just released.'

'Got the detainee number?'

'No,' said Puar, and then looked at the lockers. There were only nine of them. 'I'm looking for the stuff taken off the boys that came in this morning.'

'Yes, but you're supposed to have the detainee number so I can do the forms and release it.'

'I don't have it on me, though.'

'Not my problem.'

Puar felt despair crushing in on her. 'There's only nine lockers and one other prisoner! You must know which locker it's in, so what's the point of a number?! I don't have the number right now!'

The other officer looked deeply offended. 'Steady on, Gerbez. Just trying to do my job properly! It's the locker in the middle. Bring me the number later if you're in that much of a hurry, but you'll still have to sign for it.'

'Fine,' snapped Puar, already opening it – it wasn't even locked – and she snatched the contents. The officer pushed a form over the desk to her and Puar looked at the mess of characters she couldn't read and put a squiggly line in a blank space that looked like it needed a signature.

'You just signed in the detainee's space!' said the officer and huffed. 'Start over,' he said, laying a fresh sheet on the table. Puar signed a second gap that she saw and the officer handed her a copy. 'Don't forget to get the kids' guardian to sign that too.'

'Sure,' said Puar, already turning to go.

'Hey,' the officer called after him. 'What kind of signature is that, Gerbez? Are you losing the plot? Seriously?'

Puar only grunted in reply and made off back to reception as fast as she could without running. She had almost made it to the front door when it slid open and the real Gerbez walked in.

Gerbez's face shifted from annoyance to shock, and Puar felt the same way; her heart lurched in her chest, and for a moment she lost control of her transformation. She felt it ripple and shrink, and then with a massive effort she pushed it back out again, only this time she put her made-up officer Zarbon face on. Gerbez fell back against the door jam and stuttered incoherently, and for a fraction of a second Puar thought she might be able to make it out while he was still confused, but then a scream from the receptionist behind her gave away the game.

'Sh-sh-SHAPESHIFTER!'

Puar rocketed out the door as Gerbez struggled upright again, and bursting out onto the street she saw no sign of the others under the pools of the white street lights.

'Run!' she screamed, in case they were in earshot. The few passers-by on the street looked up at her. 'Goku! Raditz, run for it!' she screamed again, running forward and jumping off the steps of the station when she heard footsteps behind her. She transformed into a hawk, mid-air, for speed, flapping her wings frantically as she took off along the street, clutching the credits in her talons. It wasn't fast enough though, as she saw Gerbez's big green arm swing at her from the side. With a desperate cry she turned into a steep dive and ploughed straight into the canal, turning into a fish underwater. She was only under for a few seconds before she had to bob back up again, lungs burning and desperate for air. She might be shaped like a fish for now, but she couldn't breathe like one. Gerbez plunged into the water too, and was splashing about, looking for her, so Puar hid behind a pillar holding up the boardwalk, waiting for him to give up. And that's when she realised she had dropped the credits.

Panic gripped her. Raditz and the others were probably flying away, who knew where, and she had the money, kind of, but no way to know where Vegeta and Bulma were or to get in contact with them, and she was all alone in a strange city. Peering around the pillar she saw Gerbez surface, look around and then dive under the surface again. And then she saw Raditz's head break the surface a short distance away, as smooth and calm as a crocodile as he took a breath and slid back under the water. The three boys followed behind like ducklings diving for pondweed. Puar almost cried with relief as they disappeared under the surface.

Turbulence and bubbles erupted in centre of the canal.

Krillin surfaced first. 'Puar?'

'Here!' she called, still hiding, just in case.

Then Gerbez's body floated to the surface, face down and a cloud of blood in its wake, colourful in the white streetlight that lit the boardwalk and canal. Puar cried out in horror. Raditz, Tarble and Goku surfaced then, Goku arguing the instant he had his head above the water.

'You didn't have to do that!'

Raditz was gasping with the effort of his struggle. 'What should I have done then? Let him drown me instead? Let him kill Puar?'

'He's not dead, anyway,' said Tarble, rushing to turn the man over. 'Can't you feel his chi?'

Raditz swam over and grabbed the half-drowned, bleeding man and shoved him under the boardwalk, out of sight of pedestrians.

'We should get him out of the water,' said Tarble.

'We should leave him!' Raditz shouted back. 'This guy's already had a lucky break and we need to get out of here before his police mates turn up. Puar, did you get the money?'

Puar was dissolving into tears of exhaustion, stress and relief. If she had to transform again she didn't know how she'd do it. 'Yes and no.'

* * *

Vegeta stood on the balcony of the dress shop he was told was exclusive and boutique, trying to contact Raditz or Tarble. He had given the go ahead for their shopping expedition to begin when Raditz had told him that he had the brats and that Puar was just getting the money. But since arriving here he'd heard shouting from their end and then both Raditz and Tarble's audio had cut out. That was nearly an hour ago.

He felt alone. And entirely on edge.

'What do you think of this one?' asked Bulma behind him. He turned to see and she posed and twirled in the dusty pink, floaty dress that hung form a wide diamante collar. It reminded him of ragged petals on a wilted flower. The small army of assistants that had dressed her in the back room flanked her like simpering lackeys, showering her with compliments.

'Acceptable,' he said, wishing he could talk freely with her.

'Hmm,' she said. 'So in other words, pretty good!'

'It looks fabulous, Princess!' said Duvet.

' _I_  thought so,' Bulma agreed. 'Shall I buy it, Vege-  _oh,_   _crap_  - Doritoni, dear?'

Vegeta flinched at her near slip up, but no one else seemed to notice. 'How much is it?' he asked.

'Four thousand, one hundred credits,' said the shopkeeper, helpfully.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. He had managed to avoid a large expense at lunchtime – Nenufar and Garbanzo had wanted to take them to one of the best restaurants in town, but Vegeta had insisted that they wished to sample the local street food. They'd been taken to what he suspected was the most upmarket hole-in-the-wall in town. As Bulma had choked down her creamy water snails in a garaboza cup she gave him a look that succinctly communicated her preference would have been the restaurant, but even with that expense avoided, Vegeta still only had just over three thousand credits on his chips. If the money didn't come through soon, the next step would be impossible.

'Keep looking. I think you can do better than that,' he told her, now envisioning scenarios where Raditz, Nappa, Puar and all the brats had been captured, and were either now confessing or being identified…if that happened then the powers that be could already be searching for him. He would have to ditch this plan, ditch  _them_ , take Bulma and run. He felt ill at the thought; empty and light, and his heart beat hard enough that it aggravated his queasy stomach. He'd never been without Saiyans to command, but it didn't make sense for him to feel this panic. Puar would be a loss, but he didn't care particularly about Kakarott, Tarble or Krillin, and he had chaffed against the company of Nappa and Raditz for years, so why did he feel like  _this_  at the thought of losing them all?  _It would mean the end of my hopes to rebuild the Saiyan race_ , he reasoned _. And I am not ready to do without Nappa and Raditz._

But at least, if he'd had to pick one person out of the lot of them it would have been Bulma anyway. She complimented his strengths rather than offering a pale imitation of his. But could he fight his way out of the spaceport and keep her alive at the same time? Or maybe they should head out of the city, find another craft not clamped to the berth in a spaceport? And what then? Just him and Bulma…

Bulma's face fell at his words, but then she frowned and came closer to him.

'They've not turned up yet?' she murmured to him. 'Are they all right?'

He shook his head and she turned pale.

'Is anything amiss?' asked the Captain, stepping in.

Vegeta decided that some version of the truth might be useful. 'Somewhere between disembarking and leaving the palace this morning we misplaced our credits. We sent our pilot and aide to look for them on our ship, but they weren't there, so they went back to the palace to search our belongings there. They have not returned yet, and all I have is some petty cash.'

'Oh. That  _is_  a problem, your Highness. Do they know where to find us?'

'Approximately.'

'You've been in contact?'

'We lost contact.'

'I could put out a police alert, to look out for your pilot and aide?'

Vegeta suppressed the surge of alarm at that idea. 'No, I don't think that will be necessary. We just need to wait a little longer until they arrive.'

Bulma tried on a few more dresses whilst Vegeta's guts ate him from the inside. 'I think this is my favourite,' she said, turning slowly in a crimpled, cream coloured slip, which appeared to have no back but was balanced in place by gold chains that looped and trailed between her shoulder blades. It reached her mid-thigh, and in Vegeta's opinion she was barely dressed, but the fact that her dress looked one gust of wind away from failure was the least of his worries.

'Did you know that this is the  _smallest size_  they carry? I think I like shopping on this planet!' Bulma caught his eye, and behind her cheerfulness he saw through to her panic.  _What are we going to do?_

The captain suggested that they put the dress on hold and move on to another shop. For lack of any better idea, Vegeta agreed. They went to a shoe shop, and by some miracle the shoes Bulma found to match her chosen dress were only five hundred credits. Vegeta found some leather sandals with gold details for four hundred, so he bought these out of hand and set aside Doritoni's ill-fitting boots.

As they boarded the litter again he spotted two figures weaving through the air traffic and with a heady feeling of weight being lifted from him he recognised their chi - Raditz, wet, and with suspicious green and red stains on his white pilot's outfit, carrying Puar with one arm around her waist. She looked dishevelled and exhausted, and when they dropped to the terrace she staggered and didn't let go of Raditz's arm.

'Your Highness,' gasped Raditz, out of breath. 'Thank the gods we found you!'

Vegeta was tempted to ask them what happened, but then thought better of it.

'Did you get it?'

'Yep,' said Radtiz, handing over a fistful of credits, and Vegeta let out a breath of relief.

'What the devil happened to you?' Captain Garbanzo asked him.

'Unexpected dunk in the canal,' Raditz replied.

'Well, I can see that-' but his curiosity was diverted by Nenufar's exclamation.

'Are you quite right, Lady Pringella?'

'Just…a little overcome,' the shapeshifter gasped, almost fainting on Raditz's arm.

'Is it the heat? Ladies, can we get this woman a cold drink, immediately!'

* * *

After the fuss over Puar had calmed down, and she managed to whisper into Bulma's ear that the boys were fine, Bulma relaxed a little into the shopping mission. They went back to the dress shop, and she put on the dress that had been laid aside. It was even better with the gold sandals, and she admired the effect of the four inch heels. She'd never worn heels this high before, but as the look she was going was "grown-up and ridiculously wealthy", she felt it a must. However, it was rather hard to get around in them.

As she walked very carefully back from the changing room to Vegeta she had a moment of regret over this shoe-dress combination. The dress was ingenious, but tenuously arranged, and Bulma was without a bra. Hardly a dress in the whole shop allowed for one to be worn beneath. The shop assistants had never seen such a thing, and had crowded around her examining it with great amusement and interest, to Bulma's mortification. And then when she'd taken it off they'd been no less interested even as Bulma wanted to hide herself with her arms.

'Our race is much less…' The woman made the intergalactic gesture for boobies and the other women had tittered. It was true – Bulma had noticed that the Grenouillean women were rather modestly endowed in that department, and narrow hipped to boot. Bulma was proud of her perky Ds, but not used to them making her stand out in a crowd. 'We will have to choose your dresses with care to find one that can accommodate you.'

'Oh, dear,' Bulma breathed as she turned a corner. Turning corners quickly was going to be out of the question. When she got to Vegeta he glanced up at her; the shoes had pushed her up a couple of inches taller than he.

'You're suddenly taking your time,' he observed.

'I don't think it would be a good idea to rush me with this dress on,' she warned him lightly.

At a men's store Vegeta picked out dark red pantaloons and a cream coloured sleeveless shirt that was slashed in a V almost to his navel and added some ornamental wrist cuffs.

'Ooh, I like it,' Bulma said as he made his way to the counter to pay. Specifically she liked the rich colours and the relaxed silhouette, as well as the peep show for his abs. He looked at her quickly, as if he didn't quite believe her, but kept his cool and slightly grouchy manner as he paid.

'Now, to the bank,' he announced.

* * *

'We wish to make a transfer from the L'Goontian bank to this one,' Vegeta said.

'Which one, sorry?' asked the extremely helpful bank manager, dragging his eyes away from Bulma. While he was definitely polite and addressed Vegeta whenever he was talking to him, his eyes did tend to stray to her and the front of her dress at other times.  _Does that mean the dress is doing its job?_  she wondered. She still couldn't quite get over her annoyance at the man's ogling though.

Returning to the question at hand, she realised that they probably should have researched banks ahead of time, but Vegeta flubbed his way through. 'The, er, National…Reserve…?'

The man's face brightened 'The L'Goonta Planetary Reserve Bank? Certainly, your Highness. We will just open an account in your name here and begin the process at once. We just need your full name, your biometrics, a thousand credit opening fee, an initial deposit of another thousand credits and your account number at the other bank.'

'In my name, please,' Bulma spoke. 'The account is mine.'

'Of course. The lady holds the purse strings! Women have got to keep us men in check somehow, correct?' he laughed. Bulma laughed falsely in return.

They had decided last night that Bulma should open the account. Vegeta was reasonably sure that having his biometrics read in a Cold Empire Bank would set off an immediate alarm. Bulma looked around while her handprints and facial geometry were mapped; unlike most buildings in the city, this skyscraper was black, and the interior was as lofty as a cathedral's but oppressively rendered in black and green marble.

The account was opened and then Bulma made the next request. 'I'd like to transfer six hundred thousand credits, please.' The bank manager sat up straighter and almost squealed with delight.

'Do you understand that this bank takes a five percent handling fee on any interplanetary transfer?'

'Does it? Maybe a little extra then? Eight hundred thousand.'

She regurgitated a random number for the account number, watching the manager carefully for an indication that she'd provided enough digits. After that she had handed over a credit chip for the joining fee and initial deposit to be deducted from.

The manager grinned. 'Done. And is there anything else I can help you with?'

'Yes, actually. I understand that it will take some days to clear the transfer, but we need some spending money right away. I'd like to take out a loan.'

The bank manager was filled with sublime delight. 'Our loan fees for a short term loan are a standard twenty percent per twenty-five day cycle. Would that be agreeable?'

It was totally agreeable, as it was a loan they were never going to pay back. 'Of course. I'd like six hundred thousand credits, thank you.'

The manager inhaled. 'Of course, your Highness. Though before we go any further, I must tell you that despite your title and the assurances of Captain Garbanzo of your identity, without proof of income and address, and being an off-planet borrower…we are going to have to ask for substantial collateral to secure a loan of that size.'

'We will offer our ship against the loan,' said Vegeta, producing a sheet of paper that he had somehow concealed in the pantaloons. 'It's docked in Spawn City space port, and I had it valued this morning by a reputable engineer. It's worth at least two and a half million.'

The man examined the paper and then returned to his delight at the thought of all this money passing through the bank's claws. 'Excellent! We will inform the port – we'll contact them on your behalf to inform them that the ship is held in bond by the bank, no need to worry about that. Once the loan is repaid the ship will be yours to take again.'

Bulma filled out several forms with false information while Vegeta filled out forms pertaining to the ship, and then the manager was handing her several secure chips. He held both her hands for an uncomfortable moment as he beamed at her.

'It's been such a pleasure doing business with you!'

'Did you know we wouldn't be allowed to take the ship until we paid the loan back?' Bulma asked Vegeta on their way back out through the impressive lobby. The litter awaited at the bottom of a wide set of marble steps.

'I suspected that would be the case,' he replied.

Bulma cast him a censorious glance, wishing she could talk more on the subject, but the escort and their minders surrounded them. Then her foot slipped on the polished marble and she tottered on the other heel, saving herself only by grabbing Vegeta's shoulder. He threw her censure right back at her.

'I cannot believe you bought shoes you can barely walk in!'

'Shut up,' she hissed back. 'They're hot. And they did the job.'

As they got to the steps Bulma didn't release him. Vegeta twitched his shoulder to try and rid himself of her.

'Do you want me to fall on my ass and break an ankle, dear husband?' she said lightly, gripping his shoulder tighter.

'No,' he admitted, and grudgingly he took the steps as slow as she required. 'This is mortifying,' he muttered.

'In what way?' she asked, surprised, but he wouldn't answer. She slid again on another step and he growled but put his arm around her waist to hold her steady. Bulma was so surprised and so pleased by it that she grinned, her face slowly flushing with wicked delight. Unless she was interpreting some of the looks he'd given her  _very_  wrong, he  _wanted_  to touch her, but he was completely reluctant to do so, and the perversity of it all amused her as much as his arm on her bare back thrilled her. His hand had slipped inside the dress a little and his fingers gripped the skin of her hip. It was sweaty, but hey, so was she.

At the litter Nenufar put down her tablet.

'I think it might be time to go shopping for some evening wear, your Highnesses. The gala begins in a little less than four hours.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yay, Puar! The character with the most under utilized incredible power in the series! Also, all hail Adli, my beta reader babe!


	30. Glamour, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So this chapter was super-long and I've cut it in two. I promise I will post the second half VERY soon. They are both wall to wall Bulma/Vegeta chapters for those who are a little anxious about sections focusing on other characters.

This shop didn't operate like any Bulma had been into before.

'It is the city's oldest department store,' Duvet had told them. 'They carry all the major design houses and a few other surprises, and they also operate with the Quickfit Tailoring system, which, given our time constraints, might be best.'

They had been greeted by an exceptionally good looking man who introduced himself as Joli, the head stylist. They'd then been immediately separated, whisked behind velvet curtains to private rooms. Bulma was offered several different drinks – she had picked the purple fizzy one, hoping it was like soda, but it was more like sparkling wine with a tart overtone - even better than soda. The two female assistants stripped her bare, and she was subject to another round of unwanted interest in her form, but they were more polite than the other women, and when the senior assistant saw how uncomfortable Bulma was, being examined like this she shushed the other woman and put Bulma in the scanning booth. It took only a few moments of flashing lights in the booth and Bulma was ushered out again into a soft robe and seated on a couch facing a dais, drink in hand. So far, she hadn't seen a single item of clothing, but that changed the moment a life size hologram of herself walked out on the dais, wearing a simple shift. Bulma almost choked on her wine.

 _Seeing oneself on video is one thing_ , she thought to herself,  _but as a hologram it's absolutely unnerving!_  The holographic Bulma turned this way and that and made a leg like a pro model while her assistants grinned at her reaction.

'Surely you've seen yourself in hologram many times, your Highness?' the junior asked.

Remembering that she was supposed to be from a more technologically advanced race than Earth's, Bulma tried to justify her fascination. 'I kept out of the media spot light until my marriage, so, no, I'm not really used to it yet.'

'It must have been a big step to marry into fame then. Especially for one so young,' the woman replied.

'I look younger than I really am,' lied Bulma.

'Long may you hold that quality,' the assistant said, laughing. 'When I last looked as young as you I was still a schoolgirl!'

The senior style assistant sat down next to Bulma holding a catalogue. 'Now, where shall we start? What sort of outfit are you looking for?'

'Something…' She couldn't say grown-up, could she? 'Regal. And mature, but still sexy.'

The woman began turning pages, outfits on models flicking past.

'How about the new season Macheza collection?' she said, stopping on a page. The models wore dresses as challengingly or more than the one Bulma had bought earlier. The shapes were simpler, but cut-out and see-through panels abounded, and to Bulma's eyes they looked over-the-top risqué and not regal at all.

'I'm not sure they'd really suit me,' she said.

'Let's find out, shall we?'

The woman touched the first picture on the page and instantly the Bulma hologram was dressed in the same outfit. She paced the dais and turned around. Her holographic nipples were quite apparent through the mesh stripe in the front.

'It's mature, yet still youthful, I think,' commented the junior assistant.

'I don't think it's really me,' said Bulma.

They went back and forth through the catalogue, trying all sorts of dresses on the model. Bulma had to admit, it was a very quick way to check out a lot of clothes, but she was getting a bit upset that nothing seemed to fit her feeling of what a princess wears to a gala. It was as if most of Grenouillean womens' fashion was stuck in cocktail hour and some of it lacked even a shred of taste. There were some dresses and jumpsuits that were completely sheer, and she saw another that hung from fine silver chains and only widened into fabric at a point at nipple level, basically covering nothing. Growing frustrated, the senior assistant resorted to showing her the calf length, patterned dresses at the back of the book, modelled by older women and clearly aimed at grandmothers. The other assistant plied her glass with more wine and provided non-stop positive feedback on every dress no matter how ridiculous or ill-suited.

Joli entered.

'How are we doing? Oh!' He stopped, seeing the hologram in its scarlet sheath dress, a ladder of wide cut outs down each side, leaving it more naked than clothed except for a strip down the middle, fore and aft.

'How do you feel about this one, your Highness?' he asked carefully.

'I don't think it's the style I'm after,' she said with a grimace.

He turned to face her and smiled. 'Let's not mince words, your Highness. How do you  _really_  feel about it?'

Bulma looked him straight in the eye. 'I hate it. It makes me look like a hooker.'

'Quite so,' he agreed. 'Ladies, this is a  _princess_ , not some actress or trophy wife. She is attending a very formal event, and you are showing her avant-garde Borgo!'

The women assistants flinched.

'Borgo is always a popular choice, Joli,' replied the senior assistant. 'Our other customers have been snatching them up.'

He scowled at her. ' _Other_  customers are not  _this_  customer. Look at her body! Look at it! You don't drape such a body with cheap tricks and one season wonders!'

The assistants quailed and Bulma felt a little embarrassed for them.

'Some of the Borgo dresses did look  _divine_ , didn't you think?' the senior assistant asked her.

'Some of them were okay,' Bulma conceded.

'No,' said Joli. 'The Mizuni Vintage collection, at once! And the Fairytales collection by Jezellet!'

He took over, pulling out different catalogues, and finally Bulma began to see dresses that looked like what she was after. Eventually she picked one that was just the right blend of grown-up, sophisticated and sexy, and it used twice as much fabric as most of the dresses she'd seen so far.

'And that colour will go well with what your husband has chosen,' Joli observed.

Bulma had a split second of confusion before realising that he was talking about Vegeta. It made her laugh a little. Vegeta, her  _husband_!

'Is he done then?' she asked.

Joli smiled. 'For quite some time, I'm afraid. Let us get this garment fitted.'

Some icons in the book were pressed and then Joli left her again at the mercy of the assistants. They offered her some small, sweet biscuit things and more wine, which she accepted, even though the wine was going to her head a bit, and a few minutes later the actual dress showed up, sliding out of the wall on a hanger. After inspecting the material and drape it was sent away again to be fitted to her measurements, a process that would only take ten more minutes or so.

'Amazing,' commented Bulma. She wished she could bring her mother here – she'd have a field day! And then she choked on the thought, shock ripping back through her system because of the unthinkable…because she had forgotten…her mother was dead. They were all dead.

Shaking, she put her glass down, her game of dress-up losing all its fun. This was serious. This was life or death for an entire planet.

* * *

'Your Highness, are you all right?'

Vegeta roamed the display floor again, pacing the spaces between the mannequins and holograms. He paused next to a cabinet, his eyes captured by a sparkle of bright blue zircon set in a ring, the same hue as Bulma's hair. She was taking so long he began to wonder if he should go see what the problem was. He already had his clothes for the evening and another set for tomorrow. There had been a bit of a sticky moment when the dressers wanted him to be rescanned with his "belt" removed, but Vegeta had insisted he didn't have time. And there was another sticky moment when he dressed. He had had to ask them to leave the room, or else his "belt" would have given up the game entirely.

'Your Highness, is there anything I can do for you?' asked Joli, striding back across the floor to him. 'Another drink perhaps?'

Vegeta shook his head. He had avoided the alcoholic drinks they had offered, not wanting to muddle his head and increase the chance of slipping up, though he had accepted iced water. 'How is my wife faring?'

'Nearly done. They're just waiting for the fitting to be completed, and then I believe she will want shoes.' Joli's eyes fell on the cabinet Vegeta stood near, filled with lady's jewellery. 'Are you looking for something for your wife?'

Vegeta hadn't thought of it, but he recalled her hysterical outburst about the lack of jewellery yesterday. 'I suppose she will need something for tonight.'

'Do you see anything you like? Or should we wait for the princess to emerge?'

Vegeta was about to say he would make her choose it, but then it occurred to him how long it had taken her to pick some clothes out, and he really wanted to be back in the privacy of their room for at least a short time before this shipwreck of a day sailed into the gala.

'I will choose it,' he said. How hard could it be?

'A surprise gift? Very wise, sir!' said Joli, laughing.

Vegeta walked the length of the cabinet. Most of it glittered with stones. What counted as good? Or did it matter? Would what he liked be good?

He stopped in front of a simple slender necklace with an intricate scarlet pendant on it in the shape of the character "Wu", which had the meaning female, or woman. It wasn't the same, but it reminded him of the Saiyan crest that he and his father used to wear emblazoned on their armour. On Bulma's pale skin it would contrast in a similar way.

'This one.'

'That is a lovely little piece, but I'm afraid it would rather badly clash with the dress she has chosen,' said Joli. 'Crimson you could perhaps get away with, but not scarlet. Think blues, purples, perhaps turquoise, deep reds and pinks.'

Huffing, Vegeta moved on and then stopped again at a necklace that had all these hues at once. It was a heavy choker with a dangling bib of gemstones down the front, all different sizes, all different colours, although tending towards sapphire more than any. It looked heavy, and perhaps more importantly, it looked really expensive.

'What about this?'

'That would be absolutely perfect! It would match her eyes, her hair, her dress, yours, everything! And it has matching earrings and ring, too.'

'How much?'

'Thirty five thousand credits. Although if you get the set, it's only another four thousand.'

The figure was a punch in the gut, but then Vegeta fought down the surprise. They had lots of money at this moment – may as well spend it now, as they weren't going to be able to once they left.

'Are they real sapphires and rubies?' he asked, to cover his moment of shock.

'Heavens, no!' replied Joli. 'They're synthetic gems and semi-precious, or else this amount of rock would be about a million credits!' Then he looked slyly at Vegeta. 'If you  _want_  it in natural gems it can be done. We could commission the designer.'

'No, that won't be necessary.'

As he watched Joli open the case and remove the jewellery with soft, white gloves, Vegeta reflected that this might be the oddest day of activity he had ever had. The time he had feasted with the rulers of Planet Xero at lunch, only to come back and slaughter them at dinner didn't even come close to  _luxury_  s _hopping with Bulma_.

* * *

Vegeta swam lazy laps of the pool, trying to put aside his nerves about tonight, glad to be away from the stress Bulma was exhibiting. She'd been much less happy since she'd emerged from the fitting booth, and made browsing for accessories a snappish and terse affair.

'Do you know we look like school children to them?' she had muttered to him at one point, and he had smelled the berry wine strong on her breath. 'I feel like any second they're all going to wake up and call us out on this dumb let's-pretend game!'

He had shushed her into silence, but she had infected him with her pessimism. Now she had locked herself in the bathroom to prepare and Vegeta was trying to shake this low mood.

Raditz came wandering onto the garden, wearing the newer, smarter and better-fitting uniform he had procured while they were in the department store.

'Puar says she doesn't want to come, tonight,' he reported. 'She's still too tired and thinks she might lose control in front of everyone.'

'That's fine. Tell her she can stay.' He had been impressed by her feat today. She had shown both bravery and initiative, and he'd told her so when they made their report.

'Shouldn't you be getting ready?' Raditz asked. 'They said they were going to be waiting in the lobby for us in twenty minutes.'

'I suppose you're right,' said Vegeta, turning and swimming back the other way.

'See you soon, anyway.'

The earpieces had been disabled by the dunking that Raditz and Tarble had given them. Bulma said they would probably start working again when they dried out, but for now they had no way of communicating with Nappa. At least they knew where he and the boys were now, and the boys had been told to wait there with Nappa until Raditz or Puar came to get them.

Vegeta reluctantly pulled himself from the water and dried himself on the cloth he had brought out. "Towel" was the word that Bulma used. A drying cloth was what it was, and was called so across the galaxy, but on Earth they had created a specialist word that knocked a couple of syllables off. He supposed that was more efficient.

The sun was coming up on the second solar cycle of the Grenouillean "day". Vegeta wondered if the double-day was why he felt a little odd— kind of washed out and floaty, even though he was out of the water now, as if the fight had been leached out him.

His clothes lay on the bed; another loose shirt, this one in almost translucent white; a pair of snug-fitting trousers in dark grey; a pair of tall, white, military-esque boots that the pants tucked into; and a short, open jacket of the strangest material he had ever encountered. 'It will actually make you cooler, not warmer,' Joli had told him. It was dark purple and had a subtle sheen, and had a lot of same-colour piping and embroidery that added stiffness and detail. He would have preferred armour and some kind of actual military costume, but this didn't seem to be the mode here. For a race that was so strong, the Grenouilleans seemed to value wealth and beauty above power and pride.

After he was dressed he tapped on the bathroom door.

'Bulma, are you nearly ready, or have you died in there?' It was quiet within, and he suddenly worried that she was indeed ill or something.

'Yes. Nearly…done!' she said. 'Just, this one…last…'

He was not prepared for what he saw when she emerged from the bathroom. She had transformed entirely. If they had worried that they looked like children playing at being grown-ups before, they could stop now, because Bulma seemed to have swallowed the heavy dose of sophistication while she had cloistered herself in the bathroom. If he didn't know her scent he might have walked past this woman on the street and not recognised her. The violet dress was past her knees, and fishtailed at the back, showing off diamante-encrusted sandals with (thankfully) a less ridiculous heel on them than the others. But frankly, no one was going to be looking at her feet. The dress was lower cut than anything he'd seen her wear, and sleeveless, and her hair was up off her shoulders, smoothed and twisted up, and secured with decorative clips and who-knew what other feminine magic. This left a good deal of throat, shoulder and cleavage open to view. The dress had a cinched waist, the effect of which made her seem more delicate at the same time as it made her breasts look bigger. He could practically feel the warmth rising off those swelling curves, which threatening to spill over the tight front of the dress...

He shuffled backwards a step or two until he knocked into the bed and sat down, nothing in his mind to say at all for a moment.

She pressed her hand to the base of her bare neck, perhaps thinking that that was what he was staring at.

'I know,' she said. 'I didn't think about jewellery or anything. I didn't really realise how naked I would look without any.'

Yes, she looked naked all right. He was suddenly nervous about taking her anywhere that anyone else might see her.

'Nothing that I have is even remotely fit for this occasion,' she went on. 'Does it look wrong?'

Now his brain was prompted back into motion. Pleased that he could provide an answer to a problem she hadn't foreseen, he turned to the case on the bed and handed it to her, preparing to take the credit for this purchase. 'I got something for you,' he told her, smiling just a little smugly as he opened the box and stood to present her with the over-priced mess of gemstones and wrought metal.

Bulma's eyes went round and she sucked in an enormous lungful of air, straining at the front of her dress again.

'For me?' she asked, breathing excited little gasps.  _What the hell?_  Vegeta wondered.  _Is this stuff catnip for females or something?_  He hadn't expected this strong a reaction.

'Yes, for you! I don't think it would really suit me, do you?'

She looked up from the contents of the box into his eyes, confusion and wonder stamped all over her features as she stared at him. And then she blushed from the base of her throat, all the way up to her hairline.

Vegeta frowned at this odd reaction, but they didn't have much time to waste just staring at each other dumbly. 'Aren't you going to put it on?'

She looked away and lifted the necklace from the box reverently. 'How much did this cost, Vegeta?' she asked as she turned it and lay it against her throat.

'Too much,' he said. 'But I knew you would need something. May as well convert that imaginary money into tangibles.'

She struggled with the clap behind her neck, then asked, 'Will you help me do it up?'

He dropped the box on the bed again and took the two ends of the clasp from her fingers when she turned her back to him. It was fiddly, and it took him a moment to figure it out while his fingers brushed against her warm skin. The cut of this dress made her a beacon of scent, and he closed his eyes as he finished doing the clasp, letting himself drown in it a second. Stupid girl. This night was going to be a disaster if she continued to muddle his thoughts just be being close to him.

'There are these, too,' he said, reaching back and plucking the earrings and the ring from the box and reaching one hand around her to offer them to her. She looked down and made to grab them with one hand even as she clumsily knocked his wrist away with the other. She ended up with only one of them while Vegeta snatched the other one from the air before it could hit the ground, but the ring went tumbling under the bed. He sighed with annoyance and watched her struggle with poking the little wire through the tiny hole in her ear and do up the clasp. It was no surprise that she'd be so incompetent with it when she hadn't even been able to do up the necklace by herself, so he took the other earring and began putting it on for her. She instantly stiffened.

'Careful,' she said.

'I  _am_  being careful,' he told her. It felt funny touching someone else's earlobe. A strange, useless and very soft piece of flesh. When he finished he stroked the back of it, feeling how the earring weighed down the delicate thing. Bulma shied away from him, blushing again.

'I don't understand why anyone would want to be hindered by such things,' he commented. 'It wouldn't take much to tear it right off.'

'Yes, so don't,' she warned, the blush dying away again. What was with all her colour changing tonight? Perhaps she was still affected by the wine.

He crouched down to get the ring from where it rolled under the bed and then offered it up to her from where he knelt on the floor. Bulma's eyebrows shot up her face in surprise, and then she began snorting with laughter.

'What?' he snapped, getting to his feet.

'It's supposed to be one knee!' she said, chortling.

'What the fuck are you talking about, you bizarre female?'

She just shook her head and rolled her eyes, taking the ring from him and shoving it on the third finger of her left hand. 'Aw, it's too big,' she said, moving it instead to her middle finger. 'It would've just been too funny if it had been a perfect fit for my ring finger.' Vegeta let the baffling comment go. The Earthling was just too full of obscure sayings and notions to follow up each one.

She took a step back and twirled herself around on the spot with a small amount of difficulty. He suddenly wondered if the necklace was a bad idea after all – it's glittering seemed to catch the eye and then trap it in the valley of her cleavage.

'How do I look?'

Vegeta looked at her with a sense of growing frustration, taking in the artful, impractical design, the ridiculous shoes, the indecent amount of skin on display, the jewellery that screamed expense and attention between the exposed column of her neck and the creamy bosom that rose and fell as she waited for his answer. She looked like all the privilege that he'd lost. She looked like everything his race despised as weak. She looked like the kind of woman who hung on the arms of the tyrants and mobsters who commissioned pleasure planets from Frieza and paid for it in cash and slaves. It made him hate the sight of her at the same time as it made him want to run his hands all over her and ruin the dress and the hair and the jewels. He decided not to share all these thoughts with her, though.

'You look like the kind of spoiled, vapid bitch who would spend fifty thousand galactic credits on a dress and a few baubles.'

Her mouth popped open as she struggled with the insult, but then she rallied, pouting childishly, ruining the air of sophistication.

'Obviously! That is the idea, isn't it? What I mean is, do I look  _good?_ '

'Good?'

'Attractive.'

'Fishing for compliments much?'

'No! I just want to know, before we go down there and lie to a bunch of powerful and rich people, that I don't look like some kind of troll or slut or inbred hillbilly!'

He wondered what a hillbilly was, but decided it was beside the point. 'You don't look like any of those things.'

'Good.'

'Now can we go?'

'Wait a sec.' She turned to look at herself in the mirrored wall, and he wondered what she was about to do, but instead she just stood there, staring at herself.

'What are you doing?' he demanded.

'I wanted to see the effect of the jewellery,' she said in a breathy tone. 'God, it's gorgeous! Thank you so much, Vegeta!'

His mouth opened to tell her that he hadn't bought it as some personal favour to her, but something stopped him at the last moment. Her face was full of gratitude, and he found it stirred a warm feeling in his chest, like pride, but different. Instead he chastised her.

'You're a silly girl if you're made so happy by such a useless thing.'

Her grin faltered and she looked appalled. 'You're right. It's just a thing. It's not what's important.' She looked his reflection in the eye. 'I keep forgetting that everyone on Earth and my family are all gone. I think it must be the only way I can keep going, or keep smiling or laughing, or even eating and getting up in the morning. But every time I remember, it's a shock all over again.'

Vegeta remembered that feeling. 'Is that what has you moping this afternoon?'

'Yes,' she said. Tears rimmed her eyes, but she bit her lip, refusing to let them fall. 'I guess the same thing happened to you, though. What keeps you getting up in the morning, Vegeta?'

He looked at her sad face and felt his attitude hardening as she dissolved into self-pity. 'Hatred,' he told her truthfully. 'Hatred and ambition. I no longer feel any shock.'

She sighed and gathered herself again. 'Well, thanks anyway,' she said, touching the necklace. Then she shuffled sideways to stand beside him. When he saw the pair of them standing in the mirror side by side he was surprised. The clothes he wore transformed him, just like hers had transformed her. He looked like a man with everything – wealth, health, status, a beautiful wife. They were a matching set.

'We look amazing,' she said, smiling at the stunned look on his face. 'We look like royalty. Everyone will be fooled.'

'I  _am_  royalty.'

'Yeah, well now you look it too.'

He lifted a lip to snarl at her as she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, but he was distracted by her smile. Her cheeks pinkened once more as she admitted, 'You look...really...handsome.' With that she turned away quickly and towed him out of the bedroom. Vegeta stumbled after her, momentarily stunned by confusion, but as they reached the entrance of the apartment he reasserted his control of the situation and pulled her hand out of the crook of his arm.

'What's this?' he said, his memory stirring with the long-ago lessons from a tutor on how he should conduct himself on the stage of interstellar diplomacy. 'We're not some bourgeois couple going for a stroll.' He bent his elbow and placed her hand so that it rested on his forearm from the outside, rather than clinging to him from behind. ' _This_  is how a Prince escorts his Woman.'

She glanced from where he'd placed her hand to his eyes and smiled again. 'Okay. I guess you'd know. Although, it's hard to believe I'm taking etiquette lessons from a guy who eats meat with just his hands and teeth.'

Vegeta barred his teeth at her, but instead of flinching she giggled; it appeared she was no longer scared of him.

This set his thoughts roiling as he led her down the wide corridor of the 151st floor. Handsome...handsome...what the fuck did that mean? Well, he knew what it  _meant_ , but what did  _she_  mean by it? No one had ever called him such a thing before. Filthy, stinking, arrogant, terrifying, pipsqueak, monkey-fuckface – these were the kinds of words Vegeta was used to hearing describe him. The question of how attractive he was never seemed to have been posed before. He thought himself good looking, although he'd been bitter since his last growth spurt failed to deliver him the towering height he had expected. As a child he had expected one day to look in the mirror and see a near carbon copy of his father and grandfather. It hadn't happened, at least not with the height. In comparison to that disappointment, his looks didn't seem as important.

Did she mean she liked looking at him? He felt an unexpected tightness in his chest at the thought, and let his eyes wander over her again. The tightness spread to the front of his pants – they were too damn tight and restrictive, and he hoped he wouldn't have to fight in them because they'd be torn in seconds. Anyway, he liked looking at her too, and the view that her clothes this evening afforded of her cleavage, he liked rather too much.

Or maybe  _his_  clothes were the reason why she thought he looked handsome tonight? Yes, that made sense. She was vain, and shallow enough to be attracted to Raditz at first if he was not mistaken. She just liked the clothes.

_Hmm._

The tightness faded away, and at last he was able to concentrate on the things that actually mattered.

'Remember to keep the Princess act up, tonight,' he told her as they knocked on Puar and Raditz's door. 'And don't get drunk! You've already drunk enough this afternoon.'

She gave him a sour look. 'Well, how about you don't go bringing up  _Vegeta_ , the great and powerful terrorist in conversation then? That was hardly a mastermind move.'

Raditz opened the door and laughed.

'Ooh! Is it a man or a flower?'

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Raditz. 'This situation is not open licence to disrespect me,  _Captain!_ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I can't believe that having cut this chapter in half I've ended up with one whole chapter which has all the action revolving around frigging shopping, shoes and dresses! So not me! Of course, the *focus* was not on the shoes and clothes. Or maybe you felt it was? I apologise either way and promise no shopping, shoes, and not too much mention of dresses in the next chapter. Or ANY other chapter.
> 
> Anything you want to say, please do throw it in a comment or a PM if you're shy. All you silent readers out there should know that I am a review whore, like any other fic writer :D Anyway, I shouldn't make promises, but I will post part 2 in 2 days time.


	31. Glamour, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi guys - I was reading something on Tumblr the other day that related to how people use the AO3 site, and it really rang true for me, so I thought I'd mention it as I have experienced the same vague frustration as the author of the Tumblr post. Though I like Kudos, I love comments. With kudos I can't even tell which chapter someone was reading when they hit the kudos button, and I think you can only hit it once per work, whereas with comments you can leave as many as you like, I can tell which chapter you left them on, and best of all, you can tell me what you actually think rather than a click of general positivity (and you can also communicate negativity too, should you wish). I get that some people might be SO shy that the thought of leaving a comment brings them out in a cold sweat, but you can do it anonymously. I know the comment form asks you for an email address, but that is only so that if I reply to your comment you'll get the reply (I think that's how it works, anyway). Neither I, nor any other user of the site can see your email address, so barring a major hack, your privacy is assured.

The cultural event at the gala turned out to be the Grenouillean version of opera – not surprising given that it was at the State Opera House. As opposed to terrestrial opera, Bulma did find it rather interesting for its differences. For instance, the "House" was more of a stadium atop a building, and the box seats floated in the air. She and Vegeta had been loaded into one, and then it had taken off to join the others, circling the action in the sky. There was a joystick control so that they could slide the box around the circumference of the stadium to catch the best angle. They all had opera glasses – rather more technological ones than the traditional glass, and there was a screen in their box to show a live feed of close ups edited on the fly from various cameras. The stage was several sets arranged vertically, and the actors spent a great deal of time flying rather than standing on stage. When the fight and battle scenes were played out the actors used real chi blasts and full contact on each other, and it all looked spectacularly dangerous to Bulma. The ability to fight and handle chi was apparently so universal that actors used it to make-believe.

The opera itself was very dramatic, with love, unexpectedly explicit sex, betrayal, war, infanticide and suicide before wrapping up in a huge chorus and a lament as the main character died and ascended to heaven.

'What the fuck is  _this?_ ' muttered Vegeta in her ear. Bulma was pleased that for once, Vegeta was as much out of his element as she was.

'It's art, darling,' she told him, and he raised his brows at her facetious tone. There were other things she might've said but they weren't alone. Raditz and a few of their escort occupied the row behind them, and Écume and Nenufar sat next to them - assigned Prince and Princess babysitting duty for the night. They weren't allowed to go too long without one of them pointing out this or that to the "royal" couple. Bulma and Vegeta ended up with their heads close together, whispering their observations to each other.

'Pick a note and stick with it woman! Tell me, is Earth opera as intolerable as this?'

'No; actually it's worse.'

Écume and Nenufar talked quietly to each other too, although their conversation appeared to consist of Écume hitting on Nenufar, and she deflecting him with far too much grace.

When at last the opera was over, their box landed and they were ushered down a long corridor until they arrived under the stage at a ballroom where they immediately found glasses of wine of some kind pressed into their hands. The ballroom was big and circular, with windows and balconies around much of the outer wall. In the middle of the room was a wide column ringed by curtained booths blocking the view to the other side, and from the ceiling and around the walls hung what Bulma guessed to be props from past performances. The cast were milling around amongst the guests, still in costume, and people were greeting each other with hugs and kisses. The chatter was loud over the music, and groups of people clumped together, drinking and eating canapés. Bulma crossed her fingers and snatched a skewer from a passing platter. Vegeta took six.

As she nibbled the mystery meat she wondered if this gala would be like the couple that she'd been to with her parents. They hadn't let her drink at those, though. In fact, she'd never been to a party with alcohol. She never got invited to the keg-parties some of the kids at high school had – the bad crowd wanted nothing to do with her. Neither did the popular crowd. Or any of the crowds, really.

'The floor is moving,' Vegeta observed.

'Yes,' said Nenufar. 'The whole room rotates around the centre twice an hour.' Bulma glanced out the window again, and sure enough, the scenery was sliding past slowly.

'Now, given your political situation, there is probably  _one_  person here tonight that you might want to avoid,' Écume warned them. 'That fellow over by the windows with the tusks in Major Horgathard, the commander of the local Planetary Trade Organisation outpost.'

Vegeta flinched while Bulma scanned the guests looking for the Major, although she couldn't have missed him. There, by the window, as Écume said, and quite alone, holding a glass of wine, was a man almost as large as Nappa, with coarse red hair and curving yellow tusks like a warthogs. Vegeta hastily turned away.

'I spot the President,' said Écume. 'I'll just see if he's ready to meet you!' He fled to a knot of people near the central column and they were left standing with Nenufar who looked rather uncomfortable to be alone with them. For a few moments no one had anything to say as the crowd surged past them, filling the room. Raditz broke the silence.

'So, Nenufar – are you like, married or anything?'

She looked startled. 'Ah, I am seeing someone. Excuse me a moment, I just have to use the powder room.'

She zipped away towards the central column of booths.

'Let's move on,' said Vegeta, his eyes on Écume's back. 'I have no desire to meet the president of this fucked up planet or be accosted by a PTO crony.'

They wandered into the thick of the crowd. Bulma was pleased to see that they weren't  _quite_  the only aliens in the room, though they might be the shortest, and were almost certainly the youngest. It seemed like nearly all the Grenouillean women had got the memo that hemlines should be no lower than four inches below the crotch, and Bulma even saw one woman wearing the ladder-cut scarlet dress she had hated. In all, she felt rather pleased with her choice of attire – it made her stand out somewhat.

Then again, as they moved deeper into the room she began to wonder if she stood out  _too_  much. People were glancing at her and then staring, and not in a good way. She saw a few people lean over and whisper to their companions as she passed and tried to ignore that they seemed to be talking about her. She wondered if it was because she was a pink-skinned alien in a sea of brown, green and blue, but the stares seemed to be mostly directed at  _her_ , not Vegeta.

'Why are they all looking at me?' she asked Vegeta, taking his arm again.

'Perhaps it is your dress. It's rather attention grabbing.'

'And theirs aren't? At least mine covers my body!'

He glanced at her chest. 'Not so much the upper regions.'

She scoffed. 'It may be low cut, but you can't see my nipples, which is more than you can say for those two over there!'

Vegeta followed her gaze and then recoiled. 'This is a tasteless society.'

'You disapprove?' she asked, interested in his answer.

'They appear fixated on money, appearances and frivolity. They waste their natural advantage as warriors in entertainment and let it languish in their pointless existence.'

'And you find that…' she searched for the right word. 'Immoral?'

He grunted in confirmation and she smiled.

'And the nipples?'

'An open invitation to mindless hedonism.'

Suddenly he made a beeline for the window, dragging her along with him. As the crowd parted for them she saw what had attracted him – a buffet.

'Excellent!' cried Raditz.

He and Vegeta ditched their wine glasses and began loading their plates, while Bulma tried to make more calculated choices. She put something that looked like vanilla mousse on a biscuit on her plate before noticing that everything had a little hand-written label.

'Whipped Toad Brain on Gobonut Rounds. Oh my god!'

She looked at the woman next to her and caught her staring at her breasts. The woman started, but recovered well. 'They're very good,' she said. 'Probably the best toads' brains I've ever had.'

'Oh. Well, I guess I'm trying one now. What else is good?'

'I've tried the sticky bush-baby nibbles and the hot and sour salad, and they were both good,' she said, pointing them out.

'Thanks,' Bulma replied, putting each on her plate.

'Are you a local?' the woman asked.

'No, I'm from L'Goonta,' replied Bulma and extended her free hand without thinking about it. 'I'm Princess Cee-Cee.'

The woman stood straight, giving Bulma's hand a lofty look. 'I'm afraid I've never heard of it. Excuse me, I must get back to my friends.'

Puzzled and a little hurt, Bulma turned back to the boys. Vegeta was eating crumbed molluscs with a tiny fork and a restrained and delicate manner. In his fitted and stylish clothes he cut a very aristocratic figure – more so than the Grenouillean men, who might be very handsome and almost pretty, but they lacked a certain something that Vegeta had. Was it fierceness? Was it the misbalance between the dark, heavy brows and the soft mouth? The streak of ugly that only just touched his surface but spread like an iceberg below? Bulma shuddered and then smiled as Vegeta looked up at her. He beckoned her towards him with his fork and she floated across the space between them.

'Making friends?' he asked when she got there, the corner of his mouth trying to turn up into a smile against his will.

'Not really, no. I much prefer the company of you two,' she said, grinning at him, looking him in the eye as he struggled to conceal his pleasure at her words. He was smitten with her, she was almost sure of it.

'Yeah, I can really tell that you're loving  _my_  company,' said Raditz.

Bulma turned and gave the food on her plate some serious attention to stifle her embarrassment at Raditz's quip.

'She was obviously only being polite to  _you_ , Captain, as no one would truly enjoy your company,' Vegeta said.

'Well, I think that might not be a universal opinion, your Highness. I think what you might find is that in fact  _you_  are the unpopular one, generally speaking.'

Vegeta growled low in his throat. 'Next time we land somewhere with some wide open spaces I am going to make you pay for every impertinence you show while we are here!'

'Are you keeping a tally?'

'Yes. And  _that_  was another strike.'

They hung around the buffet table until the Saiyans had eaten enough to take the edge off. To her surprise, Bulma  _did_  like the whipped toad brains and had several more. On the last mouthful of hot and sour salad though she choked. Somewhere in the spicy vegetable mix lurked a vicious ice-chilli.

'Oh no,' she gasped. 'Hot!' She went back to the buffet table to get her wine and gulped on it, but it only made the fire burn hotter and she began coughing.

'Help me!' she said to the others. 'My mouth's really burning!'

Vegeta frowned like he didn't know what to do.

'There must be a bar here somewhere,' said Raditz. 'Maybe they have some kind of milk. Oh, look, it's Nenufar!'

Vegeta's head snapped around. 'Blast it. Let's all move on and find this bar and maybe she won't spot us.'

'She's already seen me, though. Maybe I should hang back and create a distraction?' he suggested, grinning.

Vegeta glared at him. 'Raditz!'

'Do you  _want_  to talk to the president?'

Vegeta growled. 'I'd better be able to find you later!'

'Yeah, of course.'

But Bulma wasn't waiting. She skipped through the crowd, desperate to find the bar, and when she did wormed her way through the press to the front of the queue.

'Bartender! Help! I need some milk!' she cried, and then coughed and coughed.

The young man looked up from the wine he was pouring. 'We don't have any milk, ma'am, sorry.'

'Anything creamy at all,' she asked, tears running down her cheeks. 'I ate something really spicy!'

He took a pitcher that was on ice and poured it into a bowl glass. 'How about this?'

She gulped the pale apricot mixture and it did help, so she guzzled the lot. 'Can I get another?'

As she fought her way back out of the queue she was met by Vegeta's mildly anxious face. 'Okay?'

She nodded and sipped her drink. It was only now that the noticed that the sweet concoction was quite alcoholic. Vegeta drew her out of the crowd and looked around.

'Fuck!' he uttered under his breath. Écume had seen them and was coming straight at them.

'Oh, that's where you got to! Please, if you would come with me, the president would be delighted to meet you now.'

In their hunt for the bar they had gone almost right around the ballroom back to where they started.

Having no other choice beyond cutting and running, Bulma and Vegeta followed Écume to a small group of people.

'President Zizou Zidane has had many careers before this one,' Écume filled them in, helpfully. 'He was a star Hardball player before taking up acting, then a team manager and mayor of Spawn City. He is currently running for his third term as president.'

Everyone's focus was on the tallest of the group – a brown skinned and brown haired Grenouillean man of exceptional good looks. He was more breathtaking than any actor or model Bulma had ever seen on Earth, and his mostly bare chest and arms were muscular, and his gold and emerald diadem heavy and impressive. He wasn't young though, not like the gorgeous woman who clung to his arm.

'Mr President, may I present Prince Doritoni of L'Goonta?'

The Adonis raised his hand to Vegeta, and they pressed their palms together before the Grenouillean leaned down to hug Vegeta. Bulma watched Vegeta go stiff in the other man's embrace, but he managed to hold off any more violent reaction.

'Well met, Prince Doritoni. I am President Zizou Zidane,' he said as he stood straight again. Even his voice was attractive – a mixture of smooth and rough and warm, like honey on toast for breakfast. Vegeta nodded in return. And Zidane pulled the woman forth. 'This is my wife Yolona Gouzu.' The wife now hugged Vegeta too, and then they all looked expectantly at him.

'This is my wife…Cee-Cee,' Vegeta said eventually, and Zidane and Yolona descended upon her also, embracing her, and Yolona kissed her on each cheek. She almost unbalanced while she did so and spilled a bit of wine from her glass down Bulma's shoulder, to Bulma's dismay.

'Nice to meet you,' said Bulma as Zidane plucked his drunk wife back to his side.

'Gâtés told me of your conversation last night,' said Zidane, turning his attention back to Vegeta. 'I must say, I am both heartened and surprised on your feelings about trade between our planets.'

'I am a long way from the throne, yet,' said Vegeta. 'Perhaps you should reign in your excitement a little.'

Zidane bobbed his head from side to side in partial agreement. 'I would be most grateful if you could introduce the subject to your father though. After your adventures here I hope you can take some happy tales home to him. And I had some gifts for him and your mother too. Oh, and your grandfather as well.'

'Really?' said Vegeta. 'That is…most kind.'

'I'm hoping you can grease the wheels here, Doritoni. Though trade between our planets would be good in a few decades time, imagine how soon the benefits would be ours if we were trading within a few, short years!'

'Of course.'

Zidane and everyone else hung on, waiting for Vegeta to say something else, though he didn't. Bulma raised her brows and then smiled, deciding that Vegeta's taciturn manner was throwing a spanner in the works of this politician that was used to greased talkers, and that even if it wasn't on purpose it kept everyone else guessing.

Zidane looked rather uncomfortable for a moment and then changed course.

'But tonight is not for discussing trade and other dry things! It is for celebrating and to show gratitude! Doritoni, let me introduce you to Luisant Ètron, my campaign manager.'

Luisant was a bit tubby for a Grenouillean, and had a round, smiling face.

'A general?' asked Vegeta.

Luisant and Zidane laughed.

'Grenouillea hasn't been to war for nearly a hundred years,' said Zidane. 'I meant  _election_  campaign manager.'

'It does feel like a war at times, though,' said Luisant, grinning. 'Your confusion is understandable though – I hear you don't have much use for election campaign managers on L'Goonta?'

'No,' said Vegeta, and Bulma found his stony attitude quite amusing. She took another swig of her drink – she had no idea what it was, but it was very nice – and then Yolona reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her forward.

'Urgh! The men!' she said. 'It's always talk-talk about politics! All the time! So boring!'

'Oh, yeah,' said Bulma, although she would rather be listening to what the men were saying right now. Écume was craning over the two of them, cut off from the men's conversation by the President's wife grappling Bulma.

Yolona rolled her eyes. 'You come to these things, and you just have to hold out, saying "When will the dancing begin? When will the politics end!" Sometimes I don't know why I married him. You must know what I am talking about?'

Bulma frowned, trying to pull away from the woman. She was gripping her arm painfully tight.

'Not really.'

'Princess Cee-Cee is a newlywed, Lady Yolona,' said Écume, gently removing Yolona's arm from Bulma's and putting his own around the woman to support her.

Yolona snorted. 'I should hope so! She looks even younger than I was when I married! I thought maybe she was a child bride. Are you a child bride? Do they do that where you're from?'

'No, I wasn't,' said Bulma, the illusion that she was passing for older than she was shattering. 'I look older than I am.'

'I was going to say, it looks like your prince plucked you straight from the cradle, but he doesn't look any older himself. How adorable! You must've thought yourselves very much in love to commit yourselves so early.'

'Lady Yolona, perhaps you shouldn't tease the princess?' suggested Écume.

'I wasn't teasing her,' she objected and then turned back to Bulma. 'Was I? It was just sisterly bonding, from first lady to princess. I was very in love myself, once.'

Suddenly she reeled away from Écume and wrapped an arm around Zidane's neck, kissing him on the jaw. The men's' conversation halted as Zidane took his wife in his arms.

'Yolona,' he chided and kissed her on the lips. 'Why don't you go sit down?'

'I would rather dance.'

'Then go and dance,' he said, rolling her back out of his arms and towards Écume while the other men watched in bemusement.

Yolona moaned with disappointment and then grabbed Bulma's arm again. 'Come with me,' she ordered, but Bulma reached out and grabbed Vegeta's arm instead.

'No, thanks! I don't want to leave my husband.'

'But these men are no fun – he doesn't love you, he loves politics!'

Bulma shook the woman off. 'Of course he loves me,' she said and looked at Vegeta. He was eyeing Yolona with disgust. Suddenly Bulma was inspired to dart in and kiss him on the cheek. As a demonstration of their "love" though it failed spectacularly. Vegeta's eyes flew wide and he stepped away from her, glancing all around the group in embarrassment before turning his back on her and returning to the conversation Yolona had interrupted.

Bulma felt a prickling wash of mingled horror and disbelief pour over her, and Yolona chuckled.

'See the way things go?'

Feeling a hard blush coming on, and without even raising her eyes to Écume or Yolona, Bulma mumbled, 'I have to use the bathroom,' and hurried away.

As she crossed the floor she downed her drink and sent Vegeta a reproachful glance, but he was too deeply involved in his conversation to notice.

 _Oh my god, that dork!_  she thought to herself furiously _. Doesn't he know how embarrassing his reaction was? Not even for the sake of pretending to be a married couple could he just make like it was normal!_  She had wanted to surprise him at a moment when he couldn't show his surprise - she had thought that kissing him at that moment, when he would have no way to object to it, would be privately hilarious. Only actually he  _had_  objected, by being obviously  _repelled_ , and it humiliated her!

_And was it really so bad to be kissed by me? Jeez!_

Reaching the safety of the bathroom she went to shut herself in a stall but found that none of them had, or had ever had, a door.

_Perfect!_

* * *

'We see the advantage of democracy being that the right man is elected to the role, according to the people's wishes at the time,' Luisant postulated. Zidane had left them in favour of chatting up more VIP donors.

'I see the advantage of a monarchy that you have an individual trained for the job since birth, and with hundreds or thousands of years of breeding and family experience backing them,' Vegeta responded.

'Ah,' said Luisant. 'But if a president turns out to be the wrong choice or a bad choice, he will be elected out of office before too much damage is done. A king, you are stuck with for life.'

'A king who does a bad job will not remain alive for very long,' said Vegeta darkly, thinking of the long histories of Saiyan tribal chieftains and their frequent bloody depositions. 'Someone will relieve him of his duty sooner or later, and surely the threat of death is a good motivator to be strong and wise?'

'I don't doubt,' said Luisant, chuckling as if humouring a child. 'Still, we prefer our way. It has worked well for us since our independence ninety six years ago.'

Vegeta glowered at the man. His attitude was one of smugness and superiority, but if he remembered Zarbon's personal history correctly…

'Independence? That's a strange thing to call ditching your own royal family for the Cold Empire.'

Luisant's smugness evaporated into bluster.

'As a matter of fact, we are far more autonomous under Frieza than under the old Grenouillean Empire,' he retorted. 'And life is a lot more peaceful when we're not pursuing expansionist colonial wars for someone else's pocket.'

'No, that is what the PTO is for, isn't it? I can see you Grenouilleans prefer the quite life though. It's prosperous, I suppose.'

'Surely L'Goonta likes its quiet life too?' said Luisant. 'Or else why would they be hiding in plain sight, with their mouths shut and hands in their pockets to avoid Frieza's attention?'

Vegeta supposed that was true of L'Goonta, this place he had never been. 'We are not natural warriors like the Grenouilleans, though.'

'Oh, so you think that we "natural warriors" should be doing everyone else's fighting for them - pit ourselves against Frieza and the PTO and be destroyed for it? There had been  _enough_  Grenouillean blood spilt before our surrender, and our forefathers decided that that should be the end of it.'

'But it wasn't the last Grenouillean blood spilt, though, was it?' said Vegeta, enjoying needling the pompous man. 'I heard that when your royal family came here in exile you turned them over to Frieza, who killed them all except the youngest prince.'

Luisant's mouth hung open in shock.

'Where did you hear this, Prince Doritoni?' asked a voice from above his head. Vegeta turned and saw that Pétoncles Gâtés was behind him, leading another short, rotund alien to their group. Vegeta left a little jarred, wondering how long the Vice President had been lurking.

'There are still a few survivors from Grenouillea the first out there,' he told him.

'Well, they have been repeating baseless rumours to you,' said Luisant.

Pétoncles chuckled. 'There are very few of us left who remember those dark days now, Prince Doritoni,' he said. 'They were terrifying times. It's always possible that one day  _you_  will find yourself with the choice of surrender or extinction. Surrender looks pretty good at that point.'

Vegeta fell silent. His own father had chosen surrender, but Frieza had reneged and decided on extinction for the Saiyans anyway. Perhaps if he hadn't, Vegeta would be living this cosy life of thoughtless complacency instead of the purges, wars and missions that Frieza had chosen for him? Looking at it that way he was almost glad that Frieza had destroyed Planet Vegeta, because where was the honour in being a neutered people, pretending they weren't born to be warriors?

'Prince Doritoni,' said Pétoncles. 'I have someone I think you'll be interested to meet.' The small alien shuffled into the group, and pressed a squishy appendage to Vegeta's hand. He was orange all over and even wore an orange robe all the way to the floor, perhaps to hide the fact that he stood on tentacles rather than legs, judging by what peeked out from the bottom. He had two tentacles either side of his mouth too, and when he spoke his voice gurgled.

'I am Glalablou Lagou, Chief Executive of the Neaux Tech Corporation.'

'Well met, Glalaba…gulu,' said Vegeta, unable to get through the name.

The alien laughed. 'Glalablou Lagou, is rather a mouthful for someone unfamiliar with Gnolomonian names. Please call me Lagou.'

'Well met, Lagou.'

Lagou peered at Vegeta. It was hard to discern the alien's expression from his big black eyes and lack of eyebrows, but Vegeta felt he was being scrutinised. 'Do you remember me, Prince Doritoni?'

 _Oh, fuck_. 'No. Should I?'

'Perhaps not. I used to be the head of the Crytonian division of Neaux Tech, and I met you there once when you were a child. You were touring the planet with your parents.'

'Oh. No, I have no memory of that.'

Lagou stared at him another long moment and then made a flicking motion with his face tentacles. 'I could have sworn your hair was quite fair as a child.'

'It was,' said Vegeta. 'It darkened as I grew older.'

'Oh. I'm trying to remember what your mother looked like, but I have to say, you don't look much like your father. I remember him as being very tall.'

'Well, not all of us have the fortune to live up to our father's stature. I take after my mother.'

'Oh, quite. How are your parents, Quaveia and Rashun, then?'

This was the last thing Vegeta needed – to chat with someone who had a better knowledge of his cover story than he did. 'They are well, but please excuse me, I must use the facilities.'

He rushed away without another word. He needed to collect Bulma and Raditz and get out of here.

* * *

After Bulma had wasted as much time as she could moping in the bathroom she stepped out and saw that Vegeta and the president had moved on with the rotating floor. She meandered slowly amongst the guests, and took a fresh glass of wine from a passing waiter, more to keep her hands occupied than anything. She took a sip.  _Shouldn't have much more of that_ , she told herself. She already felt rather loose and giddy.

She caught a glimpse of Vegeta stalking through the crowd like a wolf through cattle and allowed herself a moment of admiration and annoyance before she stepped out of sight behind a knot of party goers. She didn't feel up to being civil to him right now.

Hungry again, she hunted down another serving staff with a tray of canapés, only when she got there they weren't canapés at all. It was a tray full of tiny ceramic pots with opalescent powder at the bottom. The man next to her took two.

'What is it?' she asked.

'Pixie dust, ma'am,' said the server.

'And what's Pixie Dust?' she asked more hesitantly.

'It'll make you fly,' said the server with a grin.

'Do I want one of these?' she asked the man next to her, but he was staring at her necklace. He looked quite stunned and didn't take his eyes from the stones as she spoke.

'Do you like the necklace?' she asked.

The man shook off his dumbfounded expression. 'Of course I like it. I bloody designed it!'

'Oh!' said Bulma. 'Well, it's fabulous! My husband bought it for me just today and I love it.' She laid her hand on the heavy thing and again couldn't believe Vegeta's freak out at her peck on the cheek.

'Thank you,' said the man, nodding his head stiffly. 'Are you from Spawn City?' he asked. 'Sorry, I don't recognise you from society circles.'

'No,' said Bulma. 'I'm Princess Cee-Cee from Planet L'Goonta.'

'Uh,' said the man. 'I didn't think the President could accept foreign campaign donations. Well…enjoy your jewellery, Princess.' And then he turned to go. Bulma felt vaguely affronted, but followed him at a distance. He was heading over to a buffet table, which seemed like a good idea to her. The man joined a woman and handed her one of the little bowls while Bulma stopped behind him to grab another toad brain whip to munch on.

'Have you met that Princess Cee-Cee?' he asked the woman, and Bulma's ears pricked up. He dipped his finger in his bowl and that rubbed it over the gums of his front teeth. The woman was doing the same.

'No,' his companion said. 'Which one is she?'

'The little, pale troll,' he said, and Bulma jumped with shock at the insult.

'Oh, you mean the one with the blue hair? Yes, I've  _seen_  her – who could not?'

'Urgh! Indeed! Did you see she was wearing one of  _my_  creations?'

'Oh, really?'

'You know, sometimes I wish I was able to sell them with an option to approve the buyer. I mean, it brings down the whole brand to have some hideous alien trollop wearing a signature piece.'

'Do you know,' said the woman. 'I actually found her dress offensive? If you have a body like that, the decent thing to do is cover the damn thing properly! All it does is provide fuel for the imaginations of perverts.'

'Exactly.'

Then the woman looked over the shoulder of her companion and saw Bulma's stunned face behind him. She was breathless with shock and couldn't say anything while the woman's surprise turned into a grin.

'Oh no! Look behind you! I think she heard us!'

The man wheeled around, and they both burst into giggles at the sight of Bulma's shattered ego.

'Oh dear, let's get out of here,' he said, towing the woman away into the crowd.

Bulma couldn't believe what she'd heard. She'd thought she'd looked more beautiful than she had in her whole life and they they'd thought she was a troll? In paranoia now, she looked left and right, seeing the strange looks people were giving her and reinterpreting them as disgust and shock. She felt like she might cry.

In a panic she fled back towards the toilets again, desperate not to shed a tear in front of these people and look like she cared what they thought, but the rotation of the building hid it from her again. She was getting frustrated when she ran straight into Écume.

'Princess,' he said. 'There you are! Come and dance.'

'Not right now,' she said, and her chin wobbled.

He frowned, and leant down, and grasped her shoulders, his pupils huge. 'Why Cee-Cee, what is wrong?'

'It's nothing!'

'Nonsense.'

Another man swept past and as he went his eyes raked down Bulma's torso and bulged slightly. 'Please,' she said, 'I just want to…find some peace and privacy for a moment.'

He swept her towards a booth, checking the first and rejecting it as gales of laughter emitted from it, and into the second, which was empty. He twitched the curtain closed behind them. There were two couches and a coffee table, which Bulma put her wine down on, but she remained standing, turning her back on Écume while she marshalled her face.

'Shall I find your husband?' he asked.

Bulma thought about it. 'No. I don't think he'd offer much comfort actually.'

Écume sighed. 'Is there anything at all that I can do?'

Bulma thought maybe there was. She turned around, and after a couple of breaths to make sure she wasn't going to dissolve into tears, she asked him, 'Tell me honestly, Secretary D'étang – do I look…ugly to you?'

'No!' he said. 'Far from it. And call me Écume, please.'

'Then why does everyone keep staring at me tonight?'

He smiled, his eyes shining. Bulma wondered what had happened to him since she'd seen him last, because he seemed oddly focused on her, his eyes staring and intent as if she were speaking the most fascinating words ever uttered. 'Yours is an unusual beauty for these parts.'

'Well that's not what the man that designed this necklace said. He said I was an ugly little troll, and his friend agreed. In fact she said that I…' she glanced down at her décolletage and covered it with her arms. 'She said that I…' Uh oh, she was going to cry. 'Should have covered up my body and that my dress was indecent and would attract perverts.'

'Oh, my dear Cee-Cee!' he gushed and took her wrists gently. 'How very cruel and narrow of them!'

'Narrow?' she asked, not sure if she was comfortable with Écume's close attention, although it did make her feel a bit better.

'The national character of the average Grenouillean is…a trifle myopic. It's not that we are xenophobic, it's more…that we tend to think that we are the ideal standard in all things. See?'

'So they think that I'm ugly compared to a Grenouillean?' she said, her eyes welling up. She was going to totally ruin her make up at this rate.

'Yes and no.'

'And what did she mean, that I would fuel the imagination of perverts?'

Ecume grinned, and pressed his lips to her hands for a moment. She noticed that he had a sprinkling of shiny Pixie Dust on his upper lip. 'All I can say is that, to a Grenouillean, with your soft features and small stature, you look like a child. However, your…proportions are somewhat extreme compared to the average Grenouillean woman's. The hour glass figure is almost unknown here, and those that have it tend to be seen mostly in niche adult entertainment markets.' His eyes dropped to the front of her dress. 'An oversized bust is rather a fetish…to some.'

Bulma blushed and pulled her hands free of his. 'You mean I look like a porn star?'

Ecume made a so-so face. 'A little. But no Grenouillean porn star ever looked like you.'

'Like a little girl, you mean?' she said, disgust drying up all her tears.

'Don't hate us for it,' Ecume said. 'It's only a clash of species perceptions. The more mature of us see past such unintended impressions.'

Bulma sat herself down in one of the couches and took up her wine, gulping from it to cover her anger at what he'd told her. Écume folded himself into the seat next to her, propping his head on his arm on the back of the couch.

'I take it that you're one of these more mature people?' she asked, subtly leaning away from him.

'I try. I happen to think you have a very pure kind of beauty.' She glanced up at him and was struck again by his seeming fascination with her. 'Tell me, how old  _are_  you, Princess?'

What had Vegeta said? 'Eighteen galactic years.'

Ecume's brows flicked up. 'That  _is_  young. That's the minimum age to marry on this planet, but I suppose we are looking at another difference of species. Did you and your husband know each other long before you married?'

Bulma wondered what she should say. She decided to stick to something close to the truth – after all, she had no deep knowledge of either Doritoni or Vegeta.

'No. In fact, it feels like we're only just getting to know one another now.'

Écume's face became sombre. 'I thought so. I couldn't help notice the moment you two had when meeting the President.'

Bulma felt the embarrassment of that moment all over again. 'I don't know what that was about.'

'Was it an arranged marriage?' he asked softly. 'I know they are common in parts of the galaxy, especially in royal families.'

Bulma was silent, not sure how to answer at all.

'I only ask because - forgive me for saying, and I could be wrong - you don't seem entirely happy together.'

Bulma felt a little sting at her pride for having her fake marriage questioned like this so she decided to go along with his assumption. 'Yes, it was arranged. We barely met before the wedding.'

'That's a tragedy,' he said.

'Why?' she asked.

'Because everyone deserves to experience passion and love,' he told her, his golden eyes hypnotic and unblinking in his yellow-green face. 'We Grenouilleans marry only for love. To us, it is the most powerful sensation, and our society spins on it.'

Bulma wondered if she'd ever been in love. Did what she felt for Yamcha count? It was quite a powerful sensation at times. 'The President's wife said she'd been in love  _once_ ,' said Bulma wryly, and sipped her wine. 'It seems like she was saying her love hadn't lasted forever.'

Ecume laughed. 'Love almost never lasts forever! And marriages rarely do either. For us, when the love is over, so is the marriage, and we move on to blessed peace and solitude and then hopefully new love. We follow love everywhere; in and out of marriage, and even between marriages. Yolona and Zidane have been married a few years and the joins are starting to show. She is his third wife, just as being politics is his third career.'

Bulma wasn't quite sure she liked the idea of love without loyalty. 'Are you married?'

'No. I have been married and divorced three times already, but I am still looking out for wife number four.'

'What is the point?' she asked. 'Why marry when they can walk out on you at any moment and everyone gets divorced? Do people cheat on one another?'

'Oh yes!' he said. 'All is fair in the pursuit of love, even to break other's hearts. But I think you will find that a universal, not unique to my people. That's why it's tragic to see someone with a husband that doesn't adore them. If they don't leave each other then all that can be theirs is illicit snatches of love. But if that's all they can have…' He lowered his arm across the back of the couch and traced his fingers over her bare shoulder. Bulma went rigid with alarm, only realising now as he shifted his weight closer to her that this was not just Grenouillean over-familiarity, but an honest attempt to seduce her. Still, for a second she couldn't tear her gaze away from those golden eyes. Part of her didn't believe that this much older man could possibly be making a pass at her.

'Princess Cee-Cee, let me show you how much more there is to our philosophy,' he breathed and took her free hand in his.

'No!' she said, pulling away from him and finding her hand clamped quite firmly in his.

Abruptly the curtain opened and Vegeta stepped inside, his anxious expression turning to wild eyed shock at what he saw. Guilt, relief and fear all leapt in Bulma at once.

'Vegeta!' she cried, and Écume instantly let go of her, turning to see who it was.

'Who? Oh, Prince Doritoni!' He shot to his feet. 'I was just comforting your wife – she was quite upset by some of the other guests.'

Vegeta stared, his shock turning to ice cold rage, his eyes flicking between Bulma and Écume, and she shivered.

'Doritoni,' she said, 'I'm so glad you're here,' and rushed to him, realising she had said his real name before and feeling like kicking herself. She placed a hand on his granite shoulder and tried to look him in the eye to silently plead with him not to do anything reckless, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her aside, looking past her at Écume.

'Get out,' he said.

Écume got to his feet and stumbled to the curtain with a smile, as if Vegeta wasn't staring daggers at him. 'Goodnight, your Highnesses!'

As soon as the curtain closed Vegeta turned on her.

'You said my name! I can't even get away with killing that cretin here, either!'

'I'm sorry! I was just so shocked to see you. I don't think he noticed anyway; I think he was high.'

'So is half the ballroom. And what was that about? What were you doing in here with him?' he barked at her.

His attitude angered her, and his hand on her waist felt heavy and unwelcome. She stepped back a little. 'What he said was true – some nasty people out there had a go at me, and he was cheering me up-'

'He had his hands on you!'

'I hadn't finished! He was cheering me up, but then he started to hit on me. As soon as I realised what he was doing was when  _you_  came in. Don't look at me like that! And what is it to you, anyway?'

'And what would have happened if I hadn't come in?'

'Probably I would have succeeded in getting off the couch and out the curtain! It's not like I wanted some old man to have a go at me!'  _A very good looking older man_ , she thought to herself in consolation.

'And why the hell would he be trying to "hit on you," as you say?'

'Because apparently love reigns supreme, here, and you made it obvious to everyone before that you don't love me.'

'How?'

'Oh, I don't know, Vegeta,' she said cuttingly. 'Maybe it was the way you practically freaked out when I pecked you on the cheek. I was trying to show everyone that you loved me at least a little, but instead you made me look like an idiot with a cold fish for a husband!'

'Well, guess what? I  _don't_  love you and I'm  _not_  your husband!' he hissed back and Bulma flushed in anger and, bizarrely, in rejection.

'Do you think I don't know that? I thought we were trying to act out this newlywed charade properly, and instead you go and make a real ham of it.'

He frowned at her for a cold moment. 'You're blaming this on me?'

'Absolutely!'

He shook his head at her, growling in exasperation. 'What should I have done, then? Just stood there and let you plant some intimate affection on me in public view?'

'That would have been an improvement, yes. And get over it! It's hardly intimate – the Grenouilleans were kissing everyone's cheeks tonight, not just their own spouse's!'

'I'm not going to lower myself to the level of these degenerates,' he said more calmly. 'Saiyans would never do something so nauseating in public.'

'You're ridiculous!' she told him. 'On my planet, kissing your partner on the cheek in public wouldn't be blinked at. Perhaps you should consider that  _your_  behaviour is the outlier here? It doesn't matter what the Saiyans may or may not have done; to convince  _these_  people we are a couple we must act at least partly like one of  _their_  couples.'

They stared each other down, tempers simmering to manageable levels.

He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose before speaking again. 'So I should let you kiss me in public?' he asked.

'Yes,' she replied primly. 'You could even kiss me back. Perhaps show a little enjoyment.'

Colour suffused his face and he looked down at the ground. 'I'm not sure I could do that.'

Bulma twisted her mouth in a bitter half-smile, caught between hurt that he was so against it and amusement as she saw an opportunity to torment him. 'Why not? There's nothing much to it,' she told him. 'You just need to practice your reaction.'

'What do you mean - practice?'

She put her hands on his shoulders and stepped forwards, but he grasped her by the hips, stopping her short of closing the gap between them, holding her firmly at bay. He didn't push her away though.

'Have you never been kissed before?' she asked, eager for the answer.

She saw several emotions flicker across his face, but he settled on irritation. 'That is neither here nor there.' She could see his jugular pounding in his neck and felt her own heart pick up the pace. 'Girl, what are you about to do?'

She grinned, delighting in his nervousness about something that to her was so easy.

'Hardly anything. Now just hold still…'

'Do  _not_  kiss me,' he said, stiffly.

'Why? Are you afraid of it?' she asked.

'Of course not!'

'Then why not?'

When he didn't come up with an answer she repeated her assertion.

'You have a fear of kissing, but that's what we need to overcome.'

'I am not afraid!' he whispered, but his eyes were dancing around her face now, to her lips and eyes and back again. She could tell he wanted her to.

'Okay then. Prove it. If you're not afraid you won't stop me.'

He didn't. She leant in very slowly and placed one chaste kiss on his cheek, watching as his eyes slid shut and feeling his breath on her cheek. His skin was warm and just a tiny bit rough with stubble, like any other boy. Then she kissed him on the other cheek too, taking her time. He was as still as stone other than his pounding heartbeat and shallow breaths, and he held her hips tightly. She lingered just an inch or so from his face, and as he opened his eyes again she said softly, 'You can kiss me on the mouth if you want. I'll let you.'

He stared into her eyes for a second, and at the sight of his consternation Bulma felt a roiling wave of desire rise up from nowhere and wash down her, making her tingle, and her knees went weak as it hit. The air between them was suddenly heated. She blushed then, finally feeling shame for her shameless invitation.

 _Go on, kiss me!_  she willed him silently.

However, she wasn't surprised when he pulled away from her. 'You're a meddling minx,' he told her, breathing hard. 'Come on – we need to find Raditz and get out of here. One of the guests may be suspicious of my identity.'

Bulma shook herself, then staggered a little, her head swimming a bit. 'Oh, and you were pissed at me for saying your name?'

'Mine couldn't be helped – yours could.'

* * *

The music was much louder now, and they found Raditz out in the crowd of dancers, sucking face and grinding against a Grenouillean woman. His hands were all over her, hitching her dress up her back and showing off her delicate thong to the rest of the room. Bulma was disgusted and Vegeta infuriated. However, it wasn't the worse display of unbridled lewdness on the dance floor.

'Captain! Captain Randy L'Cheez!' Vegeta shouted over the music.

Raditz didn't stir from his activity. Vegeta stepped in and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him off the woman.

'What? What? Oh, it's you,' said Raditz, swaying on his feet, his eyes staring. 'What's up your Highness?' With a shock, Bulma saw that the woman with the stunned-mullet expression was Nenufar. She draped herself back over Raditz's shoulder and trailed a hand down his chest. Raditz growled with appreciation.

'You're high!' Vegeta accused him.

Raditz snorted with laughter. 'So is everyone else! They were just handing it out – I was only blending into the crowd!'

'You fucking…Never mind! Come on, we're leaving.'

'What? No! Your Highness, please!'

'Yes, we are going, RIGHT NOW!'

'Can I take her with me?'

'What do you think? No!'

'Fuck!' Raditz turned to Nenufar. 'See you tomorrow, Doll, duty calls.'

'Oh!' she complained, and he pulled her in for another deep and sloppy kiss.

Bulma turned to Vegeta. 'A Saiyan in public,' she pointed out.

'It doesn't count – he's Raditz.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Oh thank god, we have actually made it to some actual physically intimate BV action! And they're on a slippery slope now...
> 
> So, I am thinking of doing something a bit different, and I need some volunteers from the crowd...
> 
> Since I started writing fan fiction some people have asked me if I write original work, because if they did they would read it - thanks fans :D I've just been asked again, which is what prompted me to write this little essay of an author's note. The thing is, I DO actually write original work, but I've never finished a single book. Part of the reason why, I think, is that I don't know hardly anyone who reads the type of stuff I love to write (mostly YA sci-fi and fantasy), and even if I did, in real life I am painfully shy of having other people read my work. No, it's at tragic levels! I have only let my husband read a few chapters of stuff in all the years I've been writing, and I was beside myself with embarrassment while he did so. NO ONE else has ever seen a word (part of the reason for writing a fan fiction in the first place was that I wanted to try exposing my writing to an audience, and because it was on the internet and anonymous it was a lot easier, but even still, I struggled to do it and nearly choked to death with excitement and embarrassment when people actually started reading and reviewing. It was a sweet learning experience). So, because of that complete lack of feedback and my tendency to lose faith in myself and my plots I have given up on each one with excuses and reasons for not finishing them. But this is kind of bullshit.
> 
> I'm starting to feel like I am sitting on horded treasure, and I'm kind of resenting myself for all the time I have spent on writing without following through to having a finished product and sharing it. I would of course like to get published, but even just to have shared something would be amazing. At the same time I think that with my fan fiction I have finally proved to myself that I CAN finish stories. Part of that impetus to keep going is definitely due to having readers who care about what I'm writing and are excited to see the next chapter - I know that during the writing of all my fan fictions (except Innocence, which was short and I wrote the whole thing before posting) I have reached points where I've lost faith in it, and would have been tempted to give up if I hadn't known that other people were demanding to see what happened next. And I start to see now that this is greatly an internal pattern for me, unrelated to the work to a large extent, because when I kept going with my fan fictions past the point of 'I'm not sure this plot point is the best decision,' and 'Surely anyone besides me would think this is boring?', I end up grabbing the spark again and I keep marching onwards, regaining my confidence and love for it all over again.
> 
> So what I want to know is, are any of you willing and eager to be test subjects for original work of mine? I want feedback. I might even ask for thorough and intense feedback if you indicate that you are willing to give it. And I need the encouragement to drag myself through the broken glass of my ego and self-doubt and keep writing (and maybe I've become such a review whore that I can't stand the thought of writing in isolation again? Fuck, I'm so needy). So, who is with me?
> 
> I haven't decided yet whether to post stuff on fiction press (fan fiction net's sister site) or do a mailing list where I send out links to files. Maybe I'll even do a closed-member page on Facebook or Google+. It might depend on how many people are interested. I also haven't decided which story to start with. I have a couple of candidates I am considering from my horde of started and abandoned projects - my oldest ever story, which I stopped writing because I convinced myself it was too derivative of other works and no one would be interested in publishing it (I would be interested in hearing other people's opinions on that), or my newest story, which is more original, but I haven't spent twenty years thinking about it. One involves dragons and the other, creepy magic. Both start out with main characters who are teenagers. In the dragon one the initial main character is a girl, and for the creepy magic one it's a boy.
> 
> What would you get out of it? Well, besides my gratitude, you'll get free stories, which I hope you will enjoy, and should I ever get anything published, your name in the acknowledgements section.
> 
> Anyone with me?


	32. Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey, thank you to everyone who was interested and encouraging about my original work! I got more volunteers that I can handle, and so I had to turn some people down, sorry.
> 
> This is a long chapter and it might have to keep you happy for a while because after this I've only get about a third of a chapter left of my chapter buffer. Hee. I'm also getting busy at work again.

Tarble awoke to someone's toes twitching and tickling him in the stomach. He lay there in the dark, the heavy curtains keeping out most of the light, but it was getting properly dark outside now, and he wondered if he should get up or try and sleep through the dark portion of the night. Perhaps it was best to lay low until Nappa actually came to get them. He had been furious when they returned that morning, having only just awoken to find them and the money gone. He'd been even less pleased when he heard that they had already handed the money to Raditz and Puar.

'Why didn't you fucking wake me up, Tarble? Who said you could just go outside and take over operations without asking? Why shouldn't I kick your ass right now for going around me? Why did you even need to leave the lodge? Hey? Answer me! And why are you soaking wet?'

Tarble had been mute throughout, wondering if he was brave enough to tell Nappa what had happened that morning and deciding he wasn't. He merely closed his eyes when a defied Nappa raised his fist to hit him. But Krillin had stayed the beating with a well-timed lie.

'Vegeta said to just let you sleep and Puar and Raditz could just meet us as we were awake.'

Nappa had frowned. 'Vegeta said that, did he? It doesn't sound like him.'

'Well what he actually said was that the grumpy, old fart needs his beauty sleep, but I was trying to be more polite than he was.'

'That ungrateful little shit,' muttered Nappa, his frown becoming surly. 'You should still have woken me, though!'

There'd be hell to pay when Nappa found out that Krillin lied, but in the meantime he'd let them be. Nappa had then headed with their remaining credit chip for food, and the boys had dragged themselves to bed to sleep from dark to dark. Goku and Krillin had been kind enough to ask Tarble if he wanted to stay in their room, which he had, wanting to avoid Nappa, and now he was top and tailing with them in the double bed. Gently he shifted the foot away from his stomach. It was a bit smelly and cramped, and his hand was throbbing like hell, but even with the prospect of a beating on the horizon, Tarble found he was not unhappy. He felt for the first time he was with people like himself, and they were looking out for each other.

* * *

Music was blaring out from the floors above as they stood out on the opera house terrace waiting for their escort to get their act together and bring the litter around. The sun had already gone down for the second time, and the short twilight was fading fast. Bulma was grinning at nothing and felt like she was floating on the currents of the thick evening air, tethered to the ground only by Vegeta's arm. Raditz shuffled from foot to foot, twitching his shoulders in time to the music and humming out of tune. It started to rain, big drops splattering on Bulma's naked shoulders and cleavage.

'Yuck!' she exclaimed.

'It's just  _water_ ,' Vegeta pointed out.

'Yes, and so it'll make me wet!'

Raditz stepped right up to her and leaned over her head, pushing her into Vegeta, arching his hands above them.

'What are you doing?' she asked, laughing at him.

'I'm being a parasol,' he told her, grinning goofily. 'Gotta keep the prince and princess dry and safe.' And then he lowered his arms and gave them both a squeeze. Bulma laughed again, her spirit soaring still from the high of kissing Vegeta on the cheek, and she was delighted to be crushed against him again for a moment.

'Stop that at once!' yelled Vegeta.

Raditz let go of him and stepped back, swaying a little. 'Don't be so uptight, Vegeta-'

In a moment too fast to follow, Vegeta had Raditz's hair braids in his fist and had pulled the tall man to his knees and grasped him by the throat.

'Careful, fool,' he said, his eyes darting about to see if anyone had overheard. There was no one close by, but a few people standing on the other end of the terrace stopped talking and were now staring.

'Let him go, you're making a scene,' Bulma whispered to Vegeta desperately, trying to pull him away but somehow ending up falling off her kitten heels and landing on her backside instead.

Vegeta let go of Raditz.

'You two are the ones making a scene,' he hissed at them. 'Get up, both of you!'

Raditz blinked and lowered his eyes.

'Sorry, Highness,' he said simply, springing up and nearly falling right back over again.

Vegeta yanked Bulma to her feet by her hands before dropping them again like they were hot. Then he turned his back on them both.

'Hey,' said Bulma. 'Why are you angry with  _me_?'

'Because  _you're_  drunk and  _he's_  high!' he replied.

'I'm not…' she started and trailed off. The world was spinning a little. 'Not  _that_  drunk.'

Vegeta only growled in reply.

* * *

On the trip back to the palace Raditz stroked the canopy of the litter with intense interest and nobody spoke. Once back in their rooms, Vegeta went straight to the bedroom and into the wardrobe to change for bed. Sighing, Bulma went into the bathroom to get changed and realised she still had the arduous task of removing the dress, make up and taking down her hair. She got out of the dress, falling and hitting the wall as she tried to step out of it, then hung it over the towel rail while she crouched down to undo the shoes. Pulling pins and clips out of her hair she groaned at her reflection – she wasn't nearly as polished looking as when she'd left the bathroom, with her mascara flaking and lipstick gone.

Now she was somewhere quiet and well lit and trying not to knock things over with her clumsy fingers, she had to admit that she was a bit toasted – more than she'd ever been before. It was not an unpleasant feeling, her senses sort of swimming and relaxed, but her heart didn't feel as buoyant as her body. Vegeta was in a bad mood, and he was angry with  _her_ , even.

As she finished cleaning up, an idea that might prove fun came to her, and she decapsulated her wardrobe (against the wall, and it made a hell of a racket) and took out her best panties and bra to put on. Then she wrapped a towel around her and grabbed her nightdress before stepping back into the bedroom. The lights were already out, and only the city lights shone in the open window, and Vegeta was in bed with his back to her.

'Vegeta?' she said softly. 'Are you asleep already?' When he didn't answer she said a bit louder, 'Vegeta, are you asleep?'

There was an irritated huff from the bed, and then a reply. 'If I had been, then by now I wouldn't be.'

'I knew you weren't asleep,' she said. 'I can tell when you are. By your breathing.'

'Is that so?'

'Yes.'

'Are you going to stand there yattering at me drunkenly all night?'

'No,' she told him. 'I'm going for a swim. Care to join me?'

'No.'

'Oh.' Crestfallen, she crossed the room and stepped out into the garden. 'Well, if you change your mind, you know where I am.'

'Try not to drown,' he told her. 'It would be difficult to explain to housekeeping.'

Sulking, Bulma headed to the pool and stood beside it, waiting to see if Vegeta would come out after all. When he didn't she decided to take her bra and panties off before getting in – no point in getting them wet if there was no one to be shy of. Stripping hurriedly she slid into the water - she was outside, in a city after all, and anyone with some binoculars or flying past could see her. She paddled around a bit doing an obligatory lap before just floating at the glass side of the pool, looking down and out at Spawn City. This place was a dream – a heady, disorientating dream, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to wake up.

To her partial disappointment and partial relief, Vegeta still didn't come out to play, and so she dragged herself out onto the tiles like a landed fish, and lazily rolled herself in the towel. She was nearly persuaded by the soporific warmth and the alcohol in her system to fall asleep on the patio, but the thought of housekeeping or Vegeta finding her like that got her to her feet, dressed and to bed.

* * *

Sometimes Vegeta felt like he was the only straight player in a pantomime of clowns. Everyone else crashed from point to point, reckless and heedless as they enjoyed themselves, and here he was, the lone voice of reason, the only one actually committed to getting things done, forgoing such hedonistic impulses so that  _one day_  he could make his life make a difference and become to most feared and powerful Saiyan there ever was!

He had lain awake, listening carefully to make sure he'd heard no sounds of drowning or other calamity outside in the pool, resenting her, resenting Raditz, resenting all the Grenouilleans and their stupid lifestyles. None of them knew what it was like to have a responsibility like he did, to his destiny, to his legacy!

He imagined he could still feel the touches of her lips on his cheeks where he'd kissed him, and in a fit of embarrassment and anger, he covered his head with his pillow. He had met her challenge, both desiring it and feeling himself above desire, but the result was a pleasure that burned at him, because he was not meant to feel this way about a _weak, non-Saiyan_  female.

 _I don't_ , he told himself.  _She practically forced herself on me, and I'm not used to such contact. I was just taken by surprise and this feeling will go away._

When she finally came to bed he rolled over, and when the scent of her damp skin rolled over him he bit the pillow to stop the anguish in his loins from becoming vocal.

_Stop it, for gods' sake!_

* * *

When Bulma woke in the morning, she had a headache, but didn't feel too bad overall. However, the sun was already high, and the sound of Vegeta eating his breakfast was what woke her.

'Hey, you didn't wait for me!' she complained as she made her way out in her robe. He was already dressed and did not look up as she joined him.

'I can't be expected to wait for a hung-over idiot.'

She glared back at him, tendrils of guilt adding heat to her temper. 'Are you still angry at me, Vegeta?'

His head shot up. 'Yes. I told you  _not_  to get drunk, but what did you do?'

'Oh, so sorry you couldn't maintain your absolute control over me!' she retorted.

'This isn't about control, this is about getting away with our  _lives!'_  he hissed at her, and she flinched, definitely feeling some remorse. 'Raditz, I've come to expect such boneheaded behaviour from, but I would have thought  _you_  had even more motivation to keep yourself alert and clear-headed enough to think on your feet.'

'But it wasn't like that!' she tried to defend herself. 'No one was asking me difficult questions; there was no need to be totally anal about it.'

'There could have been. At any moment. As it was, you got yourself in a difficult situation with that slime ball politician.'

Bulma felt herself turning red in shame. And she'd kissed  _Vegeta_  too. Would she have done that completely sober? Well…maybe. Was he angry about that too?

'I wasn't that drunk,' she said, starting to help herself to eggs and fruit. 'Only tipsy. And I didn't know I was getting drunk. I wouldn't have thought three, or, well, I guess three and a half drinks would make me drunk. I've never actually  _been_  drunk before.'

Vegeta sneered at her. 'And you thought you'd start in the middle of this situation?'

Bulma shrugged, lowering her eyes to her plate. Put this way, she'd been foolish, but she wasn't going to admit it.

'It won't happen again, and nothing bad came of it, so why make it such a drama?' she asked after a dejected silence. 'We've got stuff to do today, so I think you should just get over it and stop being such a grump. Besides, from what you told me, it sounds like it was  _you_  that stuffed up.'

Vegeta dropped his fork to the plate with a clatter and stormed off. Bulma ate the rest of her breakfast alone, feeling even worst for having that dig at him. He was right – yet again, she'd taken her eye off the prize and forgotten that not only their lives, but Earth was riding on their success. He had kept what was at stake in mind for both of them.

 _But wait a minute_ …That stuff about being more motivated to keep herself alert than Raditz – Vegeta didn't  _know_  what motivated her, did he? Other than her continued life – that was all she had bargained for with him on the ship the morning after the purge.

Finishing breakfast she threw on the dusky pink dress (which she had also bought with the silly cream one) and hunted him down in the lounge. He was watching fish in the aquarium.

'I have the same motivation for getting clear of this planet as Raditz does,' she said to his back. 'I don't know why you would think otherwise. All I want is to save my own skin, the same as he does. Well, I guess I want to save Krillin, Puar and Goku's too.'

He turned around, a nasty smile creeping across his face – one that she hadn't seen for a little while. 'Is that all? Are you sure you don't also want to get to Planet Namek and then usurp my wish right out from under me to save your precious kinsmen?'

Bulma felt the ground drop away from under her, and she grasped the corner of the aquarium to stop herself swaying. He knew! But how did he know? Did he just figure it out?

'That wasn't my plan,' she said, but she didn't sound very convincing, even to herself. 'Now that you mention it, it sounds like a good plan, but I made a promise to you that I wouldn't betray you.'

'You did,' he said. 'And I made a promise that I wouldn't kill you as long as you don't undermine me and show me loyalty.'

'And that's what I'll do!' she said, but he grinned and shook his head.

'That's not what I hear.'

Oh, god, he really did know! And Vegeta read the panic in her face and laughed.  _How could I have kissed this bastard last night?_ she castigated herself.

'I still need you to build a dragon radar,' he said. 'And if you're good after that, I'll keep you around, but only until the first hint of your planned treachery.'

She started to tremble; the fear of Vegeta that she had left behind came rushing to catch up with her.

He left her to contemplate his words for a while, until Puar and Raditz entered, and for the sake of getting on with things she put on her brave face.

* * *

'The earpieces are working again,' said Puar. 'I kept trying ours, and this morning I got hold of Tarble, so theirs is too.'

'That's a relief,' said Bulma. 'Are they all right?'

'Yes. They're fine.'

With the earpieces working again Vegeta decided to split the tasks.

'Raditz, you will go out and find more food to supply the ship and try and locate some armour and proper combat suits. Say it's for personal protection if they ask you why.'

'Oh,' said Raditz. He looked very dull eyed and tired this morning. 'Can't we all just stick together? I think we have enough time.'

'Why would you even care?'

Raditz shrugged uncomfortably. 'I was kind of hoping to see Nenufar today.'

'Well, then you're  _definitely_ going by yourself,' said Vegeta vindictively, and Raditz's face hardened with contained rage, and Bulma noted that she wasn't the only one being punished this morning.

Vegeta called Jervois and told him they wished to continue their errands and explorations today, and Jervois told them to come down to the lobby while he gathered their escort.

Bulma had tried to touch Vegeta as little as possible as she put his hair up. In the elevator on the way down she had backed away from him until she stood next to Puar, then took Puar's hand to give it a squeeze. Puar looked surprised, her concern showing openly on her pretty, tanned L'Goontian face, but then she squeezed Bulma's hand back and whispered, 'I think things are going to be okay.'

Bulma privately disagreed, but she hoped Puar was right.

In the lobby their escort was not quite ready. Jervois guided them into a waiting lounge off the side of the polished foyer. As soon as they stepped inside, the four gasped in shock, but then breathed out when they saw it was only a hologram. On a low pedestal in the corner was a life-sized hologram of Frieza standing next to a Grenouillean man.

'Urgh,' said Vegeta, but Bulma crept right up to it, towing Puar with her. It was the first good look she'd had of Frieza. He was only about the same size as her and Vegeta, and he looked tiny next to the strapping Grenouillean. His face was not threatening in a usual way –its shape was round and proportioned like a child's, button-nosed with pale mauve skin and large pink scales down either side. But his dark cherry lips and blood red eyes were both curved into a malicious smirk that Bulma was used to seeing – on the boy who stood behind her. She caught her breath as the words of the Vice President came to mind – one of Frieza's pets gone feral. Vegeta had been this monster's pet, or minion, or what have you, and had been with him since he was a little child…he had been raised by this guy! No wonder he was so ruthless! No wonder he wanted to rule the galaxy! He'd been moulded into Frieza's own image. Hadn't she said herself that he was just like that murdering son of a bitch? She'd been exaggerating, but…maybe it was no hyperbole to say so. Feeling the hair on the back of her neck raising she turned to see Vegeta glowering at her.

'What is so fascinating?' he asked.

'Just examining the face of my people's killer,' she answered.

'Is it even male?' asked Puar.

'No,' Vegeta replied. 'Frieza is neither male or female. His race is asexual.'

'Then why do you call it a "he"?' Puar asked.

'Because...' Vegeta had no answer.

'Because if there's only one sex, of course that means he's a he,' Raditz filled in for him.

'Why?' insisted Puar. 'Why not call it a she, or an "it"?'

'Yeah!' said Bulma. 'Can you explain your answer using logic, Raditz? I'm pretty sure that technically all asexual creatures are female – evolutionarily speaking, female is the original sex.'

Raditz gave her a seedy sneer. 'That is the most ridiculous crock I've ever heard.'

Nenufar entered at that moment, looking about as dull and lifeless and Raditz. She stopped and blinked at the sight of the tall Saiyan though, then looked around to take in the rest of the group.

'Oh, that's the hologram of Lord Frieza and the former President, Rabuzon. Lord Frieza honoured our planet with a visit about ten years ago,' she observed. 'I remember the occasion – it was quite exciting.'

'Not chilling?' asked Vegeta, and Nenufar's face got caught in something between amusement and disapproval.

'The escort is ready,' she told them instead of answering the question.

When they piled onto the litter, Raditz hung back.

'Is the captain not coming with us in the litter, today?' Nenufar asked.

'No,' Vegeta replied. 'He has errands – other supplies to purchase.'

'Oh,' said Nenufar. 'I'm sure one or two of the escort could provide him with guidance and assistance.'

'I'm sure they could,' said Vegeta, and made no indication as to whether he cared this happened or not. With a few last minute conferences with Captain Garbanzo, the litter took off towards their first destination.

* * *

Éclatant Jewellers was reportedly the best in the city, and Bezeera, the owner was the oldest and most unassuming Grenouillean she had met so far. He seemed honestly interested in the broken gem she had placed on his office table. Vegeta was in the main show room still, keeping Duvet and Nenufar occupied as he poured over the expensive trinkets.

'A replacement gem should be easy enough, assuming we have the variety in stock' he told her with a smile.

'Do you have a lot in stock?' she asked.

'Between us and our sister companies we have over five hundred varieties of gemstones and crystals in the city. I'm confident we can have one cut and set before tomorrow.'

'That's good,' she said with relief. 'I think we need to leave tomorrow morning.'

'Can I see the mount?' he asked.

Bulma hesitated before handing over Brolly's battered diadem. She'd had a brief glance inside and the innards looked simple enough, and not broken, beyond a few tiny bent wires and broken solders, which she was hopeful she could fix. But she wasn't sure what the jeweller would make of it if he found the opening behind the setting.

'This really has been in the wars,' he said, then held up the misshapen crown. 'It looks a little large to be yours,' he observed. 'Is it your husband's?'

'Yes,' she said, seeing no harm in saying so. Plenty of men here wore headgear, and this one was particularly masculine compared to the majority of Grenouillean diadems.

'We'll fit the stone for you too, and straighten this band if you like,' he offered. 'Can I let you know later today what the charge will be?'

'That should be fine,' she said. 'We're staying at the People's Palace.'

'Then I shall contact your Highness there.'

* * *

Next they went to find electronics. Bulma had trouble explaining what exactly was needed and why.

'You see, electronics is a bit of a hobby of mine,' she said. 'I just, you know, whip something up when I'm feeling creative. A bit like my water colour painting and my embroidery, you know?' Nenufar, Duvet and Garbanzo clearly didn't, but went along with it anyway.

Duvet had wasted some time taking them first to a consumer electronics retailer and then a general hardware store before she had made some calls and finally guided them to a wholesaler of components in an industrial area on the edge of the city. Nenufar appeared mortified that they would even have to see such a place.

'It is not set up for tourists and visitors,' she explained.

'That's fine,' Bulma replied, her excitement rising as she scented machine oil and silicon lubricant at the entrance to the warehouse. Before long, she had commandeered two salesmen who, once she'd broken through their immediate condescension due to her femaleness, proved to be excitable and knowledgeable on the uses of their wares. Bulma was able to recognise some things, but others needed to be pointed out to her as they came in forms or technologies she'd never seen before, and still others had to be explained to her from scratch. However, as her knowledge base was so solid, it never took her more than a few moments to assimilate the new information. She spend well over an hour collecting stuff, not only just for the radar, but just in case, and for fun as well. Who knew what she would need to make in the coming weeks, anyway? Vegeta and their escort were made to suffer in utter boredom, but Bulma couldn't feel too guilty about it; this was necessary.

She caught his eye as she looked back over her shoulder at the thought. He was watching her again with half-lidded eyes, ignoring the chatter of the others, leaning back against the edge of the service desk. Then he pushed himself away from it and stalked across the warehouse towards her. Bulma looked away, her feelings vacillating between happiness and horror at his attention to her. What her body and her mind told her was going on where two very different things.

'Are you having  _fun?_ ' he asked, gliding up behind her and looking over her shoulder. The softness of his low-pitched voice sent confused shivers down her spine.

'If I say yes are you going to demand I sober up and get serious?' she asked him.

He snorted. 'I'll allow it as long as you don't lose track of time or the situation.'

She shook her head, not sure if he was serious or joking. Either way, she wanted to laugh, but was scared to.

'How gracious, my  _Prince_ ,' she said instead, acid dripping from the words. He growled very quietly in her ear and then walked away again.

 _What the hell is going on?_ she asked herself.

Finally, her stomach rumbling for lunch, she called it done for now. She had collected three boxes of treasure, which Vegeta looked alarmed about, but when he paid, the total was less than three thousand credits, including delivery to their ship

After that unusual shopping trip, Vegeta capitulated to Nenufar on the lunch destination, and soon they found themselves on the top floor of a skyscraper at the 'most popular top restaurant in the city!'

Glass tables on glass plinths swept slowly across the terrace, a few inches in the air, as if on invisible arms. Vegeta and Bulma were seated at one table, Nenufar, Puar, Duvet and Garbanzo at the next, and their guard were left to stand around hungry.

'This is weird,' said Bulma, looking through the table and plinth at the floor gliding smoothly past below, then eyeing the approaching edge of the terrace. Even the chairs and utensils were made of glass, or something like it. 'It's kind of like a ferris wheel of tables, only sideways.'

'It's just another silly Grenouillean diversion,' said Vegeta. His mood hadn't improved much during the morning, but he no longer seemed as frightening. More unhappy. Bulma watched him look dully over the edge of the terrace and wondered if it was somehow something to do with her. Now that her terror had worn off a little, she reassessed the gleeful threats he had made this morning. He had been punishing both her and Raditz for their behaviour the night before – Raditz by cockblocking him, and her by scaring her. Would he really kill if she made a move against him? She didn't know any more. Yesterday she'd been sure he really liked her; now she wondered if she'd had the wrong end of the stick all along.

She looked at the tables on either side and judged that the distance between them was far enough that she could speak freely.

'Hey, Vegeta – what's wrong?'

He glanced back at her, his expression suspicious. 'Nothing is wrong, other than the  _entire state of the galaxy_.'

Bulma twitched her mouth and decided not to bother for now. Grumpy jerk. Their table breached the edge of the terrace as it slowly floated out over the edge of the city. Bulma felt a thrill of delight go through her that rapidly turned into nervousness and then anxiety as their floating island of glass table headed further and further from the shore of the restaurant.

'Oh, jeez,' she hissed. 'We really are very high!' The glass table and plinth allowed her see nothing but open air to the city streets below, and Vegeta before her like a sullen rock hanging in space. A flurry of warm breeze pushed against her, and she grabbed the edge of the table in panic. The plinth now seemed far too small. What if her chair slid backwards and off the edge? Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her and snorted, and then the waiter flew up to take their drinks orders.

Bulma flicked over either side of the menu one-handed but didn't take it in at all, and dropped the menu completely as another eddy of air passed them. 'You order for me, Doritoni,' she squeaked.

He did, and then laughed as the waiter left. Bulma's hands on the table were getting sweaty with fear. She was afraid that if a windy squall did come along she wouldn't be able to keep her grip and she whimpered.

'What is with this ridiculous display of fear?' Vegeta asked.

'It's not ridiculous for someone who can't fly!' she replied. 'I'm one gust of wind away from death!'

'Do you imagine I would let my dragonball hunter plunge to her death if I could help it?'

She took a moment from her fear to snarl at him. 'No, you are far too practical and self-serving for that, but you might just let me fall most of the way their first just to teach me a lesson I have already learnt!'

'Hmm. Clever of you to be one step ahead of me,' he said.

'You're still pissed at me,' she accused him bluntly. 'Why?'

The smirk faded from his face again. 'I have every right to be.'

'Why? Because I got a little bit drunk?'

'No,' he said, his face closing up again as he looked away again. 'Because of the way you behaved when drunk.'

'You mean kissing you on the cheek?' she said. 'That was  _nothing_.'

Vegeta retreated further into discomfort, pink colouring his cheeks a little, though from embarrassment or anger, Bulma wasn't sure. 'It would not have happened at all if you hadn't disinhibited yourself into idiocy.'

'Wouldn't it?' she challenged him. 'No, I think I would have done the same thing sober.'

He looked back at her in shock, his mouth open to tell her off or something but no sound came out, and now it was Bulma's turn to smirk, the death drop below her forgotten as she watched Vegeta squirm. The waiter delivered their juice and water and took their food order, and Bulma kept her eyes on Vegeta the whole time, feeling the threads of her control over him start to gather in her fingers again. She would jerk this puppet's strings,  _oh yes!_

'You know, Raditz once said you were a killjoy,' she told him, sipping her juice.

'Raditz is a rank bastard who shall get his come-uppence as soon we have some privacy and a wide open space!'

'But you  _are_  a killjoy,' she said archly.

'What joy have I killed? That idiot's desire to fuck any female he comes in contact with?'

Bulma remembered with a hint of shame that Raditz would have had her on that list too, but she kept at Vegeta. 'Not just his, but  _yours_  as well.'

'When?'

'You could have taken advantage of my offer last night, but you wouldn't; to spite me, you bit off your own nose.'

'Your offer?' he repeated. 'Do you mean…to  _kiss_ you on the _…?_ '

'Lips, yes. Too late now though – you'll have to make do with the memory of my kisses on your cheeks.'

He blinked at her, speechless for a moment, but then he recovered and laughed; a mean sound. 'You have a high opinion of your ability to bring joy to anyone,' he said. 'I didn't enjoy it at all.'

'Oh, you didn't?  _Right_.'

'Yes, right.' Vegeta rankled against her know-it-all tone, but inside his pulse was thundering about his body to deliver a confusing mix of fear, pleasure and dismay to every cell. She had an amazing ability to scoop beneath his words and thoughts to cause havoc directly with the feelings underneath. He thought he had dismissed her silly game last night. He thought that he'd gotten over the moment of peculiar vulnerability of letting a weakling touch two pink lips to his cheeks. As they spoke of it he could feel their touch all over again, burning on each cheek. He'd dismissed it all as the meaningless, misdirected lechery of a drunken alien girl. But she seemed to be saying that she would have done it anyway – why? Oh gods, she was so pretty sitting there with that sneer on her face, tempting him to kiss her and throttle her at the same time…Yes, he had crushed his own impulses, but not to spite her, but because the heat of his wanting her was  _wrong_ , and she was using it against him…Hell, what kind of game was she playing with him?

He kept silent out of confusion as their dishes were served, trying to think of some way to turn the tables again. Confronting her with his knowledge of her plans this morning had thrown her for a loop. He'd almost laughed to see fear of him return to her face after being missing so long. That was the way it should be, not the other way around. Well, no, he wasn't  _scared_  of her, but she did unnerve him.

There was one other way that he'd startled her before. It wasn't a great idea, but maybe he could knock her off centre now the same way again. He reached into his pantaloons pocket to pull out the small pouch.

Bulma was having trouble eating with one hand. Once Vegeta had fallen silent some of her attention was diverted back the deadly peril all around her, and so she gripped the table again

'Girl, give me your hand,' he said. Bulma looked up from the streets in shock – that was the last thing she'd expected to hear him say!

'Why?' she asked.

'Just do it,' he said, starting to smile. Fear zipped through her as she recognised that smile and this situation.

'Last time you asked me to do that, things went really badly for me,' she reminded him.

'This won't be like last time,' he said. 'I have something for you.'

Bulma glanced over at Puar and the others at the next table. Nenufar and Duvet were chatting loudly. Surely Vegeta wouldn't do anything too awful with them so close? She pushed her left hand across the table to him, and he took it, both his touch and his dark, triumphant expression sending shivers down her. With his other hand he produced a ring with a large, blue-green solitaire on it, and pushed it onto her ring finger. Bulma gasped in utter shock, feeling lightheaded; the moment was so out of joint with reality.

'What? What?' she whispered to herself, looking at the ring on her finger, her hand still clasped in his.

Then Vegeta started laughing.

'It doesn't take much to derail you, does it? Only the sight of a few tens of thousands of credits in sparkle and you're overcome. Petty female.'

Bulma pulled her hand away from his and gave him a reproachful glare. Of course, he was only taking an opportunity to tease her!

'Do you know what this means on my planet, Vegeta?' she asked.

'No,' he said, still chuckling. 'Should I?'

'I don't know,' she said. 'It depends on whether you mean to propose marriage to me or not.'

Vegeta's face froze for a second and then he roared with laughter, throwing back his head and laughing so hard that people all around the floating dining room started to look at him. Bulma watched him, torn between trying to maintain her annoyance and wanting to join in the laughter that was on her, apparently.

'The very idea!' he gasped out eventually. 'Ludicrous!'

'Hey, you'd be so lucky!' she told him. 'Why'd you give me a big, effing ring then?'

'After buying the necklace yesterday, it occurred to me that if we can convert our left over credit to something tangible that will hold its value, like gemstones, we might be able to convert it back into cash at a later date.'

'It's not much of a gift then, if you're going to take it back and sell it later,' she said, not impressed.

'It's not a gift. I'm just giving it to you for safe-keeping.'

'Yes, I am the  _obvious_  person to safeguard all our most ostentatious wealth,' she replied.

Vegeta curbed his merriment. 'You're a princess, so you may as well wear the jewels of one. And you did say you wanted a ring for that finger last night.'

Bulma let that pass. 'Why not just buy  _yourself_  some jewellery, then?'

Vegeta shrugged. 'This was extraordinary high value in a single stone. It's alexandrite. It changes colour depending on the light. It was red in the shop.  _Don't_  lose it.'

Bulma quickly examined the ring again. A precious stone  _indeed_. 'Well, good luck prying it from my hand when the time comes.'

Vegeta smiled back at her, balance apparently restored. 'Good luck stopping me.'

* * *

After their hair-raising, but rather tasty lunch they meandered back to the palace, and Bulma, Vegeta and Puar found themselves in the apartment with thankfully nothing to for the rest of the day. Vegeta rang the engineer and interrogated him about progress on the ship's repairs and Bulma packed up the precious clothes and jewels she'd strewn all over the bathroom the night before. Later, she and Puar then swam about in the pool to keep cool. Puar of course, could transform herself into swimwear, but Bulma went in with her underwear and nightdress on, in case Vegeta joined them - all her swagger from last night was gone and she felt shy and vulnerable. Eventually he did come out and swam in his black trunks rather than naked this time. Afterwards they lounged by the pool as the second dawn of the day broke. Wondering if she could soften him up, Bulma talked Vegeta into ordering them all cocktails, seeing as they had no one to see and nothing to do for the rest of the day. She watched him, looking for signs of murderousness or temper, but now there was only quiet contentment and friendly argumentativeness.

'What are you, too pure for alcohol, Vegeta?'

'No. But  _you've_  shown you can't hold your liquor.'

'Says who? And besides, one measly cocktail! If we're taking the Grenouilleans for a ride we may as well tack on a few bells and whistles where we can!'

Raditz returned, and was even more pissed off than when he'd left to find them all living the high life around the pool.

'I couldn't get any armour,' he told them. 'The sale of military grade armour to the public is illegal apparently. The stuff they did have was pretty useless, so I thought it wasn't worth it. I did get some sort of battle suits though. Not the same quality as we're used to. I doubt it's the same stretch, and it's a different fit, but yeah. What can you expect? These people don't even play violent sports. It's  _illegal!_  I did get some food supplies though and took them to the ship. Where's the vidlink unit? I'm going to order a fucking dozen of those cocktails.'

'These are  _virgin_  cocktails, Raditz,' Vegeta told him.

'Ha!' said Raditz. 'How appropriate.'

Vegeta growled and threw a fruit garnish at Raditz. He dodged, but the fruit was going so fast that it hit a plant pot and cracked it.

* * *

Raditz took a vidlink call on his way back from the door with a tray of assorted cocktails.

'It's for you, my Lady,' said Raditz, coming to out to the pool to get her. Bulma frowned and hurried to the vidlink unit, wondering why  _she_  would have a call.

'Princess Cee-Cee,' said Bezeera when she sat in front of the screen. 'Is your husband with you?'

Bulma glanced over at Vegeta who was in a sun lounger by the pool still. Raditz was stripping off to swim and she turned away. 'No. Why?'

'What I have to say may be of some sensitivity,' said the old jeweller. 'The stone you brought in is a synthetic one that is generally only used here in the manufacture of medical-aid jewellery.'

'Medical aid?' repeated Bulma.

'For the treatment of…mental disturbance and undesirable behaviour.'

Her mouth popped open, but she supposed that this was exactly what the crown had been designed for. 'Yes? And?' she asked.

'And I examined the setting, and although the design is very different from ones we produce, as far as I can tell, it is indeed some sort of behavioural modifying device. I'm sorry, but I must ask you, Princess – is this device used as part of a behavioural treatment for your husband?'

Bulma hesitated but decided that the best answer was: 'Yes.'

'Hmm. I can see now why you wanted the repair made so urgently. Does he know that he wears a behavioural modifier?'

'No,' she told him. 'He has no idea. He just thinks it's a crown.'

'Right,' said Bezeera. 'We also have many devices that hide their influence to the patient so as to prevent them removing or rejecting the device.'

'But can you  _fix_  it?' she asked.

'I've passed it on to Assura, the medical-aid branch of our company. They think they can fix it, and are currently doing so, but as the design of the internals is unfamiliar, and they're not sure what it was calibrated for, they would be more confident if you could bring your husband in for an assessment or get a trained mental professional's report, and we could provide you with a brand new one of our design that is guaranteed to work.'

'I can't,' she told him. There was no way they were getting Brolly out of the tank. 'He doesn't know…'

'Right, well, that's common. If you could describe his symptoms we should be able to give you something that would roughly work.'

Bulma supposed it was worth having a back-up, so she tried to call to mind all that she'd seen and heard about Brolly. 'I suppose his symptoms are…aggression, like  _extreme_  aggression. Hair trigger. Enjoys destroying things…'

'Yes, yes.'

'And when he gets emotional he reacts violently.'

'How violently?'

'Like, deadly violence.'

'Does he show remorse for the violent outbreaks?'

Bulma thought about it. 'No,' she guessed.

'Is he fearful? Show any concern for himself?'

'No,' she said, recalling how casual he'd been about proposing murdering all the rest of the crew and taking of, and about Raditz's tale of him destroying the planet then all stood on. 'Not at all.'

'Right. Sounds like a classic psychopath then.'

'I guess so,' she replied, becoming doubtful all over again about the wisdom of trying to save Brolly.

'Well, we can have both diadems ready for tomorrow morning. Will you come pick them up yourself?'

'Maybe. We might send our servant over instead.'

'Of course. I can understand how you might be reluctant to take your husband out in public at the moment. Please, stay safe, and remember that the police can help if the situation deteriorates,' he said, sympathetically. 'Good night, your Highness.'

'Wait a minute,' said Bulma. 'How many of these mental-medical-aids do you sell?'

'Oh, a great deal,' he said. 'It's estimated that around twenty percent of the population wear some kind of mood- or psychology-altering device. Aggressive individuals are court-ordered to wear them, but many don't even realise they're wearing them because the jewellery itself hides its true nature to them. To them, it's just jewellery that they love and don't want to take off.'

'Okay,' said Bulma. 'Right then.'

'I look forward to helping you out, your Highness.'

Bulma hung up and wandered back to the others.

'Did you know that twenty percent of this planet's population wear behavioural modifying devices?' she asked.

'What?' said Vegeta.

'Yeah, to control their aggressive and mental people. Half of that jewellery you see people wearing is mind-control wear!'

'What?' repeated Vegeta, obviously disgusted. Raditz made a face too, swimming up the side of the pool.

'They have that as well as towers?' asked Puar.

'What towers?' asked Bulma.

'The…A.I.R. towers,' said Puar. 'I heard of them at the police station.'

'What does that stand for?'

'I can't remember the first word,' said Puar. 'The something Impulse Repression Towers. What was it? The Ambigula?

'Amygdala?' said Bulma.

'Oh, yes! They have them all over the city. And when they break down there's lots of trouble.'

'What?' gasped Bulma.

'What does it mean?' asked Puar.

'It represses the part of the brain that angry and violent impulses spring from,' she told her.

Vegeta and Raditz recoiled.

'We need to get the hell off this planet!' said Vegeta.

'Holy crap, no wonder I've felt weird,' said Raditz. He swam over to his glass on the edge of the pool and took another swig.

Vegeta reached out and took a cocktail off the tray. 'This is alcoholic,' he said, before the glass was even to his lips.

'Yeah, and you know that either of us could drink the whole tray before we were buzzed, so just loosen up, your Highness.'

Vegeta glared at him, but took another sip. 'Do you want to know your smack-down tally, Raditz?'

Raditz down the rest of the glass and pushed himself away from the side of the pool.

'No - surprise me!'

* * *

After a lazy afternoon they took their time with dinner, Puar, Raditz and Vegeta all taking the time to order things they either especially liked or wanted to try.

Bulma ate slowly, barely listening to their conversation. If Vegeta knew that she and the others were going after the dragonballs on Namek, what would that mean? Would they even let them set foot on the surface? Would they use her to find the dragonballs but not allow them the chance of even getting close to using them? Find the balls and then kill her and Krillin? No, surely Vegeta wouldn't…or at least not if they didn't go around him, but they would have to eventually, one way or another. Wouldn't they? Or was there another way?

Raditz found some sports on the giant holographic screen, but Vegeta took over and put the news on, and before long Raditz was tired and yawning from the ten cocktails that he'd drunk. Unlike with Bulma last night, they'd hardly any effect on him. Raditz and Puar both drifted off back to their own apartment and Bulma carefully watched Vegeta from the corner of her eye, judging the moment.

'Even their news casts are self-involved and frivolous,' Vegeta complained, turning it off again. 'We should sleep anyway. We haven't had enough sleep lately.'

He stood and Bulma followed him without complaint. Vegeta stopped at the aquarium though.

'Did you see this?' he asked, pointing to a button on the wall opposite.

She shook her head. '"Push to feed the Harvest Mollusc",' she read from the plaque. 'What's that?'

'I don't know. Why don't you push it and find out?'

She pushed the button behind her and a sprinkle of tiny dead fish were dumped in the top of the tank. They watched them slowly sink, twirling through the water.

'Well, that was a bit of a let-down – oh, what the SHIT IS THAT?'

From a nest of seaweed a ball of red and orange fury shot out, unfurling into a thrashing mass of wiry tentacle and nothing more. It flicked and spun its way around the tank like a ninja on meth, snatching falling fish before a single one hit the sand, then shot back into its nest.

Vegeta and Bulma exchanged a glance of shock and laughed.

'I hope I never meet one in combat,' Vegeta joked.

'Yes, it was  _almost_  as scary as a Saiyan at dinner time,' Bulma replied.

'Just stay off the menu, and you'll be alright,' he told her, still grinning.

Once in the bedroom she went into the bathroom to change, and found that the silk nightie she had hung over the towel rail to dry was still damp, and she had to dig her childish long-sleeved cotton one out of her wardrobe capsule. Returning to the bedroom she found the bed side lights on and the windows blacked to shut out the night sun. Vegeta was sitting in bed reading something he'd taken from the bookshelf in the office, and Bulma was struck by what a banal scene this must look like from the outside. Little would the observer know that she was barely more than a hostage, but the scene and the moment with the Harvest Fish had calmed her. Now was the time.

'You know, Vegeta,' she said, climbing onto her side of the bed. 'I think we should renegotiate the terms of our agreement.'

He looked up from his book, immediately alert and suspicious. 'Is it that you don't like that I get to kill you if you try and steal things I've decided are mine? Because I won't be swayed on that one.'

She gave him a disgusted look in return. 'No, I don't like it, actually. You'll notice that  _my_  terms of the agreement don't state anywhere that I get to kill you for some kind of transgression, because I am an actual civilized person.'

He laughed. 'Just try and kill me. Go on. Right now.'

She glared at him, at his naked chest and the smooth pectorals, his heart just beneath his ribs, and was seriously tempted to try, even though she knew she couldn't, or rather especially because she knew she couldn't, at least not without poison or some fore planning. A cathartic attack on him might be fun knowing that she probably couldn't even scratch him, or it might just be humiliating. Anyway, that was  _his_  game, and she was here to play hers.

'No, I won't,' she told him. 'Anyway, that's not what I wanted to change. You see, if Namek's dragonballs are anything like Earth's, they're not a one-use thing.'

Vegeta listened to her, mildly disappointed that she hadn't attacked him when invited. He'd wanted to see what she would do. But then he forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying.

'If one of us makes a wish,' she continued, 'in a year's time the balls will be renewed and another wish can be made. See?'

'Hmm,' he mused. 'So you're saying you want to stay on Namek for a year and take the second wish?'

'No, that's not what I'm saying,' she said her expression turning slightly desperate. She crawled across the bedclothes, closer to him. 'Vegeta, I need the  _first_  wish. I want to bring people back to life, and the Earth dragonballs have a time limit on that. I can only assume the Namek ones have the same rule – that no one who has been dead longer than a year can be brought back to life! I can't wait for the second wish!'

'Neither can I,' he replied.

'You can,' she said. 'You've evaded Frieza this long!'

'By the skin of my teeth at times. No!'

'But my people!'

'I don't care about!'

Bulma sat back again, calculating. Well, she'd expected as much. Time to start laying cards on the table.

'I don't expect you to give the first wish up for nothing,' she said more calmly. 'I'll make it worth your while.'

Vegeta looked sceptical. 'How so?'

'You guys have a storage issue. If you let us make our wish first I'll give you some capsules.'

Vegeta laughed. 'You are joking, aren't you? A year spent languishing on an alien planet or dodging Frieza, waiting for some magic balls to ripen just for some measly capsules?'

Bulma considered her next move. She'd known he wouldn't settle for so cheap – she was merely opening negotiations. 'How about some capsules, and I'll work for free for you while you're waiting for the year to pass. You get Krillin and Goku too, on that deal.'

'I'm keeping Kakarott anyway – he's not yours to offer.'

'Huh. That's what  _you_  think. Well, anyway, a year of technical support. Access to whatever I invent in that time.' She felt this quite reasonable and was hopeful of acceptance, but Vegeta didn't even pause to consider. His eyes gleamed with a hint of his dark humour.

'No deal. And what makes you think I was going to let you go, anyway?'

Bulma felt a flicker of alarm, but then it stilled. She knew well enough by now which buttons to press with Vegeta.

'Oh, I had no idea you wanted to hang on to me so badly!'

As she expected, Vegeta was momentarily flummoxed. 'I don't,' he backtracked.

'Really? Then you'd let me go if I asked you to?' It was not a question she had wondered about, but now it had occurred to her she was  _very_  interested in the answer.

Vegeta had never considered it either. He took so long to ponder it that he had to look away from her, worried that his face was revealing too much of his confusion. Why didn't he have a short answer for this? No, he didn't want to let her go – she really was that useful, and more than that, she made things more interesting than they'd been in a long time. He would miss her, he realised – he had a heavy, burning feeling in his chest at the thought that she might want to leave him, and so he wanted to say no, she couldn't. But if he told her she couldn't leave she might turn that intelligence on her escape. She might become the danger to him he had feared she would be. Plus, if he told her now that she couldn't leave he would be contradicting what he'd said only a moment ago.

'If you want to leave after I have my wish, you may,' he said. 'It doesn't matter to me.'

'Oh. I see.'

He turned back to see her looking as confused as he felt. He wondered if maybe she wanted him to want her so that she could use herself as a more valuable bargaining chip. She probably could have if he'd told her the truth. The feeling in his chest lingered, turning into dragging disappointment with himself.

'Well,' she said primly after several moments of silence. 'What can I tempt you with? Some tech to help you train?'

'Doubtful,' he said. 'The wish is still the better bet.'

'Don't be so hasty! You don't know what I could come up with yet.'

'Like what?'

'Well, I haven't had time to think of any ideas yet, but I bet I could think of something really useful.'

Vegeta huffed. 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.'

'What about…two birds in the bush and one for right now?' She got to her knees and shuffled even nearer to him, and he looked up at her in surprise. She cocked her head in amusement.

'Skittish, are you?'

'Don't be absurd. I'm perfectly at ease.'

This made her smile widely. 'Okay, then.' Her hands went to the hem of her nightdress and inched it up her thighs. Vegeta frowned, immobilized by confusion, and not quite believing that she was actually doing what she seemed to be doing.

'What are you up to?' he asked. Even though she wasn't even revealing as much skin as she usually did when she wore shorts, there was something incredibly lewd about the smile she was giving him.

'I know,' she said, still grinning coyly. 'I've seen the way you've been looking at me. How about capsules, tech support, some kind of training aide and I'll let you  _see_  more of me.'

'What are you saying?' he spluttered in astonishment.

'I'll let you see me in my panties,' she said, raising an eyebrow and continuing to pull the hem higher, inch by inch.

Vegeta gasped, offended and insulted. Did she think him as vulgar and as cheap as she was? Did she think he was stupid to boot?

'You have a very high opinion of your assets,' he snarled. 'Do you think I'd be swayed by the sight of a nicely shaped pair of hips? There was plenty on display the other night, and even some on the street today, and I will remind you that I have  _already_  seen you in your "panties".'

This was true, yet Vegeta still couldn't tear his gaze from the hem of the nightgown where it hovered on the verge of revealing her crotch, so he missed Bulma's flush of embarrassment. She felt rather silly for hoping he would go for that. A panty viewing  _was_  rather cheap, after all, and though it might've worked to get a dragonball off a filthy old man, it was the lives of everyone on her planet she was negotiating for. Still, he had said she had nicely shaped hips, so it wasn't that he thought her unattractive. She wondered how far she'd go for her people – for her parents and friends and Yamcha. Further than this, surely?

'Well...what about more?' she said, her seductive tone from earlier faltering a little. 'I could take it  _all_  off for you.'

This had Vegeta's eyes darting all around her cotton-sheathed torso before they snapped onto to hers, and he turned red.

'No!'

She dropped her hem and sat down hard on her pillow, leaning against the headboard. 'Then what do I have to do?' she said, losing her cool. 'Name your price, Vegeta!'

Vegeta's frown turned incredulous and he sat up straighter, but he was not sure if it was to get closer to her or to prepare himself to flee as he thought of all the things she could offer him.  _Is this conversation really happening?_ he asked himself. 'What are you suggesting?' he said. 'Are you insinuating you would have  _sex_  with me in exchange for the wish?'

Bulma's eyes went wide. 'No, I wasn't!' she cried, and then completely changed her tone to one of meekness. 'W-why? Is that what it would take?'

He stared at her, outraged, shocked, and gods damn it, turned on because it was too late, he was already thinking about having sex with Bulma! He was alone in bed with Bulma, thinking about having sex with her!

'NO!' he shouted. 'And you are some kind of extraordinary reprobate to suggest such a thing!'

Bulma's face closed in with fury. 'I didn't say I  _wanted_  to!' she yelled right back. 'It was your idea! I was only asking what it would take to get the first shot at a wish!'

' _My_  idea? As if I'd come up with something so sordid.'

'Yes,  _your_  idea! You were the one that brought it up – you're the one with the dirty mind!' Then she growled at him through her teeth in temper, a sound that was not intimidating in the slightest. 'Just look at your face! There's absolutely no reason to look so grossed out by the thought. Jeez!' Then she angrily pulled aside the sheet and threw herself into bed, turning her back on him and reaching for the light switch.

As the room fell into darkness Vegeta was still frozen, angry and embarrassed by their conversation. And while he felt he was within rights to be angry at her, he also felt she had none to be angry at him, and the imbalance bothered him. After a couple of minutes he started to talk, but had to stop to clear his throat.

'I just misunderstood you, is all,' he pointed out. 'Your line of negotiating was certainly getting very...sexual. Offering yourself to me was just the next logical step as I saw it.'

'Huh,' she said doubtfully.

'And I'm...sorry if, in that misunderstanding, I offended you, though I must point out that you offended me first.'

'Did I now?' she snapped, but then had another abrupt change of direction. 'Wait, did you just say sorry?'

'Yes. And now I am waiting for your apology.'

' _My_  apology?' she said, and then chuckled. 'Vegeta - think about how far you'd go for  _your_  wish. Any unpleasant thing that would get me to my wish – I would do it and I won't apologise for it.'

'And I am one of the unpleasant things?' he said, shocked anew. So, she didn't even want him? Yet she would have...

She laughed again, a grim, mean snigger. 'Look who's upset  _now_  by the thought of not being wanted,' she said.

Vegeta felt a pang of hurt and kept very still while he digested the unfamiliar feelings. He had never, ever wondered if anyone found him attractive before yesterday – there had been no need, and if he thought of it at all it was to assume that when the time came he would be up to the task of holding a female's interest. After all, he  _was_  a prince. Okay, he was short, and yes, wherever they went Raditz got more attention than he did, but Raditz also courted attention, so he'd assumed that was the difference. But now it seemed very important that Bulma find him attractive. And why was that? That didn't even make sense! Now was definitely  _not_  the time, and she was definitely  _not_  the female he needed to impress. Still, it seemed important because otherwise he wouldn't be feeling this... _dejection_.

Bulma was doing her own soul searching during his silence. With her last dig she had just unwittingly admitted her own hurt by his reaction as well as nailing his. She'd felt panicked when she thought she might have to sleep with him for a second, but now that she'd stepped back from that she admitted it was not a wholly unattractive idea. It was kind of ridiculous for the two of them lying there furious at the other, and for what? For not wanting the other, when their anger only revealed that they perhaps did? She cringed. How did she end up wanting him? Wasn't she doing this in part to save Yamcha?

She tried to bring her boyfriend to mind, but though she could hear his voice and see his face in her mind's eye, recalled his laugh and his kisses…she felt guilty when she did.

Pushing him out of her mind for now, she thought back over the last two days with Vegeta. She had rather enjoyed parts of it. Not being threatened again this morning, but that was in way of punishment….and now she wondered if it was because he was angry at her for making light of his feelings with those kisses. His uneven and abrasive behaviour had only amused her last night, and their lunch had been almost a delight today. She checked the ring was still on her finger and wondered if she should move it to the other hand before Krillin and Puar saw, though for now she was enjoying the illusion of having an amazing engagement ring on her finger. She had even enjoyed the novelty of being on Vegeta's arm – he actually had looked so handsome in all his Grenouillean clothes that she couldn't stop admiring him. When she'd seen him from a distance she'd felt a rush of...something to see him in his beautiful clothes. She had actually felt some pride that he was her fake husband for a few days. Maybe he didn't look exactly like the prince of her childhood daydreams – not many girls would envision a man so short, and not even the sophisticated couture could hide his dangerous personality. He walked like someone ready for violence at any moment. It didn't stop her finding him attractive though – even wild hawks and wolves could be beautiful, couldn't they? And perhaps even more so than tame ones because they were free.

She pondered that for a while. It was the same urge she felt to touch Vegeta as she would to stroke the fur of a beautiful, wild carnivore. She knew that was a foolish thing to want to do, but despite his untamed nature,  _dangerousness_  was not his only quality. He was also often thoughtful and quiet, and even playful and funny. He was also shy and awkward and easily embarrassed. It delighted her to uncover these ordinary parts of him. The kisses had been part of that – she had been troublemaking, playing with crossing Vegeta's boundaries in a setting he couldn't object too strongly in, but she couldn't deny the thrill she'd felt when she'd forced them on him. Why couldn't things always be like that between them? Even the offer to show him her panties was really motivated by her troublemaking as much as a serious attempt at negotiating. She wanted to tease Vegeta because he was so uptight, but instead she'd ended up with this mess.

She rolled over and could just make him out, sitting up still looking down in his lap. She decided he looked sad.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

'Nothing,' he replied sullenly.

She watched him for a long time, wondering how to phrase what she wanted to say. He turned his head in the dark.

'What is so very interesting about me that you must keep staring?' he asked.

Bulma bit her lip to hold in a giggle. 'There are lots of interesting things about you, Vegeta.'

He looked down at her suspiciously. 'Such as?'

'Oh, lots and lots – where would I begin? A few of them are even nice things.'

' _Nice?_ ' he choked.

'Yeah. Like your face, when you don't look ready to kill someone.'

'Nice?' he repeated, clearly not heartened.

'Okay,' she said preparing to push the boat out a little further. 'I think you're handsome. I said it before, and I'm saying it again. Don't let it go to your head though. You're still a horrible person,' she finished lightly.

He snorted. 'Good. You're still an idiot.' But he seemed placated enough and lay down under the sheet, settling his head in the pillow.

'Hey, you could be a bit more gracious, you know. I just paid you a compliment,' she complained, though her heart wasn't in it.

'You want me to tell you how beautiful you are in return? How I didn't want to let you out of my sight last night for fear of one of those dandy frogs getting their hands all over you?'

'What, really?' Bulma gasped, completely taken aback.

Vegeta burst out laughing. 'You really are an idiot!'

'Huh!' she said, but her annoyance evaporated almost instantly and heat spread over her cheeks. It wasn't embarrassment that for a second she had believed him, it was a whole confusion of feelings because even though he had made it a joke, the specificity of his comment made her think there was some truth behind it. It made her happy, and it made her uncomfortable because it made her happy. It made her close her eyes in the dark and think about kissing the boy that lay next to her again; made her conjure up new scenarios where the Secretary of Foreign Affairs had done more than just stroke her shoulder and hold her hand, and Vegeta had sprung to her rescue, ejecting the lecherous old man before gathering her to his chest as he kissed her passionately – his reticence overcome by his feelings for her.

But that was ridiculous, she reminded herself. Vegeta was no lover. She doubted his feelings ever ran so poetic. He was even less likely to do something of that kind than he was of giving her the first wish in exchange for sex. Funny how he'd immediately thought of that, but then violently rejected the idea...almost like it was on his mind. And now it was on hers. If he'd said 'Yes, sleeping with me is what it would take to get the wish,' what would she have done? Would she have said yes?

 _Okay, Vegeta_ , she imagined herself whispering shyly.  _But you must be gentle! It's my first time. I'm doing this for my planet, but I think we could both enjoy this, don't you?_  And then she would lift her nightdress up over her head, and Vegeta stare at her naked body and touch her with uncertain hands, panting with excitement as he laid her down on the pillows...

 _Oh god, these are not the right thoughts to be having about Vegeta, especially while I'm lying right next to him, supposed to be going to sleep!_  The idea of him wanting her was so seductive though. It filled her with illicit thrill to imagine him full of lust for her.  _Urgh! Remember Yamcha?_ she scolded herself, but it didn't work. Yamcha already seemed so long ago and far away, whereas Vegeta she only had to reach out across the mattress to.

Vegeta lay awake also, his thoughts not a million miles from her own. He felt totally uncomfortable in bed next to her after their conversation. He had a feeling he had given away far too much. Everything became a game with her, and he fell right into her silliness by trying to beat her at it. Even when she'd told him he was handsome and he'd been so happy to hear it, somehow it felt like he'd lost a point. Wishes, compliments, sex...damn, how long had he been holding that thought off, only to have her insert it right into his brain under circumstances that couldn't be more ideal? If he were Raditz he would have pursued that line for sure. He'd be having sex right now! But he wasn't Raditz, and so he lay there, glad he was lying on his side so that she couldn't see his erection pitching a tent under the sheet. Wouldn't that just make her crow to see how much she was winning with her teasing and bargaining and "compliments"?

Was she really that wanton? It made him feel like a child that she could suggest something like that, and that was one part of her game that he couldn't beat her at unless he wanted to forget about his desire to remain pure until he found a Saiyan female. If he  _ever_  found a Saiyan female. It wasn't fair! If the Saiyan race hadn't been almost wiped out he wouldn't be a sexual innocent right now, powerless to put aside his desire for this beautiful Earthling. Yes, he had admitted to himself that she was beautiful, that she filled him with curiosity, and that he couldn't get enough of her scent...

Now he noticed that her scent was changing. It was deepening, getting stronger and warmer, a pheromone-laden incense crossing the bed, climbing up his nose and down his throat to his stomach where it pulled at him – a fluttering and yearning need to go over there and bury himself in it. In her! Why was she doing this to him? How?

Suddenly Bulma got up from the bed.

'Where are you going?' he asked.

She stopped by the door. 'Um...I'm going to go sleep on the couch.'

'Why?'

She bit her lip. 'Do I need to give you a reason for everything?' she said.

This was puzzling, and yet it was probably for the best. 'It was you who said it was silly to sleep on the couch when there was such a large bed, but suit yourself.'

'I will,' she said, and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Vegeta lay awake for a while longer, but sleep wouldn't come. He felt hot, even in the air conditioned room and decided to open the window. When he got to the threshold though he was inspired to walk out into the humid warmth of the garden and breathe in the mossy air there before creeping under the bower and making his way to the pool. The lounge windows were shut, so he shed his shorts and slipped into the water, hoping the cool would bring him calm. It seemed to work at first, but all it took was an errant thought of Bulma stepping outside and catching him and he was hard all over again; the motion of the water then became more antagonist than soother. What if she did wander out? Could he entice her into the water as well? The first night here she wouldn't, but tonight was different. He could too clearly imagine their bodies sliding past one another, slippery in the water as they swam…

Throbbing with need for release, he climbed out and darted to the cover of the bower. There in the deep shadows, hidden from all in the city and the lounge window, he beat the lust out of his body with frantic strokes, and couldn't keep the images of Bulma out of his mind while he did. Her scent, the feel of her skin, the way he imagined it would feel to cover her body with his…He tried not to think of her, but she was all that was on his mind.

Afterwards he sat for a long time contemplating the shame the girl brought him to.  _Wanking in the flower bushes to thoughts of her!_  He cringed, glad no one could see him now, and hoping that the dead couldn't watch from Hell. How had he become so obsessed with an alien girl? He shouldn't be capable of it. He should be above it! Those other times when he'd seen pretty girls, they'd been easy to ignore even when Nappa and Raditz were ravenous for flesh. He had let  _one_  female into his life and now she was corrupting him with want.

What should he do? Should he get rid of her? He didn't want to. He'd made a promise to himself. And he needed her, at least for now. Even the thought of leaving her behind somewhere when they were done with the dragonballs made him feel anxious and desperate; everything wound tight in his chest.

But what had Nappa said? The feelings were a trap. Use her and then say goodbye. If Nappa could do it, by the gods,  _Vegeta_  could do it! These feelings must be in some way false or temporary. There must be a way to get over them and her.

Sighing, he put his boxers on and headed back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Woah, Veggie, things are getting a little beyond your powers of repression and self-denial, huh?


	33. Taking the Bait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So I've been gone a while...unfortunately not doing a hell of a lot of writing of any kind. Just being overwhelmed with work and my new duties in a volunteer-run society (why did I volunteer?) and other things, some fun, some not. Anyway, I did write one chapter, but when it came time to send it to beta I realised it was about 20,000 words long, so I've decided to chop it into 3 because personally, as a reader I dislike chapters over about 10,000 words on this website and others because you end up scrolling forever at it's easy to lose your place. So you get three chapters for the price of one! and because they are kind of one chapter in terms of flow, I will be posting them close together, like one every two days or something.
> 
> Thank you again to my beta Adli, who is betaing for me even as she prepares the nursery for the coming baby-Adli!

Bulma woke too early due to the light of the overcast day dawning outside, and covered her head with an expensive looking table runner from the side board in order to reach blissful sleep once more. When she woke again she lay there thinking for a long time before staggering to the bathroom, surprising Vegeta, who was just getting out of bed. They stared at each other a moment.

'Hi,' she said. 'I have to use the bathroom.'

'Don't let me stop you,' he replied. She didn't, and when she came back out he was dressed already, leaning against the edge of the open window, watching the breakfast crew setting up on the terrace again.

'I can't decide if you ordering all our food is a sweet gesture or an expression of your control issues,' Bulma said as she approached him.

'You wouldn't know what to order anyway,' he said, without turning.

'Perhaps,' she conceded. 'Did you order any toad brains by any chance?'

'For me, not for you.'

She sidled up to the other side of the open window and eyed him surreptitiously. His hair was standing up straight again and he was studiously not looking in her direction. Her stomach gave a suspiciously giddy swoop.

'You won't share?'

He pressed his lips together and glanced at her. 'I might.'

The housekeeping staff left and they sat down to eat in silence at first.  _Well, this is awkward_. Bulma had been thinking over their conversation of the night before, all aspects of it, and decided that there were still pressing issues that needed clearing up.

'Are those the toad brains?' she said as he scooped up some pale goop on his fork.

'I think so,' he said, pausing with the fork halfway to his mouth.

'Can I try some?'

He hesitated and then grudgingly offered his fork to her. She ate the morsel off the prongs, looking into his eyes, so lost in the gratifying expression of confusion she saw there that she almost didn't register the taste of the food.

'Mmmm,' she said, more for effect than because it was tasty.

'You like toad brains?'

'Yes.'

He tried some himself. 'I suppose they are not bad,' he said, loading a third forkful.

'Can I have some more?'

Again he hesitated, but he inclined his fork towards her, blushing this time. Bulma put her hand on his to steady it – or that was the excuse anyway, and he flinched, almost dropping the fork.

'It's like you want to steal the food right out of my mouth,' he grumbled after she sat back again.

 _But you're still giving it to me_ , Bulma crowed silently and then steeled herself for battle once more.

'Vegeta,' she said. 'Do you think that if Krillin and Goku and I actually went up against you, that we would win?'

Vegeta gave a short bark of laughter. 'No!'

'Then what is the point of threatening to kill us if we go against you on Namek?'

Vegeta frowned. 'Because you would have defied me,' he said, his quiet mood evaporating somewhat.

'Is that  _really_  a proper reason to  _kill_  someone?' she said more harshly.

'Yes,' he replied.

Bulma stared back at his hard expression. What was it with him and obedience? Was this another thing that he'd picked up from Frieza? Well, she'd half expected a response like this and was prepared. 'Would it be defiance if we told you we were going to do it and you let us?'

'And why the hell would I do that?'

'Because we are no threat to you, as you say.'

Vegeta scoffed. 'That's true, but I'd rather not take the risk.'

'Then we  _are_  a threat to you?'

'No!'

'Then what's the risk?'

'It's a  _small_  risk, but a risk none the less.'

'Oh, come on!' said Bulma. 'You, Nappa and Raditz against us three? Not to mention Tarble and Brolly! How would we ever win against you guys?'

Vegeta looked like he was considering it for a second, and then his expression turned sly. 'What are you suggesting, Girl?'

'That you don't kill us for trying,' she said, lightly. She felt a little funny saying it, and was kind of mortified that she  _had_  to say it. Any guy she fancied should surely not be considering killing her for any reason, and she was banking on a hope that under his threat, Vegeta didn't  _really_  want to. How could someone who flirted so awkwardly with her think about ending her life?

'For you guys, finding the dragonballs will be child's play, especially after I've built some more radars,' she said. 'Think of competing with us as an added challenge to make it more interesting.'

His gaze sharpened. 'Interesting?'

'Like a game, maybe?'

The hard, malicious smile was back; the evil on his face alarming her for a second, and she had the sudden sense that this gambit might backfire on her, even though she had reasoned that her suggestion to him could only be of benefit and things would be no worse if he disagreed.

'Everything is a game with you,' he said.

'Is that…agreement?'

'No.'

'A maybe, then?'

She could get nothing more out of him. Raditz and Puar came over after they'd finished their own breakfast and Vegeta phoned the engineer. The ship would be ready in two or three hours. Bulma called Bezeera, the jeweller and he confirmed that the crown had been repaired and a Grenouillean back-up was standing by. After she hung up, Bulma asked if they would go down to collect it or just send Raditz.

'We'll just send Raditz,' Vegeta decided. 'Waiting for the escort tag-alongs is tiresome and slow. We'll wait here, pack and be ready to leave as soon as he gets back.'

Puar went to gather the few things that they had in the other apartment and Bulma packed up all their things from this apartment, plus a few extra things she thought might be useful or nice, like the exotic shampoos and the left over plum brandy. Raditz hadn't been gone an hour when there was a chime from the door. Frowning, Vegeta went to open it and found Jervois standing outside.

'What is it?' asked Vegeta.

Jervois wasn't wearing his usual beatific smile. 'I come to ask the whereabouts of your Captain, your Highness,' he said.

'Why?' barked Vegeta, feeling bad news was coming.

Jervois made a rueful face. 'I'm sure it's only a misunderstanding or case of mistaken identity, but the police have been in contact with the Palace, and apparently they have a warrant for the arrest of your own Captain L'Cheez.'

Vegeta turned to stone for a second and then forced himself to go on breathing normally. What would the real Prince Doritoni do in this situation?

'I'm sure it  _must_  be a mistake,' he said.

'It must be,' agreed Jervois. 'Especially considering the charges; abducting minors, subverting minors, running a crime syndicate and injuring a police officer with intent. The idea that your Captain could even have fit all that in since arriving here is ludicrous! I'm sure after a few questions it will all blow over. So, is the Captain here right now?' Jervois asked.

'No. He's running an errand.'

'That could be just as well. The matter has been referred to palace security to investigate and they'll report to the police if there is any connection between your Captain and the person they're seeking, which  _we_  know there isn't. Even if there is, small matters of transgression are covered by diplomatic immunity, should the stay be brief.'

'We will be leaving today, so it will be.'

'Oh!' he exclaimed. 'That  _is_  short. Of course, the security team are just checking now to see if your visit falls under the umbrella of diplomacy. I'm sure everything will be fine, one way or the other.'

'Of course. Thank you for letting me know.'

As soon as he was gone, Vegeta spoke up to Raditz through the earpiece.

'Did you catch that, you moron?'

'Ah, part of it,' Raditz replied.

'How did the police even know who to hunt down?' he snapped at him.

'I showed them my fake ID?' said Raditz.

' _What?_ '

'I needed some form of ID! What was I supposed to do? I didn't have any other!'

'I don't know, perhaps  _not show an ID that will lead right back to us?_ '

'Don't blame me! Blame those little fools who got themselves arrested so me and Puar had to rescue them in the first place!'

Vegeta growled loudly, causing Bulma to come running into the room to find out what was going on.

'Where are you?' Vegeta demanded of Raditz.

'Almost back at the palace.'

'Don't come back! Go make sure Nappa and the brats are ready to go and meet us at the ship.'

'Okay. And I'm sorry, Vegeta – I didn't mean for that to happen.'

'Didn't  _think_  of it, more like!'

Vegeta explained what had happened to Bulma, who looked concerned.

'I hope we don't have trouble getting out of this place,' she said. 'Do you think we have to check out, like from a hotel?'

'I have no idea,' Vegeta replied.

'Do you think they'll insist on sending an escort with us again?'

'Most likely.'

'Great,' she said sullenly. 'I just want to get out of here already! I'm worried that at any moment they're going to get a reply from L'Goonta. Any idea what that reply might say, by the way?'

Vegeta shrugged. 'The Goontians probably only know that the Prince and Princess are missing. Depending on the content of the reply, we're not automatically doomed. I doubt the response will arrive until the afternoon anyway.'

She sank onto the couch with her wilted-flower-pink dress on. He sat slowly next to her - not too close - and took his earpiece out for now, turning it off. Her arms and shoulders were bare, which he somehow liked, even though it showed off just how soft and weak she was. This was a good moment to pick - no one else around and nothing else to do for a little while.

She turned to him, suspicious of his sudden quiet. 'When shall we go, then, if we're not waiting for Raditz?' she asked.

'I don't know,' he said. 'Soon? But there's not much point in hurrying – the ship won't be ready yet.'

'Vegeta,  _why_  are you looking at me like that?'

He looked away in embarrassment, wondering what his face had been doing the previous moment.

'I was thinking about your proposal from earlier,' he replied, which made her immediately sit up straighter.

'And?' she asked in a tiny voice. He looked at her again to see what her reaction would be.

'I think I will…agree.'

'You will?' Her face broke out into a beaming smile, and Vegeta was partly glad but partly apprehensive. It would be fun to play more games of deception and misdirection with her on Namek, but he would have to keep his wits about him – he was more worried about her abilities than he let on. But he knew it would be this way anyway, even if he hadn't agreed. He had decided he believed her when she had said she would do  _anything_  for the wish, but at least this way he wouldn't have to kill her if he caught her, which was a relief. Of course, he'd have to let Raditz and Nappa know too, so that they could guard against her manipulations, and so they didn't kill her either, and also especially so that they knew he wasn't going soft on her by letting her off the hook. Well, it still kind of looked like he was going soft on her, but he didn't want his men to get the idea that they too could defy him and get away with it.  _Like she can_ , he finished his thought, and then shoved it away, not liking it at all.

Bulma bounced on the seat in joy.

'That's turned your mood around,' he observed.

'You don't know what a huge relief it is to not have a possible death sentence hanging over you!' she said.

'Hmm,' he replied. 'You're right, I don't.'

She stopped bouncing. 'Sorry - I forgot about you and Frieza,' she said, and Vegeta snorted, amused that she could show concern for him when he'd only just released her from  _his_  threat.

'Don't be too sorry for me,' he said. 'You'll be dead too if he ever catches up to us.'

She smiled back. 'Look at us; we're in this together, after all.'

'For now.'

Her smile turned a bit twisted. '"For now" is good enough for me.'

They fell into silence, and Vegeta felt the moment as an overwhelming urge to either stop looking at her and get up, or else find a reason to still be sitting there staring at her. He was coming up with nothing though, but was forestalling getting up when she reached out to his face. He froze.

'You got a spike of hair trying to get free,' she said, grinning insincerely as she stroked her fingers back from his temple. It brought her face close to his, and Vegeta's heart gave a massive thump before getting on to delivering more blood than normal around his body. Sure, she'd put his hair up before, but she'd  _had_  to do that. There was something much more optional and maybe even  _dishonest_  about this gesture, and he hoped he knew why. The Namek deal hadn't been the only thing he'd been thinking about this morning – he'd been thinking of his lost opportunities to kiss her more, and the fact that perhaps a kiss with an alien was a very long way from disgracing his heritage by fucking one. Didn't he have iron control? He could take a little of what she offered and get away unharmed, couldn't he?

'If-' He cleared his throat. 'If the situation arises, and you had to kiss me again as part of our ploy…I have decided that that would be acceptable.'

Bulma's eyes went wide and she looked away for a moment, her face trembling with an expression that was kind of a smile and kind of something else Vegeta didn't even recognise. He was afraid for a second that she'd been repulsed, or was about to laugh at him, but then she turned back, a devious grin spreading across her face.  _Crap!_  He was making a fool of himself! He felt sure that her grin meant she thought she was winning.

'Sure,' she said, sliding her other arm along the back on the couch until it was almost touching his shoulder. 'You still look very nervous about it all though, so…do you want to practice  _now_?'

Vegeta felt himself turning red in the face.  _Yes, but no, but yes!_ The way she'd phrased it, he'd have to admit some weakness of nervousness and inexperience to get the kiss off her.

'Perhaps it is  _you_  who needs the practice?' he said.

Her eyebrows shot up. 'I don't think so, buddy! I'm a  _great_  kisser.'

'Then prove it!'

She gave a short laugh, one that, he felt, conceded a draw, and grinned again. 'Okay.'

She shuffled closer, and then there were mere inches between their noses, her arm resting on his shoulder and her breath on his skin. Every sense of Vegeta's was trained on Bulma and her being; ready to receive, but rapidly getting overwhelmed by input. He could feel the heat from her face, smell the juice from breakfast on her lips, see the flecks of brilliant blues and greys in her irises. Part of himself was incredulous that he found himself in a situation that was not dignified, seemly or to his advantage, but the rest of him was just dying to know what this would feel like…He stopped breathing as her lip just barely touched his and-

_Bzzzz!_

They both jumped in fright. The vidlink unit on the side table was ringing. Bulma pulled away to see who it was and Vegeta gnashed his teeth silently in frustration.

'It says it's Jervois,' she told him. 'I guess we should answer?'

Vegeta said nothing, but Bulma took that as a yes and answered the call.

'Good morning, your Highness,' said Jervois's face. He looked dreadfully unhappy. 'I have told the President and the Vice President that you intend to leave today, and they wish to see you off and give you their tokens of friendship for you and the Prince's father and grandfather.'

'That's really sweet,' said Bulma, 'But I think we intend to be out of here very soon.'

Vegeta knelt on the couch and came up behind her to see Jervois over her shoulder. Jervois flinched as his face came into view. 'We intend to leave at the earliest possible convenience,' Vegeta said. 'Must we take an escort back to the port?'

Jervois looked even more upset by this news. 'Oh, are you sure? Well, no, we couldn't possibly let you brave the city alone…I, I will ready the escort, but it might take a little time.'

'Then please make haste,' said Vegeta, and hung up. Bulma swivelled to look at him.

'That was odd,' she said.

'Something is not right,' agreed Vegeta. 'Where is Puar? We need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.'

* * *

Raditz stopped on a rooftop to figure out how the little "capsule" contraption Bulma had given him that morning worked. She said it was a "Zee" sized one, the smallest, only good for carrying the shopping home in or keeping spare set of clothes or laptop handy. He pressed the button on top and threw it as quick as he could to the ground. It popped open with a very strange noise and a puff of smoke, and Raditz yelped then hurriedly looked around, glad no one was around to see him be timid over a piece of technology.

 _It's a piece of unholy, untested alien tech; I_ should  _be cautious_ , he reasoned.  _Could take my arm off for all I know._

It had formed a kind of filmy mat on the tiles on which he gingerly he placed the bag containing the crown, necklace, diadem and matching earrings he'd picked up from Eclatant, then he pressed the button on the edge of the mat and the whole thing imploded again.

'Well, ain't that the lizard's bollocks?' he said, gently picking up the tiny capsule. He took his time selecting a place to conceal it. The pockets on his pants were out because they were a bit tight and he didn't want the thing going off by accident anywhere near his crotch. Nor did he want it over his heart in the breast pocket. He decided on the pocket on the outside of his shirt sleeve at the shoulder. Now his hands were free for whatever came at him, and knowing their luck so far on this planet, something  _would_ come at him.

* * *

Vegeta watched Bulma check and recheck her handbag of capsules and wondered if there was a possibility of recapturing the moment of their earlier discussion. It didn't seem likely, but before he could even make the attempt, the doorbell rang. Bulma glanced at Vegeta and then drifted to the vidlink phone to check who was outside.

'Who is it?' she asked, even as their image flashed up onscreen. It was Jervois and a member of the security team.

'Just me, your Highness. Your escort is ready, and I would like to accompany you downstairs where the Vice President will present you with your farewell gifts before you leave.'

'Oh, thank you,' said Bulma. 'We'll be right out.'

Vegeta hissed in irritation, and Bulma cast him a worried glance.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing. Let's go.'

She headed to the door and Vegeta followed, but as her hands reached for the door handle, his newly-forged sixth sense prickled to life and he snatched her arm, pulling her back.

'Ow!' she hissed at him, but her anger turned to fear at the expression on his face. He dragged her back into the lounge and closed the door to the antechamber.

'That is  _not_  just Jervois!' he said, letting her go. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

'How do you know?' she asked.

'Chi,' he said. 'It doesn't work as well in a chi-shielded place like this, but I can still sense people at close range, and there are a lot of people out there in the corridor.'

'The escort?'

He shook his head.

'Oh!' she whimpered. 'No! What are we going to do? Can you fight them?'

He checked again, and it was confusing, but it felt like twenty people at least. In a chi-shielded building with nothing but physical strength and skill to serve him, and twenty people outside who were probably armed with stun guns or worse, and the only way out of the building was through that door, and he couldn't fly out unless he wanted to plummet to the city streets. Or could he? With enough of a run up…He'd seen the boundary of the chi shield when the lightning hit it – he should be able to make it out beyond the shield before he hit the street 151 floors below, the only problem was that there were bound to be people placed outside the building to catch him doing just that. He hadn't appreciated until now what a trap this apartment was.

'No.'

' _No?_ '

The doorbell rang again.

'Crap! Crap!' Bulma was whispering, hands to temples as if to squeeze ideas out.

Vegeta shushed her and answered the vidlink again. 'We will be a minute or two,' he said.

* * *

'Dodoria is out,' said Frieza, knocking the pink King piece off the top of the three-dimensional cubic chess board.

Dodoria groaned and then protested. 'But how can you tell, Lord Frieza? I'm not even in check!'

'Must I explain everything to you?' snipped Frieza.

'Sorry, my Lord, but I just don't see it.'

'That is precisely the problem!'

'Dodoria, you really are a dullard,' drawled Zarbon, leaning back in his chair. They were playing a three-way game, or at least they had been until Frieza cornered all Zarbon's pieces and let Dodoria over extend his pieces until he hung himself.

Dodoria scowled back at him. 'So,  _you_  tell me how I've lost, then, Zarbon.'

'Simple. There is nothing you can do in the next three moves that won't result in Lord Frieza taking your king.'

'I think we should play it out to make sure,' said Dodoria.

'No!' said Frieza. 'There is absolutely no reason to tread through the obvious.'

'Perhaps we should walk him through it, my Lord?' said Zarbon. 'It might help make him a more worthy opponent.'

'You can, if you wish, Zarbon, but I am done here. I've won.'

Zarbon's mouth fell open and he quickly looked down at the board. 'Are you sure, my-'

'Yes, I'm sure!' Frieza cut him off. 'You're both dullards by my standard. Maybe I should hold a cubic chess tournament amongst the crew to see if some of them would be more entertaining opposition than you two?' He stood up and paced away from them towards the large window that made one wall of his apartment lounge. He watched the starts sliding away and sighed. It made him angry every time he remembered that  _Vegeta_ had been the most promising chess opponent amongst his elite warriors. He had taught the boy himself; playing Vegeta had sometimes been like playing his own shadow, or a younger version of himself, but his random splashes of mad monkey-logic kept Frieza on his toes. And now he would have to kill the little monkey, wasting all that potential.

He growled aloud, bitter over what Vegeta had forced him in to. The betrayal still stabbed at his heart and woke him in the nights after sweet dreams of relief in which Vegeta returned to him, contrite, explaining it was all a big mistake, that he'd been framed, and he would never do such a thing as try and kill his master. All the time and effort, affection and nurturing spent on the child had been for nothing, and the pain and humiliation of it demanded revenge! Now Frieza was spending even more effort and time on Vegeta, and bile and scheming. Now there were Saiyans loose about the universe, out of his control. He should  _never_ have let that happen. He should  _never_ have tried to make a pet out of this particular prince.

 _Super Saiyan!_  his superstition whispered to him, and he slammed the tip of his stumpy tail into the floor with a thump that shook the room.

Dodoria and Zarbon behind him quit their bickering, thinking perhaps he was angry with them. Well, he  _was_. He moved to the end of the window and waved his hand in front of a small unit on the wall. Immediately the holographic representation of another cubic chess board appeared, and he pondered the pieces, trying to lose himself in the pathways and progressions of that game, but he was too agitated and it was tedious work. It was his brother's move, and had been for more than a year. He and his father and brother didn't often talk, but they kept up this inter-galactic game of chess that moved in motions and plots as slow as the business of building and keeping empires. Sometimes the transmission times alone between their galaxies could be upwards of a year, but Cooler's latest delay was taking the piss. He must have received their father's last move about the same time Frieza had; by Frieza's calculations, Cooler had taken a month and counting to decide on his move, or else Frieza would have his response already. This particular game had been going for a hundred and sixty seven years already, and Frieza was impatient to see his strategy through.

He abandoned the board and stalked over to the vidscreen further along the wall, activating it with his voice command.

'Link on. Communications hub.'

The image of a brown furred tech displayed on the screen, and as he turned from his bowl of noodles to the screen his eyes went wide and he sat up to attention.

'Lord Frieza!' He paused to suck the hanging noddle into his mouth. 'How may I help you?'

'I wish to send a message to my brother,' said Frieza.

'Would you like to record a video message?'

'No. Text will suffice. I will dictate.'

The tech readied himself to type. 'At your leisure, my Lord.'

'Message as follows - "Cooler, stop dragging your toes! I want to win this game before our father dies of old age! You're holding the game up. Frieza."'

'Very good, my Lord. I will send that now.'

Another tech leaned over his should that moment and whispered in his ear.

'Yes?' asked Frieza, wondering what his minions were up to.

The first tech spoke up. 'Lord Frieza, we've just intercepted a message from Planet Grenouillea Two.' Behind him, Frieza heard Zarbon make a sound of disgust. 'It was intended for Frieza Planet 65, as I guess they didn't know we are within range for direct communication.'

'Oh, really?' said Frieza. 'What is the subject?'

'Vegeta, sire.'

* * *

When Bulma finally opened the door of the apartment she immediately fell back into the antechamber. Vegeta was right – two dozen men, plain-clothed Grenouillean secret service and also aliens in armour like the Saiyans used to wear - lined the hall and they swarmed forward, dragging Jervois clear as they rushed the door.

'We surrender!' Bulma cried, but she felt something like a blast of wind hit her in the stomach, then rip outwards along her limbs like an electric shock, locking them in place and she fell backwards on the couch, muscles clenched, her hair standing on end, and unable to move or talk properly for a second.

'Thhnnn-nn!' she shouted, but the men surged past her to Vegeta, who stood in the centre of the lounge with his hands up, roaring at him not to move. Not waiting for a single word from him, they let loose with bolts from their stun guns and Vegeta fell face first to the floor, twitching and spasming.

Feeling the stunning effect wear off, Bulma jumped to her feet, yelling, 'Don't hurt him!' and the next second she was collected into an arm lock and pulled into the room also. They shocked Vegeta several times more for no reason whatsoever, as he was offering no resistance. 'Don't!' she screamed again. 'He's surrendering!'

A huge, red-furred man with curved yellow tusks strode into view from behind her, and she recognised him from the gala. The frenzy of Grenouillean secret service and, she guessed, PTO soldiers calmed a little and parted to let the major in, and a grim-faced Vice President behind him.

'Let's see the bugger,' said the major, and two soldiers hoisted Vegeta up by the elbows, raising him, still twitching, for inspection.

'Well, stone the crows, it really is him,' said the major, and laughed nervously. He turned to a whey-faced Jervois and Pétoncles Gâtés. 'Looks like you've been playing host to the Galaxy's most-wanted.'

'I always felt there was something not right about these two,' said Pétoncles. 'He seemed to know a little  _too much_  about Grenouillean political history, and the girl is obviously no one of high birth or society.'

'Chain him and collar him, men,' ordered the Major and they did, forcing Vegeta roughly face down on the ground to do so. Bulma was beside herself watching it.

'Be gentle!' she demanded and around the room erupted into laughter. The major turned to her.

'Sweetheart, do you even know who this is?'

She shook her head. 'Not really. He said his name was Yamcha.'

One of the po-faced Grenouillean secret service agents with large muscles hiding out under his smart clothes stepped forward. 'This is Vegeta, a sought after terrorist,' he said.

'Yes,' said the hairy major, his cat-food smelling breath wafting into her face as he spoke. 'You're lucky to be alive after sharing this animal's company. How did you come to be an accessory to him?'

'I'm not an accessory,' she said. 'He and the other one kidnapped me from planet Earth and told me I had to do everything they said or they'd kill me.'

'Then why the concern for him?' the major asked.

Bulma hesitated, realising her mistake. 'He's not that bad when you get to know him.'

The major snorted, as did a few others. 'What about his associates? Nappa, Raditz?'

'Who?'

The Major huffed in annoyance but the Secret Service man explained. 'The big hairy one posing as your captain is Raditz. Nappa is even bigger, bald and pink. I'm sure you'd know if you saw him.'

'There was just Yamcha and Krillin,' she lied. 'Or I guess I mean Vegeta and Raditz.'

'What about the other girl?' he asked.

'Puar is from Earth, like me.'

The Major turned away and kicked Vegeta with the toe of his boot. Vegeta made a sharp noise of pain and tried to roll away, but the men still locking loops of chain around his body hindered him.

'Is that true, Vegeta?' he asked the prone form. 'You kidnap these girls and force them to do your bidding?'

Vegeta nodded his head and the major 'hmm'ed, turned to Bulma and reached for his scouter, pressing the button to get a reading on her. He laughed at what he saw. 'Any idea who this bit is?' he asked.

'She's no one on any database of biometrics that we have access to,' replied the Secret Service man. 'Neither is the other girl. When the police came to us seeking Captain L'Cheez we made a match between the biometrics we collected at the palace and Raditz on the PTO Wanted List. Of course, we checked the others immediately after that, which is how we found Vegeta, but the girls are unknown to us.'

'Will you keep her in custody?' the major asked.

'You're not taking her?'

'The PTO has no interest in her at the moment. Her story might be true, or not, but someone with a power level as low as hers is a threat to no one.'

'We'll hang onto her then,' said the Vice President. 'Serious crimes of fraud have been committed. I'm sure we'll need her to help with investigations.'

'Good,' said the major. He bent over to examine the collar and tight bindings on Vegeta, then stood up to face the Vice President. 'You did the right thing by getting us involved right away - he's very dangerous and very slippery. We'll have him off planet shortly - I've already contacted Lord Frieza. You should know to expect a state visit from him very soon.'

Both Petoncles and Jervois flinched at this news.

'Rejorkex, pick the captive up and let's get him back to the garrison.'

The PTO soldiers filed out, and Bulma watched in anguish as they picked Vegeta up and carried him out like a rolled up carpet. She wasn't allowed to worry in peace for long though - the Secret Service men gave Bulma a thorough and invasive pat down, opened her handbag and dumped the capsules on the floor and searched the rooms of the apartment.

'It's clear,' they reported to Pétoncles and the agent who had spoken to Bulma, who she assumed was their superior. Pétoncles was giving her a bitter look, but Jervois seemed unhappy for her.

'Shall we put her in one of the threat rooms?' asked an agent. Bulma erupted into sobs of panic - she  _couldn't_  go onto some kind of secure area, and crying would hopefully cause them take pity on her, but really it was no stretch at all to let the tears come.

'No! Please no!'

'Has this innocent girl not been through enough fear and intimidation?' asked Jervois. 'It's not her fault what happened to her!'

'That has yet to be established, but I suppose we can leave her here until Raditz and the other girl return or we need her for questioning,' sighed Pétoncles.

'I'll leave a man on the door,' said the head agent, and they left.


	34. The Grenouillen Gauntlet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry, I'm posting this a bit later in the day than I intended. I've been distracted by the news of Niteryde's precarious health situation. I don't know her personally beyond her replies to a few of my reviews and posts, but some of her stories are amongst my most favourite fan fictions, and I've followed her on and off on Tumblr. She seems a funny and clever and sweet girl who has had to live through far too much crap. I really hope she recovers as she is far too young to die. That would be way unfair.

Major Horgathard's day had taken a serious turn for the dramatic. Retirement was hard to secure from the PTO, but he'd climbed the ranks until he could get himself into a cushy role on a low-risk planet. Having Vegeta, Frieza's Most Wanted, fall into his lap was both exciting and alarming. He was soon going to be face to face with his master, something that terrified him more than anything else, and only hoped that he wasn't rewarded with promotion or being pressed into a more active role in the PTO.

He watched as Vegeta's chains here shackled to the floor of the internment room. He stood, looking almost dead on his feet, wrapped in a dozen loops of chain and collared. The chi supressing collar was a life-saver. Without that, Horgathard would be too scared to enter the room – he'd heard stories about this little freak's powers. A level of fifteen thousand put Vegeta in the upper echelon of the PTO's powerhouses and put Horgathard's eight hundred to shame.

The foot soldiers finished their work and bowed, leaving Horgathard with the prisoner.

'I bet you didn't think you'd be captured by someone like me,' said the Major.

Vegeta said nothing, merely stared at the ground.

'Nothing to say for yourself?'

Vegeta shook his head and swayed.

'You look about ready to pass out, mate,' observed the Major. 'Still, I guess I would too. We've already contacted Lord Frieza. Apparently his ship is in the area, and he should be here within a day.'

Vegeta started a bit at this.

'That got your interest. I  _bet_  you don't want to see him,' said Horgathard.  _I know I fucking don't,_ he added silently _._

'Well, as there's no way I will possibly allow myself to disappoint Lord Frieza now he's calling to collect you, I am going to keep a vigil on you myself until he arrives. I'm not going to take my eyes off you for a second.' But he did just that as he rounded the desk in the corner of the room and pulled out the chair to sit down. That was when he heard something that made his heart leap to his throat - the sound of tinkling chains crashing to the ground.

He spun, but the prisoner was gone. Collar and chains were pooled on the floor and no sign of Vegeta anywhere in the room. He rushed out into the corridor, panic almost overcoming him and he screamed at the men outside, 'Where is he? Did you see him? Which way did he go?'

He never noticed the little grey mouse floating up against the ceiling.

* * *

Bulma started stuffing capsules back into her handbag the moment the door shut and when that was done, rushed over to the aquarium. Looking up at the water surface that was just above the level of the ceiling she could see the maroon fabric of Vegeta's pantaloons floating on it. She knocked on the glass and the fabric withdrew, and after some scrabbling and scraping, the ceiling panel between the aquarium and the wall was lifted and Vegeta dropped down, the front of his pants sodden. He looked furious, but so was Bulma.

'How could you have made Puar do that?' she hissed at him, too scared of the man outside to raise her voice, though she wanted to scream. 'Surrendering didn't make it any gentler! They stunned her and crushed her - they could have killed her! She was terrified!'

'She'll be fine,' hissed Vegeta in return.

'What if they kill her in custody?'

'Frieza wants me alive if at all possible, and these low level minions wouldn't dare risk killing me and pissing Frieza off.'

'But she's not you! She could die from something you'd take easily!'

'Puar will be okay!' Vegeta insisted, but really this was more a statement of hope. He would be upset if he lost his daemon, and truthfully he was worried for her, but this was much preferable to being captured himself. The service space above the fish tank had been Bulma's idea for a hiding place, but sending Puar as a decoy to waste their time and lead them away from them was Vegeta's.

'The Daemon has proven herself – she can free herself at any moment; I would not be able to! What was I supposed to do? Let them take me?' It galled him to be so overpowered. If this had been a fair playing field he would have tried to take them all on, but without the advantage of his towering chi and no weapon like they had, he had no chance.

'I don't know!' she said.

He snarled at her and grabbed her arm, hauling her towards the open window.

'Get out there. Tell me how many guards, soldiers and others you see around the building and on the ground.'

She glared at him but went, hanging over the terrace wall looking up and down.

'There's the usual guards up and down the building,' she said, 'but also a lot of soldiers, and…men in white uniforms on the ground outside. I wonder if they're police?' she said. 'I think I can see the Major leaving the building now with Puar! They seem to be talking to the people outside.'

'And?'

'Wait a minute,' she demanded, and rooted through her handbag for a second, coming up with a capsule that she popped open on the patio. From a selection of telescopes, night vision goggles and surveillance paraphernalia, she selected a pair of binoculars before peering over the wall again.

'Okay, they're milling about a bit, but all the soldiers are gathering in front of the major-guy. He's talking to one of those Grenouillean police…Now they're taking off! Or all the soldiers, anyway, and taking Puar with them.'

'And how many are left?'

'Still a lot of police and those secret service types. I count…Twenty five.' She looked over her shoulder at him. 'When do we leave? And how?'

Vegeta rubbed his fists over his face and tugged at the hair of his temples. He was desperate to look over the balcony, but if any of the guard posted along the outside of the building saw him their diversion with Puar would be for nothing.

'I'd rather there were less people waiting outside the building to witness our escape,' he said.

'What about another distraction to lead them off?' suggested Bulma.

'But what could we do from here that would lead them away and not  _too_  us?' he asked.

'Not by us,' she said. 'Call Raditz and Nappa! Get them to cause a commotion in another part of the city. They're waiting for Raditz, right? If he could somehow get himself noticed the police would abandon this place.'

Vegeta gaped at her, feeling stupid for not having the same idea first. Then he shook himself. 'The communication device isn't working,' he said, but Bulma was already getting her laptop capsule out of the bag. As soon as it was decapsulated the voices of Nappa, Raditz and a bunch of background noises buzzed in his ear.

'You two, shut up and listen!'

'What is it, Vegeta?' It was Nappa. Tarble must have given the earpiece back to him.

'The comms went dead,' said Raditz. 'But we're almost at the spaceport.'

'Well, turn back! We need some kind of major distraction to lead the police and some PTO goons away from the palace while we escape.'

'You're stuck?' said Raditz.

'Yes!' Vegeta spat. 'And as it's you they're looking for, you can do the decent thing and reveal yourself to some police officer somewhere.'

'What can I do?' asked Nappa.

'I don't know! Blow something up!' suggested Vegeta.

'All righty!' whooped Nappa.

'Yes!' said Bulma, who had been listening to Vegeta's half of the conversation, and she rushed to Vegeta so that the others would hear her voice through his earpiece. 'Blow up those AIRT towers that Puar told us about! She was telling me this morning about the generalised aggression outbreaks they have across the city whenever a tower goes out. If you can find any, take them down – if it causes extra chaos that would keep the police even busier!'

'And what do they look like?' asked Nappa.

'Just destroy any tower you see,' said Vegeta. 'It doesn't matter, but get a move on. We'll meet you back at the ship. And keep an eye out for the Daemon – she's in the wind somewhere.'

'Puar's not with you?' asked Raditz, and his voice was touched with the same worry Vegeta felt. Gods, they were all going fucking soft-headed on this planet!

'No. She's to meet us at the ship too.'

It was only a few minutes before Bulma spotted the first explosion across the city, the sound catching up a few moments later as the tower array on the roof of a skyscraper toppled, its huge scale making it seem slow-motion. She looked down at the men outside the palace, and they certainly seemed agitated, but didn't move at first. It wasn't until the second explosion that the men and women in white uniforms and the last remaining armoured PTO soldiers took to the air almost as one.

'It's working!' she told Vegeta, but the next moment she moaned in dismay – the group met another crowd of PTO soldiers in the air that were returning. The two groups mingled for a moment before the officers continued, but the soldiers landed before the palace, some of them ran back inside. 'Fuck!' she squealed. 'The soldiers are back!  _More_  of them!'

She turned back to Vegeta and saw him rigid with horror.

'It's not working,' he said. 'We need to leave before the odds get any worse.'

'How?' she asked, hurriedly throwing the binoculars back in the pile and recapsulating everything again.

'The only way out. Put the computer away too and get on my back,' he said.

She automatically started to obey him and then stopped.

'Why? What are you going to do? Run through the lobby with me on your back? You realize I'm…not as robust as you right?'

'I do,' he said, 'which is precisely why I am not tearing through the lobby and out the front door! Get on.'

'Then what?' said Bulma, and followed his gaze out the window, finally realising what he meant to do. 'No! You and Raditz said you couldn't fly in or out of the building!'

'That's why we're jumping!' he said, glancing at her, and she saw that he was scared.

'No!' she cried, terror streaking through her. 'There must be some other way, just let me think!'

Someone pounded on the door

'Time's up!' he shouted. 'Get on my back!'

Vegeta grabbed her wrist and pulled it over his head to drag her behind him. She cooperated then, bunny hopping onto his back and winding her arms chokingly around his neck, the handbag clutched in front of his chest. His gold-crusted tail unwrapped from around his waist and twined its way around one of her thighs, around the front of his waist and over her other knee, locking her in place. Bulma almost screamed at the sensation and knew she was at the completely at mercy of Vegeta's abilities.

Vegeta backed up across the lounge, gripped her wrists with one hand and then lunged forward.

'Wait, Vegeta!' cried Bulma as he crossed the lounge, and bounded down the step and across the terrace. 'I have a hoverbi-iieee!'

It was too late. With a bunching explosion of muscle underneath her, Vegeta vaulted the terrace wall and out into the empty air beyond.

As gravity delivered in that reliable and horrible way it usually does when one jumps from the 151st storey of a building, Bulma's squeal became a bloodcurdling scream, and Vegeta was only just holding back from following suit. Without chi to aid him, and with the girl on his back, he'd been even more sluggish in his run up and take off than he thought he'd be, and had only just managed to plant his foot weakly on the outside of the terrace wall before falling with much less forward momentum than he'd hoped. He had never appreciated how much he relied on his chi normally until today.

He angled his body as if for a dive, head down, body flat, arms outstretched to catch the wind of their falling, pointing in the direction he wanted to go – out! The invisible boundary of the chi shield was somewhere in front of them, and they had to get through it before they lost all forward motion at all, or they would be decorating the garden of the palace with their insides.

The fall went on, long enough for Bulma to lose her breath and suck in more air.

'Oh my god, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!' she gabbered in his ear.

'Neither do I!' he shouted back at her.

'Vegeta!' she said, hugging him harder and harder while she cried. 'This was a  _terrible_  idea!' Vegeta felt panic clawing at his throat as the ground came closer and closer, the wind starting to pull tears from his eyes as he wondered if she was right, when suddenly he felt first his chi bubble up from the pit of his stomach, then flood his limbs and mind with its reassuring strength. He swooped, down and up, out across the street, and Bulma screamed again, a lungful that echoed off the buildings around them, and then she cried some more.

'Have you so little faith in me?' he asked, dismissing his own self-doubt of only a moment ago. He laughed, feeling inflated with joy and smugness at being still alive due to his own daring-do, but then he heard shouts behind him and his gloating had to be postponed. They were a long way to home base yet, and their very noisy escape from the building hadn't gone unnoticed. He curled back to look over the shoulder Bulma wasn't weeping into and saw that the soldiers and police at the entrance of the palace were in close pursuit.

'Fuck!'

He gathered his chi and sped up, dodging between buildings as fast as he could to try and lose them, Bulma tossed from side to side on his back. A third explosion boomed through the city.

'Holy shiiiiiiiit!' she cried as he banked around a building close enough to the corner that she thought she could have reached out to touch the marble as they passed, but then they were out in the traffic of a busy shopping area. Finding himself ploughing into a crowd of people, Vegeta dodged and weaved and tried to stop but still ended up slamming into a passing woman, fending her off with his forearm.

'Oof!' she said, knocked backwards, but recovered well, clutching her nose.

'You clumsy little shit!' she shouted, and then to Bulma's astonishment, she sprang forward and took a swing at Vegeta. Vegeta flipped backwards in the air, dodging the open handed slap, and turned and shot off again, through the crowds. Bulma looked back at the woman, who actually followed them for a short distance before knocking into another woman, and then the two of them began screaming at each other mid-air. While they argued, the horde of PTO soldiers rounded the edge of the building.

'Vegeta, they've spotted us!' she told him, and he grunted acknowledgment, too busy dodging traffic to check.

'Out of the fucking way!' he shouted at the lazy fliers crossing his path. None of them were looking where they were going - all eyes were on a group of people carefully lowering the broken tower array from a nearby building to street level. When the next oblivious shopper pulled into front of him Vegeta didn't bother swerving, and instead shoved the fellow away. The wind-milling arm as he tumbled away caught Bulma a glancing blow to the cheek.

'Ow!' she complained, then caught the snarl of fury on the face of the man Vegeta had pushed aside. He came barrelling after them, only to get in the way of the soldiers who were hot on their tail.

'Vegeta, don't hit people! They're getting really pissed off!'

'As if I care!' he said. She thumped him on the shoulder in reprimand.

'You might not, but these Grenouilleans are getting edgy – I think knocking out those towers worked, but it won't help much if I'm killed by some fighting mad passers-by!'

'You want me to let the PTO catch us then?' he asked.

She turned back to see how close the soldiers were, but they were being slowed down by the traffic too. The man Vegeta had shoved was now fighting with one of the PTO soldiers, and a few of other people shouting at them from the sidelines of the crowd that was gathering to watch. 'PTO! Go home!' yollered a youth.

One PTO soldier released an energy wave to disperse the crowd, but they didn't like that at all. With a roar, a collection of willowy, fashionable Grenouillean women, young dandys, old men and a couple of kids swarmed the flank of the group of PTO in a messy but furious attack.

Bulma couldn't believe what she was seeing. Even though attacking the towers had been her idea, she hadn't expected such a pronounced effect.

'We're losing them!' she told Vegeta. 'Keep going, but whatever you do, don't provoke these people - they're primed like landmines!'

Vegeta spared a glance back then. 'Huh!' But then about half a dozen of the soldiers not involved in the altercation detached and came after them. Vegeta swung left around the next corner, then hesitated, backing up against a building, gently squashing Bulma behind him.

'What're you doing?' Bulma asked.

'Ambush,' he said, raising his hands in front of him like a gun. Bulma didn't need a refined chi-sense to feel the prickle and warmth of the energy pooling in his hands. The first soldiers banked the corner and Vegeta "fired". His beam of white light skewered through three men in one go, then through a building behind and up into the sky. Bulma screamed and Vegeta laughed.

'Galik Gun,' he explained, and leapt at the second three as they arrived and turned to face their foe. Bulma would have fallen off if it hadn't been for the tail around her legs - the G-force as he flicked forward and exploded like the harvest mollusc between the three men was immense. He kicked one square in the head at the same time as he caught the second around the neck, flipping the man over and around by it, and crashing his body into the third. It was all over in a second, and when Bulma opened her eyes, the soldiers were falling to the ground, dead or unconscious, she didn't know. The hint of char still hung in the air and she felt her gorge rise a little, and glanced up at the hole in the building. It was small. Maybe it managed not to hit anyone?

Vegeta dipped around the corner and right down to the busy street. They landed, and Vegeta unwound his tail from around her legs, and Bulma jumped to her wobbly feet.

'Why are we on the ground?' she asked as he began hurrying her, not quite running, along the street.

'There's police officers overhead,' he said. 'I think we've lost the PTO for now, but the police are up over the city on watch. We'll be harder to spot on the street.'

Bulma glanced up. She hadn't even noticed the figures up above the level of the buildings. 'Maybe our distraction backfired a little,' she said, observing how stunned and wary a lot of people looked, small groups standing on to the side of the conveyor belt sidewalks, talking in hushed and worried tones. Several times she caught the words 'terrorist' and 'under attack' as they passed. She supposed the towers going down would look like an act of terror. As would some maniac shooting a hole through a building.

'You know, you could have killed someone back there,' she muttered darkly to Vegeta.

'That was the idea,' he replied.

'The soldiers, I guess, but I meant the people who live in that building you shish kebabed!'

He glanced over at her, frowning with confusion.

'Did you even  _notice_  you'd done that?' she asked.

'What does it matter?' he said, his frown getting deeper.

'It matters that you can be more careful!'

He bared his teeth for a second in a very un-princely manner. 'Stop lecturing me while we're trying to escape!'

* * *

Vegeta pulled her into a stained-glass-covered arcade between buildings. It was an upmarket, two storey shopping area with tables and chairs down the middle, cafes serving customers alfresco. It went right through to the street on the other side, and Vegeta headed that way until they passed a millinery store. He had no idea what millinery was, but it had hats in the window, and seized by inspiration he dragged Bulma inside.

'What?' she squawked in surprise, but after he pulled her across the shop and shoved the first wide-brimmed hat he saw on her head, she got it.

'Is this to stop us being recognised from above?' she asked and Vegeta rifled the stands for another one with a similar amount of coverage.

'Yes. I am trying to keep my power level low to avoid being recognised by the soldier's scouters, but our hair and general alienness make us easy to spot in a crowd.' He didn't mention that he'd never gotten better than passable at the chi-lowering technique when they practiced on the ship, but he was glad that trick was in his arsenal now.

As they turned to go, the woman behind the counter darted around it towards them.

'Excuse me, are you going to pay for those?' she shouted. Vegeta had made up his mind in an instant that he was going to deck the woman and be gone, but Bulma grabbed his arm and he hesitated. The brim was so wide and floppy she had to tip back her head to look him in the eye, and she looked ridiculous, though he had no doubt that the black tricorn with the red plumes looked no less stupid on him

'Sorry, of course we are!' said Bulma. 'We were just about to. Where're the credits, husband?'

Vegeta glared at her, wondering if it was worth getting into an argument over this, but he put his hand in his pocket and drew out the credits there.

'How much are the hats?' he asked.

'Those two...say, eleven hundred credits?' the woman said, making her way around the counter again. 'I'm so sorry, I'm not sure why I overreacted before.'

'That's okay,' said Bulma.

Nervous about the delay, Vegeta hurried to the counter and shoved a chip in the reader. 'Quickly, woman,' he hissed, and the assistant looked up with a glare, reached over the table and punched him in the cheek. It was hard and unexpected enough that Vegeta took a step back, and Bulma yelped with fright. The woman leaned over the counter and looking between Vegeta and the hand she'd used to hit him in horror.

'I'm…! I'm so terribly sorry!' she cried. 'I don't know how that happened! I honestly didn't mean to!'

'That's perfectly okay,' said Vegeta, and promptly slugged her in return. The woman flew through the air until she hit a rack of colourful scarves that collapsed over her. Vegeta plucked the chip back out of the reader and turned to leave, Bulma looked back for a second at the woman, who was groaning and struggling to emerge from the wreckage of silk and wood.

'Sorry!' she yelled, and then they were out in the arcade again, heading for the exit. They were halfway there when their attention was grabbed by the sound of raised voices. Up ahead a woman stood up from a table, and screamed, 'How could you, you bastard!' at her companion, and then flung her hot drink in his face, cup and all, splattering foam and liquid and broken ceramic. The crowd immediately slowed to watch the spectacle, and Bulma found herself watching out of morbid curiosity as the man jumped to his feet, joined by others who had been sitting nearby who had gotten hit by the shrapnel.

'You insane, fucking bitch!' he roared, leaning over the table to slap her hard - so hard that she was knocked back over the table behind her and through the glass window of the cafe. As he stood there looking stunned at what he'd done, the man at that table the woman had been knocked over stood up and shoved the guy, shouting, 'What kind of asshole hits a chick?' The two started swinging fists at each other, other tables and customers becoming collateral damage, and the girlfriend flew back through the broken window into the fight with a screech. The traffic came to a standstill as people gawped at the carnage.

'Huh,' said Vegeta, as some of the bystanders began to react too, offering their own opinions and fists. They tried to weave between them, but Bulma was suddenly wary of treading on anyone's toes – quite literally, because if she pissed someone off she was fairly sure that person could kill her with a single blow. When brawl shot wildly upwards and crashed into the stained glass ceiling, most of the crowd bolted, and Bulma flung herself at Vegeta.

'Get me out of here!' she cried as glass tumbled through the air towards the ground. Vegeta scooped her up in a disorientating fraction of a second, erupting into the opposite street amongst a horde of screaming Grenouilleans. Floating back to the ground again they immediately found themselves on a porting belt, packed tight with frightened urbanites.

'I don't get it,' she said, still shaken from the escape from the falling glass. 'If Grenouilleans are this violent without the towers on, how did they ever co-operate enough to build a civilisation clever enough to create the towers?'

'Perhaps with the towers on, they've forgotten how to control themselves?' Vegeta suggested.

Bulma gasped. 'You're probably exactly right! If they never have to mediate the violent and fearful impulses coming from their amygdala like normal people, they must never learn how to do it!'

'I would bet our ship that Frieza insisted on this kind of mass mind control after the Grenouilleans surrendered,' Vegeta speculated. 'This planet makes a lot of money for the coffers of the Cold Bank, and has even purchased more planets from Frieza, so he wouldn't want to destroy it, but given that the Grenouillean Empire turned against him and Grenouilleans are naturally so powerful...he probably didn't want them on the loose, so to speak.'

They crossed a bridge, and down the wide canal it spanned Bulma could see open water at the end.

'Aren't we going in the wrong direction? she asked. 'The harbour and the port are over there.'

'We're not going that way. I'm sure the front entrance to the port is guarded by now, and we'll be an easy target flying across the harbour or taking the bridge.'

'Is there a back entrance?' she asked.

'I doubt it.'

* * *

They kept taking porting belts, and by keeping their heads down they made it to the outer zones of the city where the buildings were smaller and more residential looking, the canals ended and parks and trees began to be interspersed along the street. Eventually even the porting belt ended, and the two hurried on by leg power alone through the outskirts of the city, looking back over their shoulders often. Police could still be seen hovering over the downtown area, and there was a lot of activity around the damaged buildings, but no one was on their trail.

The road ended in a park that was almost deserted, and they followed a meandering path through garden beds and exotic groves to the jungle they could see towering behind. Bulma was a little sad that they hadn't come here just to visit, as it looked fascinating, but quickly the manicured groves turned wild and the path ended at a bench. Beyond that point the dense, dark and green thickets of jungle undergrowth blocked their way, and the tall canopies blocked the sun.

Vegeta threw aside the stupid hat, and when she made no move to take it off herself, pulled Bulma's floppy white one off her. She was grinning underneath, her eyes glittering with nervous excitement at their escape.

'We did it!' she said.

He held back on the sudden and out of place urge to kiss her, and instead, huffed in amusement and offered her his back.

'We're not out of the woods yet. Get on.'

She did, and he wrapped his tail around her legs, a little more gently this time. And this time he also realised what an intimate embrace this was, her body pressed to his, his tail on her bare skin.

He took off between the trees, keeping above the densest layer of vegetation. He didn't move as fast as he could. Not only would that risk a nasty run it with one of the vines that criss-crossed the area below the canopy, but he still wanted to keep his power level as low as possible. He knew that right now the PTO would be searching for high power levels in the vicinity of his, Nappa's and Raditz's last recording levels.

'"Not out of the woods yet",' repeated Bulma. 'Ha! Funny.'

Vegeta blushed slightly at her pointing out his unintended joke, but decided to take credit.

'I'd say there was definitely a few more minutes of woods yet. I'm not sure about your definition of "we", though,' he said. '"We" didn't do much, as I believe this escape was mostly  _my_  doing.'

'Didn't I say that we're in this together?' she replied lightly. 'You victories are my victories…'

'Is that so? Will yours be mine, then?'

'Hmm, we'll see.'

* * *

Puar surveyed the city around her. She was hanging in the air, still in mouse form, having fled the garrison, and hitched a ride at random on a passing woman's skirts. She could see a lot of activity over the centre of the city, and a few buildings which looked like they were smoking a bit, but had no idea what it could mean. She could see the port a very long way away on the other side of the city, and wondered how she was going to get all the way over there. She was already exhausted and bruised. Whenever she breathed her ribs hurt like hell from the kick the Major had given her.

It would likely take hours to make it there at her usual ambling speed, but she quailed at the thought of shifting into a hawk or an eagle to get to the port as fast as possible; it would hurt like hell to have to beat wings and she was  _so tired_. While she dithered she heard a couple of fliers come up behind her, having a conversation as they went, and on impulse, Puar lined herself up with their path and scrabbled with her little mouse paws for a grip on anything as they passed. She was tumbled down the man's leg, but collected up fairly comfortably in the loose fabric and the gather of his pantaloons, and the man shook his leg slightly, but otherwise didn't notice.

'Do you think we should go around the city, rather than through, to get to Zaida's?' asked the woman who flew beside Puar's ride.

'Yes,' said the man. 'Though why we're still going when the city's under attack by terrorists, I don't know.'

'It's only property damage, from what I heard, don't be so dramatic! And she's my best friend – of course we're going!'

Puar quaked a little. What rotten luck that terrorists were attacking the city while they were in town! She hoped the others were all okay, and that Vegeta and Bulma had escaped the palace without notice. She hadn't wanted to accept Vegeta's mission to act as a decoy, but he had convinced her that she could easily escape almost any restraint, and if she didn't do it, it was likely they would never get to Namek. For the sake of Yamcha and the people of Earth, she had agreed to do it, but it had been even scarier than she expected – Puar had been in some scrapes over the years, but this was the worst she'd ever been through alone. On the other hand, getting free had been easier than she'd expected, and though she was still scared, at the same time she felt somehow…powerful.

She took a peek out of the fold of the trousers. They were going in approximately the right direction. Puar decided she would hitch her way to the spaceport bridge and conserve her energy for getting over to the island or she might not make it at all. It might not be the fastest or most direct way, but it was the most she felt capable of right now. She was suddenly struck by the thought that if she didn't get there in time they would leave her behind. Yamcha would never have left her behind, but Vegeta might. Puar's lip trembled.

_Don't leave me, Vegeta!_

* * *

Vegeta made a wide arc through the jungle. At first Bulma was worried about being hit with hanging branches, the huge, trailing leaves and vines or the giant insets that were buzzing through, but Vegeta never let anything touch them. She felt protected and distant from the trouble that lay behind and ahead of them. She became mesmerised by the treescape swooping and flowing past them. Her brain decided to take a small vacation from all the stress, and for a few moments she thought of nothing but trees and thick, warm air and the solidity of Vegeta's back. She only came out of the trance when they burst back into sunlight again. The estuary was before them, and a distance away over its glassy green water was the flattish island of the spaceport.

Vegeta dropped lower to the water, counting on the height of the island to hide them somewhat from anyone on the other side. As they crossed the water Bulma felt vulnerable and scared again. The concourse and bridge were too far away for her to make out if there was anyone in the air above it, guarding the entrance, but cringing, she looked behind them just in case there was someone over the jungle.

As they got closer to the island she could see the back of buildings on the edge of the island and the low tower in the centre. Vegeta slowed more, angling for the place that looked best to get on the island, between two largish buildings.

'I wonder how far out from the island the chi-supressing dome- oh shit.' They dropped, still speeding forward, but now plunging towards the water too.

'No!' screamed Bulma, as she realised what was happening, and Vegeta let go of her with his tail and pitched her off his back. Bulma had just enough presence of mind to roll herself into a ball before she slammed into the surface. Her side slapped the water and the breath was knocked out of her body, and she struggled not to compulsively suck breath back in. Opening her eyes, looking for the brightness in the green gloom that indicated up, she kicked out desperately. It felt such a long way to the surface, with her lungs burning and her left side feeling odd. As she was feeling past her possible limit, she surfaced with a whoop and then a choke and a sob of shock, thrashing in the water and feeling like she might go down under the surface again at any moment. Vegeta swam to her, snatching her floating handbag on the way, and she grabbed his shoulders in panic.

'Can you swim?' he asked sternly. She blinked and shook water out of her eyes.

'Usually,' she gasped, trying not to cry. The prickling numbness in her side was turning into pain.

'Are you hurt?'

She held her arm out. It looked okay, other than the angry, red slap mark on it. Vegeta quickly ran his hand gently down it, and though her skin stung, it didn't hurt substantially. Bulma checked her own ribs.

'I think I'm just bruised,' she admitted.

Catching her breath and calming down a little, she let go of Vegeta to pull her diamante sandals off and hooked the ankle straps around her forearm. Now she felt less like she was drowning, though her dress swirled around her like a bedsheet still.

'I'm okay now. I can swim.'

'Then let's get going.'

They swam the last fifty metres or so to the island. It rose about four feet out of the water on a smooth solid plinth of rock or concrete. Tall pillars with lights on top decorated the very edge at regular intervals. Bulma placed her hands on the plinth and knew that it was far too high for her to haul herself up out of the water.

'Can you get up?' she asked Vegeta.

'Of course.' He handed her handbag back to her, then bobbed down in the water and shot back up, grabbing the edge of the plinth with his fingertips. Then he just simply hauled himself up with the strength of his arms and shoulders. As he started to curl over the edge though, Bulma heard a buzz and then a crack, and Vegeta fell backwards off the plinth with a splash.

He surfaced with a swear word and clutched his face.

'What is it?' Bulma cried. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes,' said Vegeta, moving his hand away from his face. He had a red patch on his nose and forehead. 'The port is secured with an electrical force field,' he said. 'Fuck!'

'What now, then?'

He swam along the wall, looking up at the buildings along it. Once they were behind a building he tried again, pulling himself up, and this time, clinging to the edge with one hand while he reached forward with the other. Another buzz and a crack and he dropped into the water again, shaking the sting out of his fingers, and he snarled in frustration.

'Now we're screwed!' he said. 'If we have to swim all the way back round the concourse at the front they'll catch us for sure!'

'No, we're not,' said Bulma, opening her clutch. 'If you'd just given me a second longer back at the hotel I could have gotten us out without risking our lives,' she said. 'But it's also the perfect solution to this problem.' She rummaged around for the correct capsule, and finding it, pressed the release and tossed it in the air. With a pop and a puff, her second best hoverbike appeared, idling a few feet above the water.

'Uh,' said Vegeta, and reached up to grab the foot rest. When he was in the saddle he asked, 'How to you control this thing?'

'Don't try, just get me up there,' Bulma said, reaching out her hand to him. He hauled her up, and she took her place in the saddle in front of him.  _Hmm, cosy_ , she thought to herself, feeling Vegeta's thighs pressed against her own. She revved the engine and drove it slowly up to the invisible wall, and Vegeta's arms were around her waist in an instant, to keep his balance.

'How high do you think the field goes?' she asked him.

'My guess is, no further than the top of those metal pillars,' he replied. 'You generally need two ends to an electrical force field to send and receive it. It's not projected, like a chi-supressing field.'

She took them above one of the pillars.

'Test it, then.'

'Why me?' he asked.

'Because I'm driving, of course!'

He reached out and waved his arm over the post and there was no shock, so Bulma guided them up and over and down into the first street of the port.

'We did it!' crowed Vegeta, and Bulma looked back over her shoulder in disbelief.

' _You_  did it? And what about me?'

He smirked at her, and she finally got it.

'Oh ha-ha, Vegeta, that's cute. Now where are we going?'

* * *

They had to consult a map to find the sector their ship was parked in, then made their way to the correct avenue and parking spot. They saw a few people along the way who gave their bike a strange look and hurried along, looking tense.

'I hope it's the news about broken towers that has made them jumpy and not PTO soldiers,' said Vegeta. As they got closer to the ship he had Bulma park and encapsulate the bike, and they crept up on it, skirting the legs of other ships.

There was no guard on it, just a trolley with a bunch of mechanical equipment outside and the rampway open. No soldiers could be seen through the bubble windows, although the windows were high and distorting enough that it was hard to see anything through them from where they were. Vegeta led them right up to the underside of the ship and paused.

'I think I can only sense two people on board,' he said. 'Not particularly powerful, either. Must be the engineers, still.'

'What about the others?' she asked.

He shook his head.

'Well, what are we going to do if they don't show up?' she asked, suddenly afraid for them. She'd been too scared for her own life till that point to spare a thought for the others, but what if the distractions they'd made for her and Vegeta had cost them their freedom? Or their lives?

'Leave them,' he said, hoarsely.

'No!' she replied.

'If there aren't soldiers surrounding the ship or the port already, it's only a matter of time,' he explained. 'If they're not here by the time we leave, we can't wait.'

She moaned and felt tears of desperation close. 'I can't go without Krillin, Goku and Puar!' she said. The idea was terrifying. She  _needed_  those other Earth survivors to get by, to stay feeling okay, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she abandoned her friends to an unknown fate on an alien planet.

'Keep it together,' he said, that familiar, harsh tone of command back in his voice. 'We need to get the engineers off the ship and who knows what else before we can leave, so they're not lost yet!' He grabbed her hand and towed her out from under the ship and up the rampway. A woman was inside, polishing the parquet floor with a buffing machine while a man vacuumed the sofa cushions. The entire living quarters sparkled with cleanliness.

'We are the owners, and we need to leave now,' said Vegeta, skipping all pleasantries. 'What work remains on the ship?'

'We were just giving it a detailing,' said the woman, turning the machine off. 'And Farzir is changing the filter on the dish sanitising unit.'

A head popped up over the breakfast bar. 'Hello!' it said. 'It'll be just another ten minutes or so.'

'A new filter won't be necessary; we need to leave as soon as possible.'

The man stood properly. 'Well, the clamps are still on the ships legs,' he said. 'By the time you've finished paying the engineering service and port fees and the clamps come off, we'll be done here.'

'Of course,' said Vegeta.

'Just pop along to the depot. Bernoz is expecting you. You can even pay your port fees there, to save the trip to the command tower.'

'Thank you,' said Vegeta, sounding very much like he didn't mean it. They walked outside again, and into the shade of another ship.

'So we do as he says?' Bulma asked.

'Yes.'

She popped the hoverbike out again and they climbed on. Bulma was hot, wet and horribly uncomfortable with her dress drying very slowly on her in the humidity, making her skin prickle. She wiped water off her forehead, unsure if it was water from her hair or sweat. As Vegeta's arms went around her waist again she looked down and remembered that she was wearing no bra under a wet chiffon dress. She wondered how her mind was able to become concerned about such things at a time like this, but for a second it did, and she was upset that not only might she lose her friends, but she looked an unsightly, immodest mess just as they were about to have to play Prince and Princess one last time.

They took off in the direction she remembered the engineer's shop to be, but they hadn't gone far when a scrawny little figure darted out from behind the leg of a ship and waved at them.

'Stop!' said Vegeta.

It was Tarble. Excitement and hope bubbled up in Bulma.

'Are the others here?' Vegeta asked, and Tarble nodded.

'Yes! At least, Nappa, Raditz, Krillin and Goku– er, I mean, Kararott are,' he said, pointing into the shadows between two small cargo ships. The others stood up and shuffled closer, and Bulma stood up on the foot rests, clutching her heart because she was so glad to see them safe, but…

'No Puar?' asked Vegeta.

'We haven't seen her,' confirmed Tarble.

'Oh my god, poor Puar!' said Bulma. She turned and glared at Vegeta, remembering that he was the one she blamed for Puar's dangerous mission.

'There's still time,' said Vegeta, but he sounded unsure about it himself.

'I wish we had some way of keeping in contact with her!' said Tarble. 'If she'd had an ear piece at least we'd know where she was!'

Bulma silently agreed. She wished she had taken the time to make one for everyone. She had bought enough hearing aids to do it, but she'd decided at the last minute that three would be easier to keep track of during their heist at Zapp Industries.

'Krillin!' exclaimed Bulma. She had just noticed that he was clutching the side of his head, and blood ran down his forearm to drip on the concrete.

'It's not as bad as it looks,' he said. 'You should see the other guy!'

'You mean the other guy who is still healthy and fighting fit, and ran over you like a frigate over a lifeboat?' said Nappa.

'What happened?' she asked, ignoring Nappa, but Nappa answered for Krillin anyway.

'Raditz went to show his face and razz some cop, but then got himself stunned. Baldie ran interference and gave Raditz time to recover, but got a rap around the head for it.'

Krillin grinned. 'Shucks, it was nothing!'

'You may be next to useless, but you're not quite, I'll give you that, kid,' said Nappa, patting him overly hard on his injured head.

'What else happened?' asked Vegeta. 'Anything I should know about?'

Nappa shook his head. 'Not really. We just got here a few minutes ago and saw there were people still on board, and you weren't one of them, so we backed off to wait.'

'Good,' said Vegeta. 'Did anyone pursue you?'

'No,' said Nappa. 'We took the towers down pretty quick; too quick for the police to get eyes on us. Raditz and Baldie were chased for a while, but they didn't keep it up for long. I think we rattled the city pretty good. Just after we got here we saw a squadron of police cordon off the concourse and some head into the port, but they weren't following us.'

Vegeta pressed his lips together in anxiety. 'We surely don't have much time. The police may be looking for terrorists, but the PTO are looking for us, and the ship is the next logical place to look. As soon as those last technicians leave the ship, get on board. Bulma and I are going to settle the accounts.'

'Okay.'

'Should we go looking for Puar?' asked Goku.

'Don't be stupid, Kakarott,' snarled Vegeta.

'It's not stupid to want to find and save our friend!'

'It is if you have no way of finding her! If she makes it here, good. If not, anyone returning to the city is likely to find themselves in the custody of the PTO and their chi-supressing collars, and we  _won't_  be rescuing you this time! Go, Bulma.'

She rode on, not wanting to let the argument with Goku go any further. She wanted to find Puar too, but like Vegeta, she just didn't see any way they could without risking their capture, and therefore their entire mission to save the people of Earth _. I promise I'll come back for you someday, Puar!_  she swore silently.

She parked up outside the engineer's shop and they went inside to talk to the office clerk and pay. He insisted on calling Bernoz in first.

'Have you been for a swim?' he asked the moment he walked in. Vegeta didn't grace that with an answer, and the engineer hurried on, uncomfortable under the glare of the short, young prince. 'We found a number of small problems and quirks with your ship that we fixed, which added some extra expenses to your bill, though many of the easy fixes we carried out gratis-'

'I don't care,' said Vegeta, cutting him off. 'We just wish to pay and leave.'

'The terrorist attacks in the city this morning spooked you, did they? Well, I don't blame you at all.'

The bill was nearly a hundred and fifty thousand credits, but Vegeta didn't blink at the figure. 'Would you also like to pay your port fees here?' asked the clerk. 'Both our clamp and the port clamp can be removed at the same time.'

'Yes.'

'And when you leave, would you like the standard controlled take off, or the express take off? Standard is six hundred credits and-'

'Express!'

Vegeta paid, and the clerk typed away at his workstation, tapping here and there on the screen, and then he looked up.

'Ah…I'm afraid there's a problem with your release for take-off, your Highness,' he said, looking worried. 'We'll let our technicians know to take off our clamp, but you'll have to see the port authority to find out where there is a hold order on your ship still. The computer seems to be saying it's an ownership issue.'

Bulma had been bouncing on her toes with impatience, but now she froze. They had still not dealt to the bank loan that hung over their ship.

'I know what the issue is,' said Vegeta. 'We'll see to it at once.' He jerked his head at Bulma, motioning to the door.

'Do you know where you're going?' the clerk asked as they walked away. 'The customer service desks are on the ground floor of the control tower.'

They stepped back out into the street and Bulma turned on Vegeta the instant the door shut behind them.

'How could you have forgotten about the bank loan?' she asked ignoring the fact that it had also slipped her own mind until then.

'I didn't!' he said, his expression moving from worry to anger. 'I was just hoping that  _they_  had!'

'Was that your big plan to get out of that one?  _Hope_  they'd forget about it?'

'No!' he snapped. 'Get on the bike! We need to go to the port authority.'

'Do you even have a plan then?' she asked as she lifted the soggy skirt of her dress and dropped into the saddle of the bike.

'I do,' he said and he got on behind her, putting his arms around her waist and jerking them tighter than was absolutely necessary, making Bulma's ribs flex a bit.

She gunned the engine and accelerated hard, taking off and veering into the air to short cut over the buildings and ships towards the tower in the middle of the island. She wriggled to loosen his arms around her waist, but only succeeded in wiggling her bottom into his crotch.

'And what is this amazing plan, then?'

'You are.'


	35. The Stand Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello!
> 
> So, for this chapter, as well as my usual grammar-queen beta Adli, I had a consultant beta, in the form of BchanShips for some technical once-overing ;D Thank you to both of you!

'A cordon?'

'It's hardly surprising,' said Puar's ride. 'There was a  _terrorist_  attack after all.'

Puar stuck her little mouse head out and saw a line of police officers in the air above the buildings. Huge holograms projected up off the surrounding buildings, flashing and saying "Police cordon – do not enter."

Puar wondered what the couple would do and if she should bail out of the man's trousers already, but the woman flew right up to one of the officers and the man followed.

'Excuse me officer, but my friend's place is on the other side of this cordon and she'd having a party. How do we get in?'

'I'm afraid you'll have to wait, miss.'

Puar looked down and saw that the cordon was down on the street too; a crowd of people milling about on this side of a line of tape.

'But I have a whipped water snail cake that I'm taking to the party! It'll melt!'

'I'm very sorry, miss. Hey, you!' The officer's attention was suddenly caught by someone else. Puar peered out and started with surprise. It was a column of PTO soldiers. They slowed and the warty, purple man at the head of the column stopped alongside the officer, looking antsy.

'This is a police cordon! No one's to go into the downtown and waterfront area right now.'

'We're PTO!' the purple one replied. 'We've orders, and the cordon doesn't apply to us.'

'I've got no orders about letting PTO through. We're searching the area for terrorists and your soldiers could confuse matters.'

'Check with your superiors, but we're going through.'

'For all I know, one of  _you_ people are the terrorist!'

The soldier scoffed. 'You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you? Such a slow and cumbersome thing as your police cordon isn't going to catch someone like Vegeta!'

* * *

They pulled up before the steps to the port authority building and Bulma encapsulated the bike, causing the security guard at the door to stagger and exclaim, 'What! What did you do there?'

'Just a little trick I have,' said Bulma, rushing up the steps with Vegeta next to her. 'Nothing special.'

Inside they moved through a doughnut shaped foyer and followed the sign into an office with about a dozen service desks, rows of chairs mostly full with people waiting, and a few people being served. The hum of slightly agitated chatter filled the room.

While Vegeta hovered in the waiting area, Bulma picked a free service desk and made her way to it, beaming falsely at the attendant. The woman glanced up and sighed, obviously reluctant to talk to Bulma.

'Hello, I am Princess Cee-Cee of L'Goonta.'

'How may I help you?' the woman asked.

'Well, our ship is parked in plot East Bee 21, and we had it down as collateral on a loan. We've paid the loan off, but when we paid our port fees at the engineer's office they said there was still an issue of ownership outstanding.'

The woman looked down and started typing. 'Bambina L class?'

'That's the one.'

'Yes, it's still showing up as being held by the Spawn City central branch of Cold Empire Bank.'

Bulma wished she could lean over the counter to see the screen the woman was looking at, but it was about four feet high. 'Well, what can we do about that?'

'I suggest you call the bank and take it up with them. If you've only just cleared the loan, they might just be slow in contacting us. By tomorrow they'll almost certainly have gotten onto it.'

'Well, that's not going to work. My husband and I want to leave immediately.'

'Then again I suggest you contact the  _bank_. It will be at least a few hours before you can leave the port anyway.'

'Why is that?' asked Bulma.

The woman looked at her like she was stupid. 'The port is in lock down. No landings or take offs permitted until further notice. Apparently there's been a terrorist attack in the city.'

Bulma had reason to curse her own initiative of destroying the AIRT towers all over again. So, even if she made this loan issue go away, they still wouldn't be allowed to take off. But did that really change anything, really?

'Well, thank you anyway,' she said and walked back out the foyer. Vegeta followed her.

'Okay, we have to do this,' she said. Vegeta nodded, and they began looking around the lobby walls. In the hurried ride over, he and Bulma had only been able to come up with a version of the same ruse they'd used at Zapp Industries. But that involved finding a fire alarm.

'I don't see anything that looks like an alarm, do you?' she asked him.

'No,' he said, moving around the bank of elevators in the centre of the room. 'Try the doors,' he said.

They started opening doors around the circumference of the circular foyer. Bulma found an office full of people who all looked up curiously when she stuck her head in, a cleaning cupboard and a bathroom and none of them had anything she recognised as a fire alarm. Vegeta checked the doors on the other side and they met halfway around.

'Do they even have things like fire alarms on this planet?' she asked.

'How should I know?'

'Do we try the second floor? Or…I don't know! Do you have a plan B?'

'Kind of. Do you have explosives?' he asked.

'To  _blow up the tower?_ ' she asked, appalled. 'Even if that wasn't a heinous act of mass murder, it might still not get our ship free of this shithole!'

'That is my plan B!' he insisted. 'And once the tower is out, maybe the chi supressing field will go down too. Do you have a better idea?'

One came to her. She had explosives, but she also had solvent and matches. 'Yes, I do, actually!'

She went back to the cleaning cupboard and grabbed some stacks of towels. 'Bring the rest of those towels and those brooms,' she instructed Vegeta. She led him into the female bathroom and dumped the towels in the middle of the floor, then went into each cubicle, took all the paper from them and threw them on top of the pile. She added the towels and brooms Vegeta had brought and chucked them on top, then got out a capsule with some of her mechanical equipment and blowtorch in it. She doused the pile with the solvent she pulled out and then lit a match, throwing it on. If they couldn't fake a fire, and real one would do just as well.

With a  _whump_ , the bonfire caught, and within seconds the flames were at the ceiling, the heat forcing Bulma and Vegeta back to the door.

'What now?' he said, but his words were cut off by an ear-splitting siren. They tumbled backwards into the foyer, and Bulma pulled him into the cleaning cupboard, leaving the door open a crack so they could see out. The foyer started to fill with the people coming out of the service area, some annoyed, some scared and some just resigned to having to evacuate. Then people started appearing from the stairwell. It took minutes of confusion, shouting and hectoring before the last stragglers were hustled out by a couple of men who seemed to have the responsibility of evacuating the building.

'I needed to finish an important message,' said one man. 'Port business doesn't halt for fire drills.'

'And real fires don't halt for port business!'

At last the foyer seemed clear, and the two darted from the cupboard back to the customer service area. The door to the area behind the desks was open. The first three screens were locked, and Bulma was about to scream with panic, but the third one she tried was not.

'Okay, okay, okay!'

She examined the page, and with Vegeta's suggestions, was able to navigate to a file on their ship using the berth number. In the status box it said "HOLD". Crossing her fingers she touched the box and a dialog box appeared asking "Details" or "Override". She selected override, and another box appeared asking her for the override authority code.

'God dammit!' she swore, already reaching for the capsule with her laptop.

'What does this mean?' asked Vegeta.

'I need to crack their password,' she said.

Thankfully the siren stopped, and from the foyer they heard a crash, and the roaring of flames – it seemed her fire had been quite effective enough to burn the bathroom door down. Bulma got the laptop out and opened it up.

'Please god, let there be some kind of wireless network!'

There was, and it even seemed to be the same kind that the ship's computer had. She still had to break the password to get on the network, then finding she was in a secure guest network, looked for a backdoor into the main network in that same galactic coding language, with a local Grenouillean twist.

'Jeez!' she muttered, her fingers flying over the keys. This could take ages!

Bulma changed tact, switching back to the service desk computer. She hunted around the network, eventually finding an interface that controlled access onto the network, but of course, that was admin access only. 'Fuck,' she said aloud.

'How long will this take?' asked Vegeta.

'I don't know,' she admitted. 'Vegeta, I really wish you'd warned me that this was your plan.'

They both went silent as they heard voices in the foyer again. Figures in heavy lime-green jackets and pants, and brimmed helmets with visors were running in. 'The fire's on the lowest floor! Get that dry hose in.'

'Derbenoz, Naga, check the upper floors! I'll make sure there's no one left down here.'

'Shit,' whispered Bulma and Vegeta together. 'Get down,' said Vegeta, climbing under the desk. They both squished in to the short space, Bulma's legs over Vegeta's and braced either side of him on the other side of the desk partition. She balanced her laptop on her knees while she tried to attack the problem from yet another angle. The port used the same language and protocols as the ship, therefore if she could translate her password cracking program into that language using her Ship-Computer-Emulating program she could perhaps get it onto the network. She'd seen customer query forms on the guest system, she could just copy and paste the code and send it through to the main network, then reassemble it on the inside.

A person slammed the doors to the room open and she stopped typing and even moving as they charged around the room. She looked up, locking eyes with Vegeta. The stomping feet came around the door to the desks and Vegeta untangled his legs from hers, ready to act. The feet ran the length of the desk area and back, and it seemed like they were going to pass them by, but then…

'Hey! What're you two doing-'

Vegeta exploded out of their hiding place, punching the hapless fireman in the nuts. He folded in two, and Vegeta struck him across the face with his elbow on the way down. The man's head snapped to the side, his helmet bouncing clear and he crumpled to the floor.

Bulma stared in horror.

'What?' whispered Vegeta, crouching alongside her again. 'I didn't even kill him, if you're about to whine about that.'

'Good,' she croaked and forced herself to turn back to the computer. Her program was translated. She cut and pasted and hit send, then got out from under the desk. Bending over so that she couldn't be seen over the desk by the people fighting the fire in the foyer, she went looking through the system for the customer enquiry tickets. And there it was! She cut and pasted the ticket contents into a text editor, made some minor changes.

'This is taking too long!' complained Vegeta.

'I'm moving at lightning speed, mister!'

'Maybe we should have tried to commandeer a declamping tool instead?' he worried.

'Yeah, why didn't you do that?' she said. 'It might've been a lot simpler than what I'm having to do now!'

'Because I don't know where they are or how to use one. And because I only just thought of it!'

'Then stop complaining!' she said, pressing save and rushing to launch the program.

The sounds of spraying and shouts in the foyer tailed off, though people were still occasionally charging back and forward.

She gasped. 'It's up!'

Right away she set it to breaking the password for the override authority. Then she set about finding the port lockdown order. Thank god the Grenouilleans were neat and sensible in their infrastructure, labelling and keywords! The program defeated the password for the override authority, and a minute later the one for the port lockdown succumbed, and she was allowed in to lift the ban on flights. She gave their ship a "Free to Fly" status too, which sounded like a good thing.

'Now for our clamp!' she declared, squirreling out the work tickets for declamping the ships. She found their one at the end of the queue and bumped it right to the top with "Special Occasion" priority.

'I've done it!' she said.

'Good,' said Vegeta. 'I knew my plan would work.'

Bulma rolled her eyes. ' _Your_  plan, huh?'

'Yes,  _I_  thought of it. Now, let's get out of here.'

The foyer was full of white dust or gas and grey smoke near the ceiling which was too thick to see through.

'Get that flying contraption capsule ready and hold your breath,' said Vegeta as they peered through the glass. When she nodded her readiness they waited another moment longer, listening for voices and watching for shadows in the smoke. Then Vegeta took her hand and they took a deep breath, opened the door and plunged into the blind space, heading for the brightest point where the doors should be. They emerged, eyes stinging onto the steps only to see not only the evacuated port workers and firefighters with their appliances, but a phalanx of police officers and even a few PTO soldiers - one of which was Major Horgathard. Nearly everyone was watching the doors as they emerged, and the cry went up immediately.

'It's him!'

Vegeta turned tail and dragged her back inside.

'Where-?' she started, but then coughed, and Vegeta took them around the edge of the foyer and pulled her through the door to the stairwell.

'Up!' he commanded, and they began pounding up the steps.

'How're we gonna get out?' Bulma cried.

'I don't know,' said Vegeta.

They got up four flights, Bulma falling more and more behind. She could hear footsteps on stairs at the below.

'No!' she moaned.

'Should I carry you?' Vegeta asked, but Bulma stopped, grabbing the door from the landing she was on.

'No!' she said. 'I have an idea, and this is high enough!'

They ran across the floor of an office; neat workstations set out in rows. Bulma got to the tinted window that ran right around the room looked down. That way lay the evacuees and police, which was no good. Instead she ran around the other side of the floor, Vegeta on her heels.

'Vegeta, I need a window that opens!' she cried, and Vegeta picked up the closest office chair and hurled it full force through the window. The door from the stairwell slammed open, and she heard the cries of 'Surrender!' and her hands were shaking as she popped the capsule for her hoverbike. Both of them darted into the saddle so fast that their heads knocked together, and then Bulma hit the gas hard, the bike roaring as it flew through the broken window, even as she could hear people charging at them from behind. As they cleared the building she felt Vegeta jerk and go rigid, second-hand electric shocks rippling over her skin from the stun bolt he'd taken, and she shoved her clutch into her teeth so she could grab his wrists around her waist one-handed so that he wouldn't fall off as they soared out over the nearest berthed ships.

'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,' she found she was muttering to herself through her mouthful of handbag, starting to blubber again as the shock got to her. Overwhelmed by the urgency of the situation, it took her a moment of casting about before she recognised the landmark ships that their smaller one was parked near and turned the bike in that direction. Below and behind she could hear shouting, but they left them behind - Bulma's bike was the only thing capable of flight in the entire port at that moment.

Vegeta came around from his stunning, tightening his arms around her, and the movement was immensely reassuring.

She dropped the handbag into her lap. 'Are you all right?' she asked.

'Yes,' he said in her ear, but his voice was not as full of his usual confidence. 'This machine has its uses after all - if we can get to the ship far enough ahead of that rabble we might actually make it off this planet!'

Bulma felt another shock of adrenalin blooming through her bloodstream at these words, and realising she still had her hand on his wrist she gave it a squeeze and then grabbed the handlebars with both hands, pushing the bike as fast as it would go.

They blasted into the avenue their ship was parked in, no time for subterfuge or caution. The two men who were inside before were now outside removing the second of the two shackles that had tethered their vessel, and they looked up as Bulma braked hard, stalling the bike in the air and dropping it to the landing field with a bone-shaking thump. Vegeta was off before it had even hit the ground though, leaping and tearing up the gangway. Bulma capsulized the bike and followed.

'Out!' Vegeta roared at the woman who was still busy polishing the floor in front of the regen tank.

'I will just...'

'No, GET OUT NOW!'

The woman stumbled back as if he'd hit her and knocked into the regen tank. As she stepped away and looked behind to see what she'd hit the sheet came down, and her eyes went wide with shock at the sight of a naked young man suspended in fluid before her.

'I'm sorry, I...' She looked at Bulma and Vegeta, both standing there, desperate-eyed. 'Why is there a-'

'Get off our fucking ship!' yelled Bulma, almost losing her wits with impatience, and she stamped towards the woman, who fled in terror of her down the rampway. Vegeta followed her out in time to see the two men drag the heavy links of the tether away from the leg of the ship. Nappa and the others were running across the avenue towards them.

'Vegeta!' Nappa yelled, waving his arm in a furious go thither motion. 'Look out!'

It was too late though and Vegeta went down again, slammed onto his side on the rampway from another stun bolt from the left, the shooter a policeman almost out of sight, but running in, weapon raised. Bulma turned just in time to get one of her own, her head bouncing on the ramp, legs and arms shooting out painfully and kicking Vegeta in the face without being able to stop herself. She heard the roars of the younger boys; Goku and Krillin and Tarble as they charged in and more shouts of men. She just managed to make it to her elbows when Vegeta staggered to his feet.

'Stay down,' he ordered, and ran into the fray.

She pushed herself up the rampway and into the ship, watching from over the edge as Vegeta, Raditz, Nappa and the boys battled six PTO soldiers and a dozen police officers. They were moving so fast it was hard for Bulma to really tell what was going on, but she could see that Krillin, Tarble and Goku were working together on a couple of police officers who were trying to stun them at every turn. Sometimes one of them went down, but the other two would continue the attack until the third recovered. Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta though were a maelstrom of movement, all fighting multiple opponents. Nappa's fists flew like pneumatic rams, eye-defyingly fast and crushingly effective. Bulma could hear the soft crunching sounds and hollow-meaty thuds they made as he pounded away at his lighter-weight assailants. Vegeta was attacking the taller opponents high and moving so fast that he appeared to be flying even without the use of chi. He barely touched the ground, leaping from the chest of one man pirouetting into the next like a blood-bent ballerina. Raditz used his long legs to his advantage, leaping high and coming down hard. Two police officers got him by the arms and Raditz pitched himself over onto his side, pinning one of them while he got the second in a leg lock and went at him with his teeth. The man was screaming before he let go of Raditz's arm, and Bulma thought she might lose her lunch to see Raditz's mouth and teeth smeared with blood. He grinned widely and laughed.

'Oh my god, they're enjoying themselves,' she whispered to herself.

Nappa went down to a stun bolt and was swarmed by three officers. He came back up with a roar, but by that time Raditz was down too. There were too many of them, and the police had their guns.

 _I've got a gun too!_  she realised and took her purse, upending it on the floor of the ship. She dug through frantically, looking for the one that held her handgun. She found it and cocked it, looking for a shot to line up. Vegeta was down on the ground, a soldier pinning him while he fought off another with his feet. She waited but couldn't get a clear shot with Vegeta thrashing about so unpredictably. She knew she wasn't that good of a shot to start with either. She turned her attention to the younger boys and saw Tarble leap free of the tangle, holding something aloft. He turned and levelled the device at a soldier and the man went down, twitching.

'Yes! Tarble!' she cried, realising he'd got his hands on a stun gun. He shot the men that Goku and Krillin were struggling with then picked off the two on Vegeta before another police officer leapt on top of him, bearing both the boy and the gun to the ground. Vegeta was up though, and Nappa surfaced from his attackers with a roar. It seemed that the tide had turned in their favour – a few of the officers had gone down and weren't getting back up, and now one of them was calling to his fellows to retreat.

'That's right, pansies - get the fuck outta town!' yelled Nappa, laughing in brutal delight, his shirt shredded to bits and hanging from his wrists.

Bulma crept down the rampway a little further, still holding her gun, and that's when she saw Major Horgathard arriving with reinforcements.

'Look out, Vegeta!' she screamed.

Vegeta glanced over at Bulma in the rampway, and then back up the avenue where a truck unit laden with PTO soldiers was coming in. The soldiers leapt off the wagons and ran towards the fray, overtaking the truck. A few of them hefted large artillery on their shoulders.

'Crap,' breathed Vegeta, turning to lunge at the soldier he was fighting, but the man melted away from him. Another unit was arriving from the opposite direction. All the officers and soldiers that were able to were pulling away from the Saiyans. More men were filtering in between the ships, blocking their escape that way as well. They were surrounded.

'Hold it right there, Vegeta!' the major called from the midst of his troops. 'If you or your men make any move to run or fight, mine will shoot you where you stand with our laser cannons, and we'll turn over your smoking corpses to Frieza with our apologies!'

The others clustered closer to Vegeta, who growled in disbelieving anger. Caught by lowly PTO minions with laser cannon! This was pathetic!

'Curse this chi-supressing shit!' shouted Nappa, echoing Vegeta's feeling exactly. He should've made Bulma blow up the tower after all, and damn her sensitivities!

'What do we do?' asked Tarble.

'Er… _surrender_?' suggested Krillin.

'I'm not afraid of laser cannons!' said Kakarott.

'That's because you don't know what a laser cannon  _is_ ,' pointed out Raditz.

'If it's like a normal cannon, they still have to aim it and shoot,' said Kakarott. 'I'm not gonna stand in one spot to let them hit me.'

Vegeta almost laughed to hear Kakarott speak the most sense. He looked at the major who was standing between the two armoured artillery men, squatting in position to aim and fire.

'What makes you think your men are fast enough on the trigger to hit us?' he shouted.

'It might take all day, but I've got time,' said the major, not sounding as relaxed as the sentiment implied. 'Surrender and you'll save us and yourselves a great deal of effort!'

'Well, that sounds a tempting offer, Major; I'll hold it in consideration,' said Vegeta. He looked around their perimeter. How were they to get out? Speed, confusion, luck…and some of them might make it. His heart, already pounding from the exertion of the fight, quickened, and he almost felt dizzy with apprehension.

'We're going with Kakarott's idea,' he told the others quietly. 'Keep moving. If you see an exit, take it. If you make it, meet…in the jungle to the West of the city. We'll use our chi sense to find each other.' He glanced over at the ship and saw Bulma standing, looking pale and frightened in the entrance.  _Damn_.

Behind him Raditz whimpered. 'Maybe…we  _should_  surrender?'

'Do you want to be handed over to Frieza?' asked Vegeta. For a moment he couldn't tear his eyes off Bulma, clutching a primitive ballistic Earthling gun in her hands. He didn't want to leave her behind. He wanted to yell for her to hide deep inside the ship, but that would only call attention to her.

'Frieza!' breathed Raditz in horror.

'Yes,' said Vegeta finally looking away from Bulma. 'Who else did you think they would give us to?' But then he heard the ripples of astonishment and fear pass through not only the Saiyans but the soldiers that surrounded them.

'Frieza!' they gasped and fell to one knee in salute. His skin crawling with horror, he turned to see the monster himself stride out from around Horgathard's men.

'Oh,' said Nappa, falling to one knee also, and then all the way to his elbows as he was overcome with the same sickness that Vegeta felt washing through his gut. 'We're done!'

To his shame, Vegeta found himself on his knees too. They had given way, and his thighs trembled, threatening to dump him in an undignified heap on the ground.

Frieza's little pink and purple face was creased with displeasure. He held up one hand and looked at the major. 'Leave!' he said.

The Major gaped from where he knelt, hand on heart. 'Lord Frieza! You want me to leave?'

Frieza nodded.

'Are you sure, my Lord?'

Frieza said nothing, only continued to stare, and the Major scrambled to his feet. 'Of course you are sure, my Lord! Do you want me to leave the men or take them with me?'

'All of you go!' said Frieza. 'Leave Vegeta to me!'

Something was wrong, wrong enough that it filtered through Vegeta's fear. Frieza's voice was not right. Too high, not raspy enough. He raised his head and watched his master walk towards him in a calculated gait that was not his own. When he got close enough for Vegeta to sense his chi he had to bite his lip not to laugh aloud with relief.

Frieza stopped short of them and looked around at the soldiers backing away. 'Leave!' he shouted again, his voice thin and shrill. 'All of you out of my sight! I wish to talk to the fugitive in private!'

Beside him Nappa rose up from his knees. 'What in hell?' he murmured.

Vegeta heard the moment Kakarott figured it out because the kid gasped and then chuckled, followed by Krillin doing the same.

Frieza waited, watching as the PTO and few remaining police officers retreated, and then he shuffled closer.

'Vegeta!' he whispered. 'It's me.'

'I know, Daemon,' Vegeta replied, getting to his feet.

'I wish to speak to you on your ship!' said the fake Frieza as loudly as possible for the benefit for anyone who might still be within earshot.

'All, right, you've got us! We surrender,' said Vegeta grimly, though he felt his chest might burst from wanting to laugh with delight at this stroke of genius from Puar. They filed towards the ship, Vegeta in the lead and Puar just behind him.

'Fuck me!' said Raditz, and Vegeta wished he would shut up at least until they were inside the ship. 'Holy, fucking legend-on-a-stick!'

Vegeta was still struggling not to break into laughter as they got to the rampway. Bulma stood at the top, trembling with fear. He guessed that she still wasn't in on the joke.

'It's all-' he began, but then she raised her arms, levelled a gun at Puar and fired.

Vegeta acted without thinking. He shoved Puar to the side, taking the bullet in the shoulder himself and expecting it to bounce off. Except that it didn't, because his chi was suppressed.

'Oof!' he said, the sensation like a punch in the shoulder. Feeling like an idiot and annoyed at Bulma too, he snatched the hot gun off her at threw it aside.

'Vegeta!' she screamed at him, wide eyed. 'What have you done?!'

'You idiot female!' said Nappa, picking up the shocked Puar and leaping up the rampway with her.

Pain bloomed through Vegeta's shoulder, but there was no time for explanations. He put one hand over the wound and pushed past Bulma, grabbing her wrist with the hand of his injured arm and dragging her out of the way as the others rushed on board. Nappa was already closing the ramp.

'Get us out of here!' he shouted, but Raditz was already on it, bounding up the stairs as the younger boys swamped him and Bulma in the lounge. Vegeta snorted and chuckled, free at last to enjoy the hilarity of Puar's ruse.

'Frieza!' screamed Bulma, trying to see around Vegeta. He pulled her down to her knees as he involuntarily took a seat on the lowest step, his knees buckling.

'It was Puar!' cried Kakarott and Krillin together.

'It was me!' echoed Puar, already back in her usual form and free of Nappa's grasp.

'What?' said Bulma in shock. Then, 'What!' in joy and then ' _What?_ ' in anger. 'Why didn't you tell me? I almost shot you! You made me shoot Vegeta!'

Vegeta roared in laughter at this, feeling almost off his head with relief and adrenalin, and laughed harder when Bulma was flattened to the floor by the acceleration of Raditz taking off. Puar fell out of the air and landed on his knee, and Tarble, Krillin and Kakarott staggered about before taking a seat. He couldn't stop laughing, even though it made his shoulder hurt more, and the pain starting to radiate into his chest. Bulma and Puar were both crying, and Kakarott, Krillin and Tarble were giving him concerned looks. Only Nappa looked happy.

'Well that, as they say, was a close one, your Highness!'

He had just about stifled his hysterics when the gravity switched over to the ship's generator.

Bulma got up and placed herself in front of him, tears still running down her face. He could see she was still scared and it made him snort a little more.

'This isn't funny, Vegeta - I shot you, and you're bleeding everywhere!'

He looked down and sure enough the delicate fabric of the Grenouillean shirt was getting stuck to the front of his chest and abdomen with blood. The sight sobered him up – suddenly the situation really didn't seem that funny after all - but he decided he wasn't bleeding  _too_  fast.

'The prince wouldn't be in any danger from being stung by that pea shooter,' said Nappa. 'It only got him in the shoulder.'

Bulma looked unconvinced, as did Puar and Krillin.

'Vegeta, are you all right?' asked Puar.

'Are you, Daemon?'

'Yes, but I've not been shot!'

'I'll do for now,' he said, and stood up. The danger wasn't necessarily past yet, he remembered.

He climbed the stairs to the flight deck and found Raditz hunched over the console, the picture of tension. Vegeta dropped into the other seat.

'Are we being pursued?' he asked the older Saiyan, though it occurred to him that if they were, there was both nothing he could do, and no energy left to do it with.

'Not from the ground, but there are patrols of military spacecraft already up here, and they're making their way towards us!'

'How far away?'

'Far enough that I hope that by the time they get to us we'll be going faster than light!'

Vegeta closed his eyes for a second and prayed that their luck of the last few minutes held a few minutes longer. Once accelerated beyond light speed they couldn't be tracked and no weapon could reach them.

'Almost there…' said Raditz. 'Almost…'

Suddenly an alert went off. Vegeta was already so far maxed out on adrenalin by this time that he didn't ever flinch, though Raditz did.

'What is it?' screamed Raditz, looking about for the flashing warning sign and Tarble made a noise of dismay as he got to the top of the stairs just in time for this crisis.

'It's Frieza's ship!' gasped Raditz, answering his own question, and Vegeta felt too overwhelmed to even respond to that. No, not Frieza  _again!_  The  _real_  Frieza!

And then the alarm went silent.

'Why did it stop?' asked Tarble as Kakarott and Nappa pushed up the stairs behind him.

'Because we're moving faster than light speed!' shouted Raditz. He jumped up from his seat. 'We did it! We're free!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Now I've spoiled you guys. Who knows when the next chapter will come?


	36. Death and Taxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello! Yes I still exist. I think this might've been the longest I've ever gone between updates on this story, though to me it doesn't feel like it because I've continued to think about it and chip away at it in all this time. Somehow I've managed to get caught up in some professional things that take away my time from writing, and I don't know...It just seems like I don't have as much time to myself to write these last few months, which is a shame for both me and you. Plus this section of the story hasn't exactly flowed like water. I would have liked to present you with three chapters one after another like last time, but after getting this and the next chapter back from my very kind and thoughtful and pregnant beta Adli I actually have some major revisions to make to chapter 37 before posting. So, it may be a week. Who knows?
> 
> Anyway, on with Death and Taxes!

It seemed like it had taken forever… but Chichi and Yajirobe were finally flying.

It hadn't taken Yamcha too long to figure it out after he'd seen Chaiotsu and Tien do it – after all, he wouldn't admit to the Crane school students being more skilled in martial arts than he. It was obviously some manipulation of chi that allowed them to do it, so with some thought, concentration and practice, Yamcha had figured it out himself. The harder part was teaching the other two how to control  _their_  chi. Chichi knew about chi, but her father's lessons on it had been very incomplete and she found it hard to consciously control it. She could power up or down, strengthen and harden her limbs with it, but it was all emotionally driven. Yajirobe on the other hand hadn't even heard of chi.

'Bullshit,' he'd said flatly when Yamcha first explained. Even when Yamcha had produced a handful of visible chi to demonstrate, Yajirobe had maintained his scepticism. 'Yeah, still bullshit. I don't know what  _that_  is, but ain't never felt this life force you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure I'm alive.'

'No, actually I'm pretty sure you're  _dead_ , but you still have your life force.'

Yamcha had worked hard to bring the both of them up to speed. Before he'd ever met Master Roshi he had studied the old masters of martial arts – their books, histories and accounts of their techniques. He'd met and fought bandits like himself who had some small amount of skill in manipulating their life force, and he'd learned from them too. Master Roshi's teaching style was more along the lines of building up a person's strength and reservoir of power until they overflowed the bounds of normal human physicality. At that point the use of chi became easier and more natural, but he hadn't so much taught Yamcha  _how_  to use it. Yamcha had learnt through observation, copying, experimentation and his own study. He didn't really know how to teach it and after a while he began to wonder if the other two even had the ability learn it, especially at the point that Chichi became dispirited and Yajirobe belligerent about their failure, and appeared to be going backwards in their progress.

'This sucks! Why are we wasting our time trying?' Yajirobe had complained.

'What if I can't ever do it?' was Chichi's fear.

'You're already using chi without even realising it!' Yamcha had explained. 'You can crack those edge stones with your hand – you wouldn't be able to do that without directing your chi, even if you don't know  _how_  you're doing it.'

'But what if it's not enough?'

'It will be!' he'd said, almost losing his temper with them. 'If that squirt Chiaotsu can do it, so can you two! You just have to keep trying and  _believe_  it's going to happen!' And it was this thought that had eventually got all of them through. Yamcha's pride when he watched his students make those first sparks of chi form in the palms of their hands was immense. Every time they had stopped to sleep they had spent a couple of hours on practice. They slept less because of it, and eventually they had stopped sleeping altogether. Apparently lack of sleep was just one more thing that wouldn't kill them if they were already dead. Other than a tendency to slip into waking dreams, they went through cycles of alertness and tiredness and back to refreshment without ever closing their eyes. Time had become even more meaningless to them.

Now they stood on the edge of the path looking across at the loops of Snake Way ahead of them.

Yamcha lifted off and hovered above the clouds and turned back to watch the others. Yajirobe grunted and lifted off, flying like a balloon bouncing along a ceiling. Chichi rose gracefully but hesitated to cross the threshold of the path.

'Huuu…' she moaned, her eyes looking down.

'Come on, Chichi!' said Yamcha, trying to be encouraging, though he sounded impatient even to himself.

Chichi inched out and slipped in the air before bouncing back up onto the path with a squeal.

'I don't think I can!' she said, verging on tears after her fright.

'But you can fly fine over the path – what's the difference when it's over the clouds?' he asked.

'Because that's Heck down there!' she said. 'And I don't want to go! Why can't we just fly along the path?'

'Because flying direct and cutting out all the loops saves so much time!' said Yamcha. 'That was the whole point of learning how to fly!'

He saw she was shaking. 'I can't do it!' she said. 'If I get tired and fall… I can't go to Heck!'

'I don't see how I can fall into Hell when I'm already there,' grumbled Yajirobe.

Yamcha ignored Yajirobe's less than helpful comment. 'Please, Chichi! Don't you want to get to King Kai's in time to help save the world? We could make all the difference!'

'Oh, no,' moaned Chichi, pressing her hands to her face. 'I can't let them all down! Okay, I'll try!' She took a deep breath to swallow her tears then flew, fast and directly to Yamcha, but as she stopped she bounced a little in the air and grabbed his outstretched hand. 'I thought I was about to fall!' she cried.

'You're fine,' said Yamcha, more kindly now that she'd actually committed herself to the air. 'Keep holding my hand.'

Chichi blushed but kept holding his hand painfully tight. She had quite a crushing grip for someone who looked so helpless and vulnerable.

They headed into the North again, towards the most distant sight of path they could see, flying and gaining more confidence as they went.

'Everyone okay?' asked Yamcha after they'd crossed the path a few times.

'Yep,' said Yajirobe. 'Never thought I'd say this, but flying isn't dumb.'

'Flying isn't…?' Yamcha was speechless.

'This is pretty fun,' said Chichi, her tears dry now.

'Good,' he said, squeezing her hand.

She looked down at their joined hands and an expression of mortification stole across her face. She turned beet red.

Yamcha frowned. 'Are you okay?'

Chichi turned her face away from him. 'I… I… I have something I have to tell you.'

'What is it?' he asked, mystified and a bit alarmed.

'Gosh, this is so hard to say! I'm only holding your hand because I was scared just now. I…'

'Yeah?'

'Yamcha… I'm really sorry I have to tell you this but… this thing between us; it's going nowhere.'

'Huh?'

'I can't lead you on anymore - I just can't marry you, Yamcha!'

'What?' yelped Yamcha.

'What?' echoed Yajirobe. 'Did she just say what I think she said?'

'Please don't take it too hard! I know you're in love with me, so it's better that I put a stop to this sooner rather than later. You're a really nice guy, and I'm sure you'd hit it off with any girl, but Goku and I are to be married! It was decided a long time ago. My father has approved it.'

Yamcha was stunned and more than a little confused. ' _Married?_ Goku? Really?'

'I know! I feel so bad because I met you first, but then when I met Goku, well… things just happened so fast!'

'What things?'

'Physical… things.'

Yamcha felt his lips drawing back in distaste. Physical things? What kind of physical things ended in an engagement? Maybe her father was really strict that way. Maybe they'd been caught doing the deed or… no! Goku and Chichi both couldn't be older than thirteen or so, and Chichi was so shy he wouldn't have thought she was the kind to be precocious that way. He wouldn't have thought that Goku was either, but… well, would anything really surprise him about Goku? The boy was always ahead of Yamcha in everything, no matter that he was younger than him. Maybe he'd beat him to the punch in losing his virginity too. Oh man, why hadn't he been bolder with Bulma? It had felt like there was no hurry; no need to go rushing into things and… getting himself out of his depth. And now he was dead and possibly a virgin eternally unless everything went according to plan.  _What an idiot I am!_

Yamcha felt himself blushing as hard as Chichi.

'That's okay,' he said numbly.

'It is?' she asked, looking at him once more. 'You're not upset?'

'I didn't expect to marry you anyway.'

Chichi looked confused. 'You didn't? But you told me you loved me, and you wanted me to hold your hand just now. Why else would you do that?'

Now it was Yamcha's turn to be confused. 'So that you didn't freak out while we were flying. And I only told you I loved you back when I met you because… well, I didn't want to get in trouble with your father for knocking you out.'

Chichi gasped, and looking very hurt, yanked her hand out of his.

'Do you think that makes a marriage proposal?' said Yajirobe, laughing. He swooped closer to her other side, then suddenly grabbed her hand. She screeched, but Yajirobe chuckled. 'Chichi, I love you! What're you going to do now?'

Chichi tried to yank her hand from his fist and they crashed together.

'Are you going to marry me?' teased Yajirobe.

'No way!' she shouted, and kicked him in the kidneys.

And so they had had their first mid-air sparring session which ended only when Chichi knocked Yajirobe unconscious. Yamcha saved him before he fell through the clouds and they had to wait a little while on the path for him to come round. Chichi and Yamcha avoided looking at one another while they waited, both embarrassed by their revelations.

'Aren't you a bit young to get married?' asked Yamcha after a long uncomfortable silence.

Chichi shrugged. 'Not really. My mother was fourteen when she married my dad, and his mother was twelve when she married my grandfather. I'm just following family tradition.'

'Some traditions aren't worth following, you know?' he suggested, and then fell into an unfortunate contemplation of his own almost accidental following of family tradition.

'But I  _want_  to marry Goku,' Chichi said, hunching her shoulders in dejection.

Yamcha sighed. 'So this thing with you and Goku is really serious, then?'

'Yes. We were going to marry a little while ago, but we postponed the wedding because Goku had to go fight the Red Ribbon army.'

'Yeah, I remember him taking on the army,' said Yamcha. 'I turned up to help him when he stormed their fortress.'

'You did?'

'Yeah.' Yamcha didn't mention that by the time they'd shown up, Goku had dispatched the entire army single-handedly.

'He's an amazing fighter, don't you think?'

'Yeah, he's that.'

'So brave and noble.'

'Yeah.'

'You know, he saved my life on Earth just before that evil Frieza guy turned up. He was with this group of really rough men – well, some of them were really good looking and nice, but the others were rough and not polite, you know. The leader of the gang wanted to kill me because they'd said some things about  _Saiyans_  in front of me, and Goku picked me up and flew with me to a canyon. I hid while he fought the gang leader.'

'Did this guy have black hair that stands up in a point?' asked Yamcha.

'Yes,' said Chichi, surprised. 'Did you meet him too?'

'No,' replied Yamcha, feeling the unquellable fear for his friends awaken in his stomach again. 'I saw him when he kidnapped Goku and Krillin and Bulma and Puar. You said you were killed by an alien – was he the one who killed you?'

Chichi made a face of surprise. 'That guy was an alien? He didn't look alien; he looked human! I guess him and his gang all had tails, but so does Goku.'

'Yes, he… wait a second – is Goku an alien?' The idea was initially preposterous, but suddenly made a huge amount of sense to Yamcha.

'No!' said Chichi. 'How could he be?'

'Stumped if I know, but it seems like he might be. So, if that guy didn't kill you, what alien did?'

Chichi's face grew bleak. 'Lord Frieza,' she said, her voice becoming icy. 'The one that wanted Earth for himself. He was looking for that gang leader too. He called him Vegeta.'

A shudder went up Yamcha's spine at that sharp, unpleasant sounding name, and the memory of the dark little figure laughing in their air after stealing his friends away jumped to the fore of his mind. Maybe they were still with that twisted freak? Maybe that's who they were travelling through space with right now?

'Did this Vegeta guy have a cat, a young monk and a girl with him too?' he asked grimly.

'Yeah, he did!' she replied. 'Do you know them too?'

'My friends,' he explained. 'Well, Bulma is my girlfriend.'

'Girlfriend?' cried Chichi, jumping to her feet. 'You have a  _girlfriend_?  _She's_  your girlfriend?'

'What's wrong with that?' asked Yamcha, coming to his feet out of caution. He'd learnt by now that Chichi's outbursts were nothing to be sniffed at.

'You let me think you had pure intentions when all along you were  _two-timing_  me?' she screeched.

'No! Chichi! You already know that I was never really into you… oh, dammit!'

Chichi was already airborne, her foot flying directly at his head.

* * *

'That was fun!' said Goku.

Krillin looked sidelong at his friend from where he'd collapsed on the lounge steps. 'Buddy, you and I have very different ideas about "fun".'

'Hell yes, it was fun!' refuted Raditz.

'Most action I've seen for a while,' said Nappa, grinning now that they were safe. 'What about you, Vegeta?' he asked. 'Did the day bring you some excitement?'

Vegeta relaxed his face enough to smirk. 'Of a sort.'

Bulma rolled her eyes. She wouldn't have called much of her day "fun". It seemed all the Saiyans were the same - even Tarble was grinning and lively with post-fight euphoria. But Vegeta's smile vanished a second later as he slipped back into a distant, troubled look. Well, maybe he wasn't  _quite_  the same as the others.

He looked in pain, as she'd expect him to be, and she felt bad about shooting him – embarrassed and guilty, even though it hadn't been her fault. She could have killed Puar, or even Vegeta if he had taken the bullet in the head or heart. As it was, she was very upset about his shoulder – more than Vegeta himself, it seemed.

Raditz cooked dinner while Nappa and Bulma tended the wounded. Nappa's medical advice primarily consisted of telling the patient to wash the wound, cover it up and harden the fuck up, but Bulma insisted on following each of his inspections up with some proper first aid. Bulma was quite bruised herself, and had administered pain killers to herself and to Puar too, who had soon after fallen asleep on the sofa from exhaustion. She had cleaned and glued the cut on Krillin's temple back together, given Goku a couple of shots of sedative and then got him to ram his missing tooth back in its socket, bandaged a cut on Raditz's forearm, and glanced at Nappa's bloodied knuckles.

'I can clean those up, put antiseptic and bandages on them,' she said, looking at him through narrowed eyes as she awaited the predictable response.

'Think I'll do all right, Sweetheart. I haven't gotten this far through life being a mollycoddled idiot.'

'Fine,' she muttered and left him to it.

Tarble had a more serious injury than the others. His hand was broken a couple of days ago, then partially healed and then broken again during the fight, and it was going puffy with swelling. Nappa offered to straighten the bones for him so it wouldn't heal crooked, and before Bulma could intervene, yanked and flattened Tarble's hand. Tarble screamed and then looked like he was about to pass out, but after some ruthless squeezing and prodding, Nappa was satisfied that the bones were in the right position.

'Splint that will you, Princess,' he ordered her as her walked away. Fuming, she did, gently bandaging his hand flat to a coaster after dosing him with two squirts of the sedative spray.

In the end there was only Vegeta with the most serious injury left to treat and he was being even more obstinately stalwart than Nappa and with less justifiable reason.

'Come on, Vegeta!' she said to him quietly after he'd told her again it could wait. He was obviously in pain, and she couldn't understand why he wasn't rushing to be treated. 'There's no exit wound! You've got a bullet stuck in you! It's going to cause an infection.'

'It can wait until after dinner.'

They ate, Bulma for the first time enjoying the blandness of Raditz's cooking. Overcooked Earthling turkey from the pantry/bedroom, rehydrated vegetable slop, boiled tubers and sauce made a filling and unchallenging meal after such a stressful day and the wonders and horrors of Grenouillean cuisine. She ate double what she normally would, having to defend the last of her meal from Goku and Tarble who were used to poaching from her plate by now. She ate as much as Vegeta, which, when she noticed this, was cause for concern. He pushed aside his plate, glassy eyed and faintly sweating.

'You don't look so good, Vegeta,' noted Goku, his speech slightly slurred from the sedative. He was drinking his dinner through a straw as Bulma had made Raditz put his in a blender so that he wouldn't swallow the loose tooth while eating.

'You gonna clean that wound?' asked Nappa.

'Yes,' said Vegeta, leaning forward in preparation to get to his feet. He turned to Bulma and gave her a significant look. 'Do you have a clean bandage in that kit?'

'Of course,' she said.

'Perhaps you could bring me one.' He stood with a grunt and made his way to the corridor. Frowning, Bulma packed up her medical supplies into their capsule and followed him.

He was in the bathroom, filling a basin and she watched in the mirror as he stripped off his blood-soaked shirt and dipped a clean washcloth into the water. Wincing, he scrubbed gingerly at the blood down his front. The hole the bullet made was small, but it still leaked blood. As he scrubbed the dried blood away she could see that the area around the hole was reddish-purple.

There was no mark on the back of his shoulder to show there was any trauma. She wondered if the bullet had hit his shoulder blade on the inside, and if it had broken it. She wandered up behind him and touched the skin of his shoulder blade lightly. Vegeta immediately stiffened and stood straighter, his eyes locking onto hers in the mirror.

'Does that hurt?' she asked.

'No. Not the back of me, at least.'

'Can I have a look?'

He nodded.

Bulma pressed his shoulder blade harder, poking around. 'Still doesn't hurt? she asked.

'Not really.'

So the bone seemed to be okay. She peered around his side to see the entry point. It didn't look  _too_  bad, at least until another livid red tear ran from it down his torso. He swiped the fresh blood up with the cloth.

'I'm sorry,' she admitted, regretting that she was the cause of this horrible injury.

He just grunted.

'We need to get that bullet out of you,' she said, and felt her knees go weak at the thought. 'Not that I really know how to go about that.'

'It'll work its way out,' he said.

'What makes you think  _that?_ ' she asked. 'You've got a bullet lodged in your shoulder! At the very least, keeping it in long term could give you lead-poisoning.'

'Lead poisoning?' he echoed. 'What kind of barbarians are you Earthlings, firing lead into each other?' He looked with displeasure at the hole. 'Fine.' He lay down on the floor with some gasps and grunts of pain along the way. Bulma whimpered and looked at the capsule in her hand. How did one take a bullet out of someone? The prospect was making her feel shaky and a bit ill.

'Come on,' he said. 'If you think it needs to come out, get on with it.'

She uncapsulated the supplies and knelt on the floor beside him, looking them through for some saline solution tubes, some alcohol to sterilise, some narrow forceps and a scalpel, which made her feel even more anxious. Then she lined up cotton balls, butterfly stitches, gauze dressings and tape, antiseptic powder, the flesh glue and the sedative spray then began rearranging things in the order she foresaw she would most likely need them.

'Did you take this long when you operated on my stomach wound?' he asked, watching her. He sounded both annoyed and amused.

'Of course not – that was an emergency. No time to think at all.' She soaked a cotton ball with alcohol first and wiped around the wound. Vegeta flinched a bit but remained still, his eyes watching her face as she worked. Then she took a freshly soaked ball and wiped right to the edge of the wound itself and Vegeta jerked and caught her wrist to stop her.

'Lizard's gonad! What the hell is  _that?_ '

'I'm sorry!' she said. 'It's just alcohol to sterilise it. I should have warned you it would hurt. Do you want some sedative?' She held up the spray and she had the feeling he was about to say yes, but Nappa appeared in the open door.

'What's going on in here?' he asked curiously.

'Bulma is about to remove the piece of lead she put in me.'

'This'll be something to watch, then.' He ambled in and crouched on Vegeta's other side. Bulma had it on the tip of her tongue to tell him to take a hike, as she could do without the added pressure of a hostile audience, but in fact Nappa's presence was partly reassuring – at least she wouldn't be alone and without assistance and a second opinion if something went wrong.

'Sedative, Vegeta?' she asked again.

Vegeta shook his head. 'I don't need that for an injury so small.' Nappa gave a small chuckle of approval.

'Are you sure?' she asked.

'You seem very concerned for our dear Prince,' said Nappa.

Bulma tried not to blush as she replied straight. 'It's quite normal to feel concern for your friends.'

'Friends?' said Nappa, his eyebrows shooting up.

Vegeta frowned at her. 'Saiyans don't have friends,' he said gruffly.

'So I've heard,' she replied. 'And I believe it this time about as much as I believed it the first time!'

He let go of her wrist. 'Get on with it.'

She quickly sterilised the forceps and then very slowly and carefully poked them into the hole in Vegeta. It had closed up tight around the bullet, and blood welled up again, slowly this time. She whimpered under her breath at the feel of the flesh resisting the intrusion of the instrument, but it was masked by Vegeta's pained gasps and short, sharp breaths. With the forceps buried an inch and a half deep in his shoulder she hit something hard, but she struggled to open the forceps to grasp it.

'What's the problem?' Nappa asked.

'No problem,' she said. 'Just can't grab a hold…'

'You're being too gentle,' he said.

'Too gentle?' she replied. 'Are you blind and deaf? He's really in pain!'

'Didn't… bother you… last time,' Vegeta gasped out. And that was true – it hadn't. When she'd mended his tail she'd felt sorry for him, but not this hand-wringing empathy as if his every groan was hers. When she'd saved his life from the belly wound any thought about hurting him or not hadn't occurred because she was just desperate that he not die. This time was different though.

Every time she tried to pluck the bullet out, Vegeta gasped and she grimaced. She didn't know if it was a property of Saiyan flesh or if a human would be the same, but the muscle of his shoulder felt like it was fighting her to keep hold of its leaden intruder. Between the effort of that and her anxiety she began to get sweaty hands. Perhaps she should take the scalpel and widen the wound? It seemed reckless to make  _more_  damage though, and the thought of purposely cutting him made her feel woozy. Suddenly the forceps slipped in her grip and jumped halfway out of the wound, tearing the opening and Vegeta yelled loudly while Nappa moved quickly to pin his arms to the floor.

'Sorry!' she cried.

'Give it here,' said Nappa, knocking her hand aside.

'No!' she protested, but he planted his knee on Vegeta's chest, pulled the forceps from her, wrenched them open and plunged them in deep. Vegeta gave a full throated roar and thrashed under Nappa's knee and Bulma screamed too, but could only watch as Nappa pulled the forceps back out and held them aloft with the gory prize in the pincers. Blood gushed back up out of the hole, and both Vegeta and Bulma panted in the aftermath – he from pain and she from second hand distress. She grabbed a couple of pads of gauze dressing and rammed them over the wound, holding it down to stem the bleeding.

'Done,' said Nappa, dropping the bullet and instrument. 'Now, if you don't mind me, I need to take a slash.'

He did just that, retreating behind the partition to piss while Bulma panicked at the sight of the now-larger wound. She tried to ignore the sound of a bladder being emptied as she took a peek under the gauze and then pressed it down hard again, scrabbling one-handed for adhesive stitches she'd put out.

'I'm fine,' said Vegeta, though he looked pale and exhausted. 'I've had much worse.'

Bulma gave no comment but was slightly reassured as she inexpertly tacked each side of the hole together with butterfly stitches and sprinkled the area with antiseptic powder. She then sprayed it with glue to stop the oozing. Just to be sure she started to dress a fresh gauze square over it and tape it down in case any movement of Vegeta's tore the stitches and glue open again.

Nappa flushed and came out from behind the partition and watched for a second. 'Stop fussing over him,' he admonished.

Vegeta hauled himself up to sitting at those words and took the dressing tape off Bulma, sticking it down himself. The corner of Nappa's mouth lifted in a smirk for a second and then he walked out (without washing his hands, Bulma noted with disgust).

'Do you want a hand up?' she asked Vegeta, once the door to the bedroom closed.

He shook his head, not looking at her. Instead he slowly rolled himself to his feet. 'That's going to be stiff in the morning.'

Bulma huffed at this radical understatement but offered him a jar of pills and a spray bottle. 'Sedative? Painkillers?' she asked, offering one in each hand. Vegeta hesitated but then replied.

'No.'

'Nappa's not here to see,' she said, but that didn't please him at all.

'What's  _that_  got to do with it? The pain doesn't bother me overmuch.'

'Whatever,' she said, about to drop the subject, but instead Vegeta took the bottle of sedative.

'Fine. If it'll stop your nagging I'll take something.'

'I wasn't  _nagging_ ,' Bulma protested as she watched him give himself a double squirt, but he gave her a dark look and then she got it. He  _was_  in pain, but he couldn't show that it bothered him without seeming… unSaiyan.

He walked slowly down the corridor and she washed the forceps, packed up her gear and rinsed the bullet off. Not sure what to do with the bullet, she hung onto it, rolling it around in her fingers as she walked back into the lounge.

* * *

Vegeta fell into the seat of the sofa next to Puar, jostling her awake. He felt soft and heavy and slightly detached from the sedative and watched Krillin and a clumsy, giggling Kakarott filling the dish sanitiser while Raditz sat on the floor of the lounge and undid his braids. Tarble was slouched at the other end of the sofa, hand laid delicately on his stomach and half-asleep from the sedative. Vegeta moved his good hand up to try and undo his own topknot but found the complexity of the pins and band too much in his current state.

Nappa reappeared from the corridor and stood at one end of the lounge and snorted in amusement.

'Isn't this a sight?'

'Is it?' asked Vegeta.

Nappa didn't answer, just grinned. 'Shall we debrief now, while it's still fresh in our minds?' he asked, wandering over to take up most of the rest of the second couch. Vegeta thought it was probably not the best time, but couldn't find the words to object.

'May as well,' said Raditz, and Vegeta decided to just let it happen.

'All right,' agreed Nappa. 'Kakarott, get over here! We're going to debrief.'

Kakarott appeared from behind the breakfast bar. 'We're gonna what?'

'Debrief,' repeated Nappa.

Kakarott narrowed his eyes woozily at Nappa and then looked down at his pants. 'Why? I don't have any briefs on under here, anyway.'

'A debrief is a meeting where we talk about what's happened, moron!' said Raditz, and Vegeta chuckled lazily. Kakarott was sometimes good to have around just for the laughable display of ignorance.

'A debrief? Am I invited?' asked Bulma, appearing out of the corridor too.

'No,' said Nappa. 'Saiyans only.'

'I want to hear what Krillin and Puar have to say,' drawled Vegeta. 'The Earthlings can stay.'

'They were involved, after all,' pointed out Raditz.

'Suppose,' grumbled Nappa.

Krillin and Kakarott hopped down into the lounge and sat on the floor opposite Raditz, and Bulma went to sit on the dais in the holographic fire opposite Vegeta so they formed a rough circle.

'Nappa first,' instructed Vegeta.

Nappa gave a descriptive account of the night of muggings and rip-offs he and the boys had pulled. When Nappa accused Kakarott and Krillin of endangering them by not killing the people they were supposed to, Kakarott readily admitted it. It was hardly surprising, but Vegeta could only gather himself to make a 'humph'ing noise of dissatisfaction, which was lost under Bulma's loud approval.

'See, Vegeta, it  _is_  possible not to kill innocent bystanders if you  _try!_ '

'Quiet, you!' Nappa shouted her down. 'It's not your turn to talk, and your moralising isn't needed!'

Nappa continued, but was interrupted a few times by Tarble's lazy interjections. 'That was me. That was my idea,' he said, grinning woozily back and forth between Bulma and Vegeta.

Nappa hesitated. 'Tarble was very useful,' he admitted.

Vegeta frowned along the back of the sofa at the smaller Sayain – they both had collapsed, heads lolling back into the cushions, and Tarble grinned at him, off his face on sedative. Vegeta felt a disorientating jolt of recognition and continued frowning, confused as to what prompted it, but then he remembered that he'd been very angry with Tarble.

'Very useful until the moment he led those two other idiots into getting arrested,' he said, and Tarble's smile turned embarrassed.

'Oops!' he said.

'What?' said Nappa. 'Arrested  _when?_ '

Tarble chuckled. 'Uh-oh.'

Nappa apparently figured it out though, jumping to his feet. 'Oh, that morning when you all came back sopping wet, wasn't it?' He turned to Vegeta. 'Did you order them to meet you and give them the money?'

'No.'

Nappa reached down and grabbed Tarble by the front of his shirt, hauling him up and knocking his hand, which made him yelp with pain.

Vegeta closed his eyes. Nappa's anger was an unpleasant buzz against his comfortable detachment. 'Not now, Nappa.'

Nappa dumped the kid anyway and turned on Krillin. 'As for you, you fucking straight up  _lied_  to me!'

Krillin backed up, hopping to the top of the steps to get away. Kakarott tried to follow but tripped over onto his backside.

'I was just calming you down!' Krillin cried. 'You were going to beat up Tarble in the middle of a motel! Kinda would've drawn some attention to us, I think!'

'You condescending little shit!' Nappa roared back.

'Nappa, sit down,' ordered Vegeta. ''S neither time nor place.'

Nappa continued to glare at Krillin for a long moment before he turned and sat back down again. 'Don't think I'm going to forget this,' he warned them.

Raditz and Puar gave their account of the boys' rescue, to the astonishment of everyone who'd not heard the full tale.

'Puar, you were great!' said Kakarott.

'I was scared though,' Puar admitted.

'Doesn't make it any less amazing,' said Krillin. 'What you did was really brave.'

Puar giggled.

'Tell us what you did today!' asked Kakarott. 'We thought we were going to have to run for our lives before you showed up.'

Puar did so, telling them about Vegeta and Bulma calling her on the vidlink unit and telling her to fly from the twin apartment's balcony to the terrace of the honeymoon suite around the outside of the building (her ability to float not seeming to involve chi, it hadn't been affected by the chi-shield), and Vegeta's hasty plan to let her be captured as a decoy. The younger boys were a bit shocked by that, and Bulma still looked angry about it, but said nothing this time. Puar told them how she escaped the garrison with ease, despite her aches and pains, and then hitched rides with passing Grenouilleans and lastly a squadron of PTO who took her right to them at the space port.

'I didn't know what to do when I got there,' she said. 'I was just hiding in the back row, but then the major said that he would hand you over to Frieza, and I remembered what he'd said about Frieza being here in less than a day and I had the idea to pretend to  _be_  Frieza. I was sure they were going to open fire, so I didn't even have time to think about it, I just  _did_  it.'

Krillin scuttled over and grabbed Puar's paw. 'Bless you, you crazy kitten!' he said, shaking the paw. Puar giggled again.

'You did perfect,' said Tarble, leaning over her, taking his turn to shake her paw clumsily. Kakarott crawled over to do the same.

Vegeta was grinning down at the little thing beside him, her ears turning pink with all the attention.

'I am very pleased to have picked up this Daemon in our travels,' he said slowly. 'She has repaid my foresight generously.' He patted her on the head, his fingers slipping over the silky fur, feeling the tiny delicate skull and vertebrae underneath. He paused with his fingers still on her back and then gently picked her up with a hand around her middle and placed her on the arm of the sofa next to him where he could see her better. Puar met his eye nervously.

'Continue to show me this level of loyalty and I will always have a use for you.'

He ran his hand down her fur again, enjoying the sensation, feeling her weak body flex under the weight of his hand while he puzzled over the paradox of such a useful skill being bundled in such a fragile package. Puar dropped to her front paws at his petting, staring back at Vegeta in confusion and Vegeta's smile faded into contemplation. He guessed Bulma was similar to Puar in that regard, though her intellect was her special power. It was not an even trade in his mind – he would much rather have his immense strength and toughness than a unique talent paired with vulnerability, but he supposed that there might be people out there amongst the weak that were not worthless.

Presently Vegeta became aware that everyone else was quiet and watching him while his mind wandered. He looked up, happening to catch Bulma's eye first. She was frowning.

'You took a bullet for Puar,' she said.

'No, I didn't,' he refuted.

'Well, what was that you did on the rampway, then?' asked Raditz.

Vegeta removed his hand from Puar. 'I didn't  _mean_  to take a bullet for her! I forgot about the chi-shield.'

'A likely story,' said Bulma.

'A true story.'

'So what would have happened if you'd remembered about the chi-shield?' she asked.

Vegeta shook his head to push his sluggish brain to order thoughts. 'I'm not sure you want to know that, Girl, considering it was you that levelled the gun at the Daemon.'

Bulma's face clouded. 'I preferred the version of the story where you selflessly saved our friend.'

'I'm not as insensibly emotional as you are.'

Bulma glowered at him and he got the sense that she doubted what he was saying. What  _would_  he have done if he'd remembered the chi-shield? He wasn't sure. Maybe Puar would be dead. He absently stroked the fur down Puar's back again and the feeling of her ribs just under the surface reminded him of the way Bulma had felt under his hand when he'd had to hold her up in her stupid shoes. She was not quite as skinny, having a certain soft cushion between skin and bone, but hardly any protective layer of toughened muscle. He wondered if her hair was as silky as Puar's. It didn't seem fair that she had handled his hair numerous times, yet he had not yet touched hers.

Nappa cleared his throat. 'Shall we get on with this debrief so we can all get to bed?' he asked.

Vegeta realised it was getting fairly dark in the lounge and yanked his wandering mind back to the task at hand. He attempted to detail his and Bulma's actions, but the effort of arranging thoughts and speaking sentences was overwhelming. Bulma insisted in interjecting here and there to correct him and eventually he gave up and let her tell their tale. And what an asinine tale it was; of sightseeing, shopping, conversations and parties. The boys were rapt though, or at least Krillin was.

'What did the dress look like?' he asked at one point.

'Gorgeous,' said Bulma dreamily.

'Titty-tastic,' leered Raditz, and Vegeta had a vague sensation of anger, but it was buried under too many layers of cotton wool to surface.

'Gross,' said Bulma, giving Raditz an answering scowl of disgust.

'Tell me what it looked like!' Krillin prompted Raditz.

'No one wants to hear about a naffing dress, weirdo,' Nappa said, cutting off that line of conversation.

Bulma left out all the parts of their own 'moments' together, as he'd thought she would. Vegeta chuckled darkly because it sounded like they'd had a lazy, cushy time compared to the others. Bulma had finished telling them about the floating restaurant tables to the astonishment of Kakarott and Krillin when Raditz spoke up.

'And why were you and Vegeta holding hands at the restaurant?' He raised a teasing eyebrow.

' _What?_ ' said Krillin, and Nappa grunted with surprise. Even Puar sat up straight and shirked his hand, looking at him nervously.

'I did not!' said Vegeta. 'How would you know, anyway? You weren't even there.'

'I was there briefly,' said Raditz. 'I passed by on my errands and spotted you lot eating out and you were holding Bulma's hand. But whatever.'

Then Vegeta remembered that he had held her hand for a moment. But what could he say about that? That he'd been holding her hand to put a ring on her finger? That sounded worse.

'He was just playing a trick on me,' said Bulma, seeing him hesitating.

'What kind of trick?' asked Nappa, leaning over from the other couch to hear the answer.

'A mean one,' she replied, in convincingly sullen tones, and then launched herself into the rest of the story without elaborating. Vegeta saw her covering her left hand with her right and realised she was hiding her ring, and it gave him a strangely buoyant feeling to see. She was keeping his secrets for him, or at least she was keeping  _their_  secrets for him. As she described today's breakneck escape to the others and her own part in it he realised he was pleased with her. Pleased with her part in their escape, pleased with the way she held everyone's attention with her storytelling, and pleased, even though he should be angry with her for shooting him. His shoulder throbbed as he remembered it, but the pain really didn't bother him at all with the sedative. He closed his eyes and the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake.

'Wakey, wakey, your Highness, we're making the bed,' said Raditz, tugging the cushions from underneath him. Vegeta watched until they'd hunted out all the furs and blankets from the linen cupboard and his own fur was laid out, and then he crawled onto it, collapsing on his back and knowing nothing else until morning.

* * *

'You had Vegeta in custody and YOU LET HIM GET AWAY?'

There had not been enough room available for Frieza's massive flagship to land at the port, so they had instead taken one of the smaller landing vessels and parked it right on the concourse. Everyone gathered around it now quailed with terror as Frieza reacted to the news his welcoming party had greeted him with.

'Not me, my Lord!' the PTO Captain hastened to say. 'Major Horgathard was personally guarding Vegeta when he escaped! And we lost him the second time while Horgathard was in command!'

'And where is the  _major_  right now?'

'Gone, my Lord. He can't be found. His scouter is off and even his concubine is missing from his quarters. We believe he has fled the planet.'

Frieza growled aloud and the Captain fell to his knees in helpless fear.

'You were fooled into thinking I walked in here unannounced when you knew there was a shapeshifter involved? Idiots!'

'N-No!' said the Captain. 'The police only shared with us their suspicion that Raditz had a shapeshifting accomplice  _after_  Vegeta had gotten away.'

The police officers clustered around their President and Vice President flinched as Frieza's eye's sliced over to them.

'Is this true?' he asked.

Several officers looked between each other before the most senior stepped forwards. 'My forces were unaware that our person of interest was Vegeta's companion, Raditz or that the terrorist attacks in the city were caused by Vegeta's group or the duo we were seeking until our port officers encountered the PTO inside the port. The Secret Service told us only that they were investigating our person of interest and later that they had taken over the case as a matter of planetary security.'

The plain-clothed men that crowded closest to the president and vice didn't flinch though as the police passed the buck, and the head of the Secret Service lifted his chin. 'We informed the police forces that we were in pursuit of the fugitive Vegeta and his gang after Vegeta escaped the PTO's custody, my Lord.'

'Yes,' snapped the police commander. 'But you didn't tell us that the petty criminal and his accomplice we were after were connected to Vegeta, so why would we think to warn you about the shapeshifter?'

'Why didn't your people tell us anyway, as we were investigating the Captain for you?'

'Enough!' cried Frieza, raising his hand with two fingers outstretched. A beam of energy shot from both of them; one shot each passing through the heads of the police commander and the head of the secret service. A collective moaning and whimpering of fear broke out amongst the Grenouilleans as the men crumpled to the ground. The sound soothed his anger for a moment before it returned, emanating once again from the festering wound Vegeta had left in his cold heart.

'I don't care which one of them was most to blame,' said Frieza. 'They were both at fault as far as I'm concerned. As for you!' He walked towards the president, and the remaining police and Secret Service shrank away, parting like the petals of a flower to leave two politicians standing exposed like stamen, their brown and green skins almost grey with fear. 'Harbouring Vegeta for two days before realising it!'

'He was in disguise, my Lord,' said the President. 'We had no idea a fugitive would be as bold as to knock on the front door, so to speak, pretending to be a VIP. Our customs and security teams advised us that Vegeta had enough credentials to be taken seriously as Prince Doritoni until his identity was verified with authorities on planet L'Goonta. We reacted as well to each piece of new information that emerged as we could. We did all we could do.'

Frieza lifted his lip in a sneer. 'Really? You did all you could? Because I don't see many dead Grenouilleans around here. I don't see a city levelled in the effort to contain my prey.'

'Vegeta and his companions committed enough terrorist acts by themselves – what would have been the point of causing even more destruction just to catch him?'

'To please me!' said Frieza. 'I'm the one you  _really_  need to be scared of provoking!'

'Sorry, my Lord,' said the President. 'We obey your laws and pay your taxes, but to lay down the lives of innocent Grenouilleans would have been much worse damage than the terrorist himself caused. You and I are both rulers, and so you must know that at the end of the day we have to do what's best for our people. Our people are our most precious resource.'

Frieza pressed his lips together in anger. 'I'm  _your_  ruler! I own your people and I will spend that resource any way I see fit!' he shouted. 'You; the green one. I remember you. What's your name?'

'Pétoncles Gates, my Lord,' said the older, saggier man

'I  _do_  remember you, indeed. My, how you've aged since the day you and the others delivered my dear Zarbon to me.' The vice president's mouth sagged open and Frieza continued. 'You're a preservationist and an even older one now – I'm sure you know what needs to be done if you want that wise old head of yours to stay on your shoulders.'

Pétoncles fell to his knees. 'Yes, my Lord. Your every whim is our command.'

'Good,' said Frieza. 'I think  _you_  should be the new president of this planet.'

'I-I'm so sorry, my Lord Frieza,' stammered Zidane. 'I will certainly give more consideration to your wishes in the future. But it's the people who determine their president. I'm the president until I'm voted out of office by the Grenouilleans.'

Petoncles's eyes bulged and he leaned away from his younger, better looking running mate.

'And what happens if you die in office?' asked Frieza.

'Then Pétoncles takes over…' The president trailed off, arriving at the same conclusion Frieza had.

Frieza swung his hand through the air, sending out a sheet of energy like a flying guillotine, and the president's head toppled from his neck, as were the heads of everyone else behind him not wise enough to not be on their knees already. Petconles looked away, and groaned, many of the other Grenouilleans crying out and even falling on their faces.

'Oh, Zizou, you fool!'

Frieza turned back, but after a step or so he twirled on the spot to face the Grenouilleans again.

'You know, I've let you swamp creatures have a very free reign for a long time. Perhaps it's time I get you back on the leash again?'

Dodoria smirked as Frieza passed him. 'Are you thinking martial law, my Lord?' he asked, and the vice president gasped in horror.

'Hmm, a spell of martial law wouldn't hurt Grenouillea Two either,' said Frieza bitterly. 'But I was actually thinking of sending in the accountants. Dodoria, get Abacusa and Slydrool ready for some field work and arrange for them to stay behind with a squadron from the ship, then call for a division from Planet 65 to make their way here. I want to make sure every penny of profit on this planet has been properly taxed.'

Frieza paused as he got back to the PTO captain, still cowering on his knees.

'Get up!'

The officer sprang up onto rubbery legs.

'You've been promoted to Major – so try and act like one!' The man saluted, and Frieza rolled his eyes. 'When we leave you here with reinforcements you will make sure the new president and his staff cooperate fully with my auditors. And I want a report of everywhere Vegeta went and everything he did and every word he spoke while he was here. Who are his new accomplices? Where did he get a shapeshifter? And I want the report in an hour!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I have a tiny inner Frieza. Not that I would kill anyone or anything horrible like that, but I do catch myself fantasising about speaking to the fools in my life with impunity while they grovel at my feet in fear. Ah, my inner megalomaniac. He sits next to my inner Buddha and sometimes they fight - or at least the inner megalomaniac tries to fight and the inner Buddha uses the power of detachment from ego to slip his holds.


	37. Intermission

Bulma awoke to the morning sounds of the ship; Nappa stomping around upstairs, one of the boys letting out a string of soft farts in their sleep, Raditz yawning and making obnoxious smacking noises with his mouth. She missed her own bedroom. Having just Vegeta to deal with in the massive bed had been a great improvement over this over-familiar arrangement of the lounge floor nest.

She rolled over towards Vegeta, pretending to be still asleep as she peered at him through her eyelashes. Vegeta was close enough that she need only stretch out her hand a little and touch his. Or his naked chest. Or his lips. She didn't, but occupied herself with imagining it for a while. She was sure he would hit the roof if she actually dared.

Vegeta shifted and lifted an arm, but stopped suddenly, eyes and mouth flying open as it shifted the healing wound on his shoulder. He didn't scream, but Bulma thought it was a near thing.

He sat up carefully, breathing hard and touched the dressing with his good hand.

'Is it very "stiff" then?' Bulma teased him.

He looked at her sharply. 'Oh, you mean my shoulder? You could say that.' He ran his good hand through his crusty hair, still matted and sticky from the gel, looking wistfully at Brolly in the tank. 'Raditz!'

'Yes?' said Raditz without otherwise moving from his blanket.

'Plot a course for the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere. Preferably uncivilised.'

* * *

Despite the injuries the good spirits onboard continued. The daily katas and stretches and balances resumed, as much as each person's injuries allowed, and Vegeta requested more lessons on raising and lowering energy levels.

'I found it useful on that last planet. I was able to hide from their scouters to an extent. How low do you think it is possible to take your chi, Krillin?'

'I don't know,' admitted Krillin. 'A lot lower than you've gotten in the past, that's for sure. But I'm sure that a bit of practice will make perfect,' he added, seeing Vegeta's law clench at the perceived criticism. One was always on dicey ground where Vegeta was concerned. Krillin was getting used to him and learning to read his moods better, but Vegeta had a switchblade temper at times and a prickly ego to boot. It reminded him of someone else he knew.

He glanced over at Bulma who was sitting on the sofa, tapping occasionally at her laptop keyboard, but mostly listening to what the boys were saying over on the steps.

'I think it should be possible to lower it until you're right down, almost asleep,' said Goku. 'Maybe even almost dead.'

'Really?' said Krillin. 'What makes you think that?'

'I don't know. I just think it. I can feel it,' said Goku, as if this was all the evidence anyone could need.

'Show us then,' said Vegeta.

Goku nodded, got up and sat down again against the wall of the ship. Then he closed his eyes.

'Well, we can feel your chi getting fainter,' confirmed Krillin.

'Mm-hm,' confirmed Goku.

'Yes, it's low, but how low is low?' asked Vegeta. 'We have no way of saying for sure how low it is.'

'You could compare it to Bulma's,' Krillin suggested.

'It's not  _that_  low,' said Raditz.

'Hey!' objected Bulma. 'I'm not that weak! I've been known to give some nasty stingers! Just ask Krillin.'

'Mmm. She's not lying,' confirmed Krillin, rubbing his head at the memories. He encountered his still-unfamiliar hair and rubbed his palm around a bit, savouring the feel. He could shave it if he wanted – he was sure Bulma would have a razor or at least a pair of scissors he could use – but he couldn't bring himself to it. Not only were all the monks of his order currently dead, but to do so would be to affirm his intention to uphold the vows he'd taken as a monk. Krillin had not been very good at keeping those vows at the best of times, but he squeezed by without anyone noticing too much. Now for the first time, as the sole living practitioner of his religion, Krillin considered those vows seriously. He did not think himself up to keeping them, and until the Earth was restored he didn't want to restrict his actions in any way or be forced to break a vow on purpose. No one else out here in space cared whether he shaved his head or not anyway.

'I'm not finished yet,' said Goku. He frowned and his energy got even smaller and quieter. Krillin had observed Master Roshi reign in his power this much before, but never Goku. They continued staring at Goku, his breath getting slower and slower until it seemed like his chest wasn't moving at all. His chi grew stiller and stiller until it was the size of a squirrel's; barely perceptible without concentrating. He was so still he started to look inanimate.

'I can't sense him at all,' said Raditz in hushed tones of shock.

Bulma stood up suddenly. 'Is he even breathing?' She ran up the steps and dropped to her knees beside him but Goku opened his eyes before she could check his pulse.

'I'm fine,' he said softly.

'Urgh!' said Bulma, sinking onto her backside in relief. 'You shouldn't be suppressing your life force or whatever until you're almost dead!' she said angrily. 'What if you went too far and actually died?'

'I don't think that's actually possible,' he said, his voice gaining strength.

'You don't know that!'

'Ah, his chi is already bouncing back up,' observed Tarble. 'It's hard to compare it directly to Bulma's though – the quality is different.'

'Thanks for making me the low-point target, guys!' Bulma complained, still angry about Goku giving her a fright. 'What about Puar? Why don't you use her?'

'I don't mind,' said Puar from where she was watching from the dining table.

'Krillin, how the hell was that flimsy Princess able to get a knock on you?' Nappa asked, still thinking through Bulma's earlier statement.

'By being more lethal than I look,' said Bulma.

'That wasn't really it,' said Krillin. 'If you lower you chi enough, even a slap from Bulma can knock you about when normally it wouldn't hurt a bit.'

' _What?_  Are you saying you let me hurt you, from  _pity?_ ' said Bulma, aghast.

'Well yeah, I guess,' said Krillin. 'If I kept my chi high when you hit me, you'd hurt your hand.'

'You!  _What?_ ' she screeched and Vegeta grinned as she jumped to her feet and advanced on Krillin. 'Were you making a fool of me all those times? I'm going to hit you so hard right now, Krillin! Are you going to make your chi high or low, huh?'

'No! Bulma!'

'What's it going to be?'

Krillin scrunched his face up and let the hand smack into the side of his face. He'd chosen somewhere slightly higher than her level, and it hurt both of them. He clutched his face and she yowled and clutched her hand.

Nappa snorted in amusement.

'Hit me too,' said Goku, standing up.

Bulma scowled at him. 'I'm not going to hit you just so you guys can make fun of me, Goku. You'll just hurt my hand like Krillin did!'

'No, you won't, I promise,' he said and smiled at her.

Bulma gave him a sour look but calmed down a little. 'I know this is ridiculous, but I don't want to hurt you.'

'Don't worry about it, just hit me,' said Goku.

'All right then,' she said, raising her hand to swipe at the side of Goku's head. It knocked him over and he tumbled to the floor.

'Goku!' she cried, rushing to him. He sat up, rubbing his wrist that he'd landed on.

'See, what Krillin said is true,' he told the other boys and men. 'That really hurt!'

Vegeta was grinning. 'That settles it – we will practice until we are weak enough to be knocked over by Bulma.'

'Oh, just brilliant!' cried Bulma.

* * *

The pit stop was planned for the next day on a planet with no reported higher lifeforms. In the meantime Bulma got her boxes of treasure out of the bedroom and contemplated what she could do with it. While the menfolk practiced throttling their over-amped power levels she took the boxes upstairs to think over how she and the other Earthlings might gain the upper hand on Namek. To pass the time while she thought on it she got out the earpieces and the other hearing aids she'd bought in South City. She shook her head as she dug the pieces out of her electronics kit. The dragonball hunt on Earth seemed a  _long_  time ago.

It should have taken her not much longer than an hour, but she kept finding herself staring into space, playing out possible scenarios in her head and forgetting where she was up to with her soldering and programming. Several hours went by and then Vegeta came slowly up the stairs, wincing.

'There you are,' he said. Puar floated up behind him.

'Oh hey, Bulma!'

'Hi,' Bulma said, locking eyes with Vegeta. He looked at her with a peculiarly neutral expression.

'Are you here...for painkillers?' she guessed.

He shook his head. 'No. The wound is healing well. Are you making dragonball detectors?'

'Not yet,' she said vaguely.

He approached the map table where she was sitting, watched her for a few seconds before veering off towards the curved sofa that ran around the room instead. He sat down, crossing a leg over one knee and produced his journal, which he opened and rested on his thigh to write. Bulma tried not to look, but his presence and the scratching sound of his pen across the paper derailed her work  _and_  her planning.

'Can I help?' asked Puar, watching her from the other end of the map table.

'Er… you could hand me that tiny screw driver next to you.'

'This one?'

'Thanks.'

'You're welcome!' said Puar, passing it over. 'Anything else?'

Bulma looked at the eager face of the little cat and suddenly wondered if Puar ever got bored. She wasn't a fighter so she couldn't train like the boys, nor was she a genius with several boxes of technology to occupy her. She was just hanging around, waiting for a chance to be useful, the same way she always had with Yamcha. Now Vegeta was the primary beneficiary of Puar's usefulness and she had proved herself  _very_  useful.

Bulma blushed slightly and stared at the piece of plastic in her fingers. She was annoyed with Puar, and for the most ignoble of reasons. She remembered the way Vegeta had stroked Puar like she was his little pet the night before and Puar hadn't exactly tried to stop him. If Vegeta hadn't been in the room she might have told Puar off for letting Vegeta take Yamcha's place in her life so swiftly, even though it would be slightly hypocritical of her.

'Why don't you just watch, and when I think of something I need, I'll let you know?' she told Puar.

'Okay,' said Puar brightly, setting herself down on the corner of the table.

Bulma pressed her lips together to try and hide her displeasure, getting even more annoyed as she realised that she'd felt  _jealous_  of the attention Vegeta and the others had paid Puar last night. She supposed the cat deserved the glory but she was still jealous that the others hadn't lined up to shake her hand like Puar's, and Vegeta hadn't… hadn't what? Petted her like a cat? She scowled at her own ridiculousness and took up a craft knife, scoring a circle in the piece of plastic.

Vegeta had been drunk on celebration and medication, and she was sure that  _that_  was the only reason he'd shown any affection to  _anyone_. She was sure that normally she would be the only one to receive anything approaching affection from him. She touched the ring he had given her, now on her right hand. Whatever he'd said, she was sure there was a nugget of admiration at the bottom of that gesture. She shouldn't care so much anyway – after all, she was only  _playing_  with Vegeta for the fun of it and the potential to manipulate him using his feelings for her. He was both a means to an end and an obstacle to get around, but he was not  _Yamcha_.

She pressed the piece of plastic out of the sheet and hunted around for the film of circuitry she was going to glue to it, and then became aware that the sound of writing from the ring sofa had stopped. She looked up and met Vegeta's eyes. How long had he been watching her? The curious, cautious look in his eyes put her in mind of an animal trying to decide whether to snatch food from an outstretched hand.

'What's up?' she asked gently, so as not to scare him away.

He stood up and laid the book aside. 'I was just wondering… what it is you are actually doing.'

'I'm making the earpieces into a proper communication system.'

'Oh, yes?' he said, coming to stand behind her to see. He touched the earpiece on the end of the row, setting it rocking. 'Nine?' he puzzled.

'One each of course,' she said.

Vegeta grunted in a discouraging way. 'Eight streams of useless chatter will be irritating, if not unworkable.'

'I know that,' she said. 'That's why these will only broadcast when we  _want_  them to, not all the time like the old ones.'

'Huh,' said Vegeta. 'Good. What about that stuff?' He leaned over her shoulder, pointing out the wide black straps of tough, stretchy material on her other side. As he straightened again his fingers brushed over her back. It was accidental, Bulma was almost sure, but she felt it acutely - goosebumps broke out as she realised how close he was standing to her. In a large room with no one else except Puar in it he was standing close enough for her to feel his body heat against her back and touch her in passing. She knew that Vegeta's sphere of personal space was larger than most people's and he had put her well inside it. She tried not to smile as the shiver of excitement passed through her. She looked at Puar, but the cat hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

'They're the straps to hold the other part in place,' she told him. 'It's got two components to it; the transponder and the receiver.'

He leant forwards and indicated the thing right in front of her on the table. 'And what's this part?' he asked, his voice far softer than his usual. She felt the whisper of his breath on her cheek and throat, and heat began making its way up from the neck of her shirt. All the adult Saiyans had deep voices, and Vegeta's was surprisingly deep for such a young, short guy, but he didn't often use his voice gently. She doubted he knew that when he spoke all soft and calm the sound was like deep red velvet to the ears. She wondered if the others had this reaction – not that she'd ever heard him talk like this to anyone else.

 _Oh! Is this just for me?_ she wondered, just realising. _Do I see a version of Vegeta that no one else gets to see?_  He'd been different when they were alone together in the apartment; more like a boy than a warrior, like he was just some guy from her class at high school or younger; like one of the shy, arrogant and clever boys from the chess club who'd never had a girlfriend. He was attracted to her, but didn't seem to know what to do about it. She wouldn't ever call him sweet, but innocent, maybe. It was as if, once the asshole in him was appeased and there was nothing that needed to be killed or look dangerous and evil for, that those parts of him fell away and underneath was... Tarble.

He'd practically asked her to kiss him yesterday – in a very awkward manner, and she'd almost had her way. Bulma felt her face growing warm with the memory of him tensing up as she closed in on his lips. Imagine taking that innocent, childish part of Vegeta... and taking advantage of it?

She looked up at the face hovering over her shoulder. He cocked his eyebrow.

'So complicated that it's not worth the answer for the likes of us non-technorati?' he asked.

'No, it's not that,' she said, trying to remain straight-faced and losing to a smile of impish deviousness. 'I'm just thinking.' She glanced at Puar sitting on the map table.  _Sorry, Yamcha_ , she thought to herself.  _But it's only for now._

'I really feel like a cup of tea, don't you, Puar?' she said.

'Oh, yes!' said Puar.

'Could you be a dear and make us some?'

'Can I?' To her annoyance the cat looked at Vegeta.

'Go on,' he told her.

'Would you like tea, too, Vegeta?' Puar asked.

Vegeta shrugged. 'Whatever. Yes - I will try another of your strange Earth refreshments.'

'Okay,' said Puar, more enthusiastically.

Bulma watched her float away down the stair and tapped her craft knife against her teeth, making up her mind. When Puar was safely away she spoke.

'That's one of the transponders. The sensor closes a circuit when you touch it so it can broadcast,' she told Vegeta. 'That's how it will only send the messages you want to send. And it's much more subtle than those scouter buttons.'

'Hmm.'

She stood up suddenly from her chair, forcing him to straighten to avoid bumping heads. He'd been standing so close that now they were almost touching, and Vegeta took a step back.

'We never did have a chance to practice your kissing,' she said lightly.

Vegeta blushed pink. 'What has that got to do with anything?'

'Well, you never know when the need might arise again. What if, on Namek we are forced to play a loving newlywed couple again?' She grinned, unable to hide how much she didn't believe this herself.

'That is  _highly_  unlikely.'

'If you say so,' she said. 'I won't force the issue – I know it's scary for you.'

'For that last time, I wasn't scared!' he said, the calm mood he'd been in beginning to disintegrate. 'It just isn't something I'm normally required to do.'

'All right, then,' she said, putting one hand on her hip. 'I'll believe you if you show me just how  _un_ scared you are of kissing.'

She watched as her words had their effect. Vegeta was struggling with it, frozen in place while the cogs of his mind turned. She knew he wouldn't back down from a challenge, and she was certain he wanted to kiss her – she was giving him every excuse, though for some reason he was still hesitating. Gosh, maybe he really was just scared? Luckily she had experience coaxing shy suitors.

Vegeta's fierce gaze fell to her lips, and he pressed his own together, and as he dragged himself closer to her she knew she had won. Patiently she waited while he took a breath and leaned in. He pressed his lips to her own for just a tantalizing moment. Like when he'd brushed her back before, her lips felt alive for his touch, and the feeling raced through her, preparing her for more, and boy, did she want  _more_. One tiny, shy kiss would not do, by any means. She wanted to feel him against her. She wanted to know what it was like to really touch this terrible boy.

He straightened and stepped back again. 'That was not exactly difficult,' he said breathlessly.

Bulma chuckled just as breathlessly. 'You call that a kiss?'

'Yes, of course it was a kiss!'

'It was barely a kiss!' she said with a grin. 'It was technically a kiss, but hardly in the spirit of a kiss.'

Vegeta's frown began to creep back; he didn't seem very happy with the criticism. 'And I suppose you're an expert on the subject?'

'Compared to you, I am.'

His frown and his blush grew deeper and he looked away. She was becoming convinced that he'd never kissed  _anyone_  before. Sure, she'd only kissed Yamcha, but she'd kissed him a lot. She was absolutely correct in her statement that she was an expert in comparison.

'Was I the first person you ever kissed?' she asked more gently.

'What does that matter? It's a simple motor skill – not even as hard as landing a right hook, never mind forming a chi blast.'

'Oh, so says the novice! But it's not true. There's lot of technique to learn. Let's try again,' she said and bravely put her arms around his neck. His head snapped back around in surprise.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

'I'm doing it properly,' she told him. She blushed too at this point. 'Now, put your arms around me.'

'An Earthling doesn't tell me what to do,' he told her, remaining as stiff as a statue under her arms.

'Do you want to be kissed properly, or what?'

There was a long moment while Vegeta looked between her eyes and her lips and back again, and then he obediently put his arms around her waist. He seemed unsure of where to put his hands as at first they rested on the top of her buttocks, but then he snatched them away and placed them a little higher up her back.  _Oh god, this is going to be fun_ , she cackled to herself on the inside and then she leaned in to kiss him as alluringly as she could manage on the lips. It was so easy to kiss someone almost the same height as herself. There was no neck-craning or tip-toe balancing going on – she just crossed the space and connected.

At the first contact his lips were soft and warm, and she realised how much she had missed kissing. Vegeta didn't move, but as she ended it, wondering if the fun was over already, he darted forward and his lips met hers in answer. So he  _did_  want to kiss her! The confirmation sent thrills through her and she unconsciously pulled him to her tighter as his hands splayed wide on her back, spurred to motion, but lacking direction. Their chests bumped and then pressed together, and Bulma could actually feel Vegeta's heart leaping against his ribs.

More! She still wanted more! How much further could she push this moment? When it seemed like he would end it she held on, kissing him with an open mouth. Her tongue encountered his closed lips and she wondered if he would deny her. Vegeta's eyes flew wide with shock, and pulled away from the kiss, staring her right in the eyes. Bulma tried not to pant, but her heart was beating fast – this felt like the naughtiest thing she had ever done in her life. Vegeta looked half ready to bolt, but he held his ground and his grip on her, and Bulma wanted to melt with desire and laugh with triumph at the same time to see him torn in all directions. It made her want to reassure him that it was all going to be all right –  _with her body_. His gaze darted from one of her eyes to the other, searching, his breath from his open mouth on her lips still. Being this close to him was intense – the longer he looked at her the more she felt herself burning up.

'It's okay…' she whispered, seeking to reassure both him and herself, and leant into him again, reaching for his mouth with hers.

But before she made it she heard the sounds of someone heavy trudging up the stairs. Guilt descended and parted them like an axe through firewood, sending them flying apart in opposite directions. Vegeta leapt across the room and threw himself into a pilot's chair so hard that it span around in a circle and Bulma shoved herself back in her chair at the map table, shaking.

 _Oh, jeez, that was three kinds of exciting_ , she thought to herself as she tried to regain some composure. Nappa appeared in the doorway holding two mugs and Puar trailed behind him, holding another.

'I found your daemon struggling with three hot drinks, Highness,' he said, and then looked back and forth between them, a look of suspicion coming over him. He sniffed the air. 'What are you two up to?'

'J-just checking our course,' stammered Vegeta.

'I'm making stuff,' said Bulma, with a lot more cool.

'Uh,' said Nappa. 'One of these for you, Vegeta?' he asked.

'Yes.'

Nappa passed him a mug and then took a sip from the other and made a face.

'Hey, that's  _mine_ ,' said Bulma, making a not-dissimilar face watching her drink come in contact with those hated lips.

'I wouldn't want to drink it anyway,' Nappa said, putting it down on the map table and shoving tools and materials willy nilly out of the way. 'Can't get used to that crap. You're wanted downstairs, anyway. Tarble reckons he's ready to be tested.'

Bulma groaned theatrically and reluctantly got to her feet.

'What about your tea?' asked Puar as she passed her, following her to the steps.

'I don't want it now that Nappa's contaminated it,' she replied. 'Can you make me another one?'

Nappa's mouth twitched up in satisfaction as he watched Bulma and Puar go.

'Checking our course, eh?' he said. 'Was that all you were checking out?'

'Yes,' said Vegeta, unable to counter more subtly than that at the moment.

'Yeah, right,' said Nappa, easing himself into the other pilot's seat and looking around the displays, which were mostly on screensaver mode. 'Where are we then?' He poked at one display showing power consumption rates. 'I don't see any of the navigation screens.'

'I just closed them.'

'Oh. How do I open them again?' he asked, leaning forward as he flicked at random through the system monitors. 'I can't navigate the operating system on this stupid ship.'

'Figure it out yourself,' said Vegeta, taking the opportunity to get away, hurrying to the stairs. 'I'm not showing you again!'

He rushed down stairs just in time to see Bulma slap Tarble across the face. The unexpected sight made Vegeta jump in surprise, sloshing his tea on the floor. Tarble staggered and exclaimed in pain and then looked over at Vegeta, pressing his good hand to his stinging face. Bulma turned to see what he was looking at. Just that moment of their eyes connecting was enough to send the electric sensation running over his skin again, and then she smiled and his feelings moved in yet another direction; waves crashing up against themselves in the storm inside his chest. Without a word he hurried onwards into the corridor, not sure where to go, but knowing that he wanted to be alone.

He headed into the bathroom and locked the door and just stood with his back against it, staring at his own reflection in the mirror, trying to tease some sense from of his agitation or at least cover it up with some clutched threads of reason. Something about seeing Bulma slapping Tarble was very familiar and uncomfortable - he didn't like it – and sloshing around with that unease was some fairly inflamed desire.

He breathed steadily, feeling his heart slow again, though that almost panicked feeling in his chest didn't quite leave him. He had kissed Bulma.

 _So what?_  he asked himself. What great significance did that moment have? Other than his own overblown reaction, that was. He had expected desire, but he hadn't expected that heady thrill; the senseless, piercing joy and strayed close to terror that he hadn't felt since he was a small child.

Eventually he stood straight and approached his reflection in the mirror, banishing the wide-eyed expression of wonder and replacing it with a stern face.

'Pathetic,' he said aloud. 'You are no longer a child, so don't act like one.'

He looked at himself – at the hard, unforgiving eyes, the regal brow, the muscles that flexed in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He was a man; a man his father and his people would not only have been proud of but in awe of. He didn't do  _piercing joy_. That would be reserved perhaps for the day he stood over Frieza's corpse and declared himself Overlord of the galaxy, and even then it would probably not be appropriate. He wasn't sure why he'd been so overtaken by the sensation, but was glad it was fading already.

To avoid having to go back out there and see any of the rest of them for a while he ran a bath in the glass tub and stripped off, though with difficulty due to his injured shoulder. Easing himself into the water he found he couldn't relax fully because if the wound went under the water it stung like hell, but he did relax a little, watching the stars drift by the window at the end of the tub.

The solitude and relaxation was double edged though, because he was unable to divert his mind from thoughts about Bulma. He washed his face, washing the scent of her off his lips, but that wasn't enough to escape her, and he suffered a sudden flashback through the kiss, thrill and all. She'd been about to kiss him with her  _tongue_. The prospect of someone else's tongue in his mouth had always been quite disgusting, but now that it was Bulma's tongue he was considering, it didn't seem  _as_  disgusting; more  _unnatural_ , in a way that turned him on. Now he wanted to know what  _that_  felt like too. He wasn't sure if he was relieved that Nappa had interrupted them or not. His dick was not relieved at all, but when he lay a hand upon his restless flesh he discovered that fast movement made his shoulder hurt too much to remedy the situation.

He was just cursing the injury when someone tried the door handle, jolting him out of his thoughts and making him glad he'd locked the door.

'Prince Vegeta, you in there?' asked Raditz.

'Yes.'

'Just thought you'd wanna know that dinner is nearly ready.'

'Good.'

He put aside those thoughts for now and reached for the spout that dispensed liquid soap and found that the pink stuff had been replaced by white stuff that reeked like silk and biscuits – not much of an improvement over flowers and sweets, and it reminded him unpleasantly of the smell of Zarbon's quarters. Zarbon, that bastard, had been as perfumed as the worst of the Grenouillean women and a lot more than Bulma. He was relieved that  _she_  at least didn't feel the need to douse herself in strong scents. Saiyan women didn't do that, or at least, not that he remembered. He frowned; trying to bring to mind any memory of the smell of Saiyan women from his childhood. He seemed to recall that it had been pleasant enough, but…

In the middle of washing, the memory jostled loose by Bulma slapping Tarble finally made it to the front of his mind.

' _How dare you!'_

_Smack!_

That had been Aubergina, a long, long time ago. He'd been very young, but it stood out in memory because even though she'd hit him with an open hand it had hurt worse than any strike that his fighting tutors had given him to that date. He remembered falling over and his eyes watering, gasping with shock and sense of betrayal, not only from what she had done, but also that the soldiers in the palace courtyard who had witnessed it had done nothing to stop her or arrest her afterward. The most uncomfortable part of the memory was the words he'd said to her before she'd struck him. It had been something like, ' _I don't take orders from you, even if you are my father's favourite cunt_.' No wonder she'd hit him. Although, in his defence, at that age he'd had no idea what the words meant – he was only repeating what he'd heard his elders whisper in gossip.

' _Would you talk to your own mother like that?_ '

He hadn't answered. He'd backed away, scared of her.

' _Well, would you?_ '

' _I don't have a mother!_ '

' _Don't you? Are you sure about that?_ ' She had turned away, striding down the corridor. ' _The arrogant whelp thinks he birthed himself!_ '

Vegeta slid under the water to get away from the ambiguity of that memory, but popped right back up with a yelp when the warm water got into his wound. He hadn't thought of it for years, nor considered it meant too much at the time, but now he was much older it made him uneasy.

 _No, she couldn't be_ , he insisted.  _How could_ she _have possibly been my mother? She hated me and I hated her! Nappa must surely be wrong._

* * *

He was more withdrawn than normal throughout dinner. Since Bulma still had one of the dining chairs upstairs there were only three of them at the table – Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz, though Vegeta wished he could swap one of the others for Bulma. She was sitting cross legged on one of the sofas with the others arranged around her, telling them some nonsense story about the earth's government paying unemployed people, apparently simply so they could continue to be unemployed. Nappa and Raditz were talking, but Vegeta was straining to hear the conversation in the lounge.

'I'm sure the Tech-Techies wouldn't let anyone starve, but at the same time, they don't let anyone have the chance to be unemployed. Why doesn't the government give jobs to the jobless people if they're paying them anyway?'

'That's kind of a good question, Tarble. I guess the Earth government figures that people are the happiest and most productive when they get to choose their own jobs? I'm not sure.'

'Maybe the government doesn't have jobs to give out?'

'You could be right, Goku. But they're the government; why couldn't they-' She looked up and caught him watching her and paused to smile at him. Vegeta's stomach gave a weird lurch, making it a little harder to breath than normal. 'Why couldn't they make more jobs? I read once that job creation programs during times of economic depression stimulate the economy…'

'So what happens tomorrow?' asked Raditz in his other ear. 'Vegeta?'

'What?' Vegeta said, turning away from Bulma's court.

'What happens  _tomorrow_?'

'What do you mean, tomorrow?' asked Vegeta. 'How can I predict the future?'

'Vegeta, get your head out of the clouds,' said Nappa. 'We're letting Brolly out of the tank tomorrow, remember?'

Vegeta felt a little ashamed that he had forgotten that, but then slowly Nappa's words filtered in.

'You'll not talk to me that way, Nappa. I was deep in thought not daydreaming, and it's not your place to chastise me if I were!'

'Sorry, Your Highness,' said Nappa immediately. 'I'm just anxious as Raditz is about what our plan is. You know I'm not keen on having that mad fucker Brolly off the leash.'

'No,' agreed Vegeta. 'No one is.'

'So what do we do?'

The three of them sat in silence for a while. Vegeta stared at his empty plate trying to imagine what would happen with Brolly when he awoke. From the lounge a gale of giggling broke out, and he couldn't help glancing over again, annoyed that others were having fun while he yet again had to think serious thoughts.

'Let's go upstairs,' suggested Nappa. 'Less  _distraction_.'

When the three of them were upstairs and the door shut to keep out further intrusion, Vegeta dropped into a pilot's chair while Nappa and Raditz leaned against the table. Vegeta spun one way and then the next as he thought.

'He's gonna come out hungry,' suggested Raditz.

'He's going to come out weak,' added Nappa. 'Have you seen how rangy he's gotten in the tank?'

'Well, we'd better hope his hunger and weakness overcome his anger at being so long enough to get the crown on him,' said Vegeta. 'If he has no memory of why he went in – or rather, the lie about why he went in – he might react first by lashing out, especially if it's one of us he sees, holding that damn crown.'

Nappa shook his head. 'The last thing he did before it went on last time was try and kill all three of us, and he nearly succeeded on some of us. I don't think we want to be showing ourselves at all.'

'You mean getting one of the others to wake him and put it on?' said Vegeta. 'Maybe that would work. Tarble, perhaps? They've spent a lot of time together.'

'Or Kakarott?'

'Do you know who would be even better?' asked Raditz. 'Bulma.'

'What?' said Vegeta. 'How would  _she_  be better? If Brolly decides to take his irritation out on someone she'd have no chance of dodging or surviving the slightest attack from him!'

Nappa grunted in a sort of ambivalent way, but Raditz defended his position. 'Well, I don't want to see Bulma squished either, but the thing is that I don't think he will attack her. He  _likes_  her.'

'Likes her?' repeated Vegeta.

Raditz leered and nodded his head slowly. 'Likes her.'

'What makes you think so?' asked Vegeta.

'Oh, you remember what I said about Bulma keeping Brolly calm and about him liking her whole doctor routine? Well, I heard him admit that he likes her while he was off his face on that squirty stuff. And she was stringing him along, stroking him and letting him touch her and stuff.'

All the wind disappeared from Vegeta's sails at those words, so that it was hard for him to get the air to ask, 'What "stuff?"'

'Oh, promising to run away with him and be his queen and garbage like that. And Brolly was fool enough to believe it. She had him eating out the palm of her hand. Or kissing the palm of her hand anyway!'

Vegeta felt jarred as his image of Bulma suddenly hit an iceberg. 'Do – do you think she  _meant_  it?' he asked.

'No!' said Raditz. 'Or at least, I don't think so.'

Vegeta felt only a little better, a sick and angry feeling lurking in the pit of his stomach.

'Ha!' barked Nappa. 'Of course she didn't – she's a manipulative one. I'm not surprised at all – she did try to deceive us from day one, and I have no doubt she'd lie till she was blue in the face to save herself.'

Vegeta frowned, sickened by the thought of Brolly touching Bulma,  _kissing_  Bulma's hand. It was distasteful to sell an illusion of affection like that. But she had tried to do something of the same kind with him – show her body, perhaps even, though she denied it was her suggestion, sell him access to her body for a price.  _She wasn't selling anything when she kissed me_ , he reminded himself.  _There was no bargain there_.

'Don't look so worried,' said Raditz. 'I don't think Brolly will toast her if she plays along like she did last time. Just a bit of gentle seduction and presto! Crown on head, Brolly defused! And we'll all be there, just out of sight.'

'That's right,' said Nappa reassuringly. 'Brolly never got the chi sensing lessons. It's not like he'll be able to sense anyone out of sight. We might be able to rescue her if things go wrong.'

' _Might?_ '

'Yeah, might. What's the problem? Do you want to keep Brolly alive, or do you want to keep Bulma cosy and safe? Last time I checked you only needed her for building the dragonball radar or whatever she calls it, but even if she's dead you can still find the balls. It'll just take longer and involve more interrogation of Namekians I imagine, which I don't mind at all.'

'We could get her to finish building the radar before we land tomorrow,' said Raditz. He grimaced. 'Then I guess it doesn't matter as much if she dies.'

Vegeta felt panic at the thought. 'No! And she's not stupid – I'm sure she could have a radar built in a matter of hours, but she's not going to do it so far out from Planet Namek! She wants to make sure she gets there in one piece.'

'Huh, figures,' said Nappa. 'You're probably right, and she would lie and say she couldn't possibly do it in a day if we asked her. Of course, a few choice threats, maybe a little physical coercion...?'

This reminded Vegeta about his promise to her, and the one to himself as well.

'No. I think that wouldn't buy us much. And I don't want her dead, even if she  _has_  built the radar.'

'And why is that?' asked Nappa, neatly masking Raditz's snort.

'Because,' said Vegeta. But there was nothing. No reason he realised now that would seem proper to Nappa. Not unless he wanted to lie and say he wanted to keep her around to fuck. He was pretty sure Nappa would accept  _that_. Well, he didn't need to explain everything to Nappa.

'Because what?'

'Because it's none of your damn business, Nappa. I don't want her dead, or the other Earthlings. And while I have your ears I want you to know that I don't want either of you killing her or Krillin either.'

Nappa looked completely taken aback, but Raditz looked like he was trying to work something out.

'You mean not until we're on Namek?' asked Nappa.

'Not now, and not on Namek either.'

Nappa's face went as slack as a boned game bird in surprise. 'Okay… and what if they try and kill us?'

'They won't succeed, so it hardly matters.'

'The Hell it does!'

'Did you strike some kind of bargain?' asked Raditz. Vegeta's gazed flicked over to him in annoyance. 'Did Bulma - or Bulma and Krillin - agree to help you on Namek?'

'No,' admitted Vegeta. 'When we get to Namek the Earthlings will be working  _against_ us. Probably Kakarott as well.'

'What?' cried Nappa and Raditz together. Nappa looked purely horrified, but Raditz looked halfway amused.

'And we can't kill them?  _Why?_ ' demanded Nappa. 'What kind of bargain did you make with that bitch?'

Vegeta felt himself turning red with anger and embarrassment. 'There was no bargain! It was just an agreement that...' Oh hell, it did sound crazy. 'That it would be more  _fun_  and more of a challenge if we made it a kind of scheme versus scheme gameplay. And as they cannot possibly win against us, there is no downside.'

' _No downside?_ ' echoed Nappa. He struggled with it, flushing red with anger and biting his lip for a moment before speaking. 'I'm just not sure that is a wise decision, but it's your wish you're risking by playing games, your Highness,' he said darkly.

'And what did Bulma give you in return for that agreement?' said Raditz with a lewd quirk of the brow.

'Nothing!' shouted Vegeta, feeling himself getting redder. 'I just told you, there was no fetid, disgusting bargain entered into! We discussed it-'

'I bet it was her idea,' interjected Nappa.

'Yes, it was her idea! The Earthlings want the wish on Namek first so that they can  _nobly_  revive their dead species - they were going to scheme against us anyway!'

'Then why bother with this "agreement", then?'

'Cause like he said, he doesn't want to kill her,' said Raditz, grinning as if he'd just figured something out.

Vegeta growled aloud with anger and embarrassment.

'Hey, I'm with you,' said Raditz. 'I don't think I want her dead either.'

Vegeta turned away from them both to stare out over the console, seething at being exposed like this. The stars streaked by, their passage unperturbed by Vegeta's inner turmoil.

'It's fine,' said Nappa after a few moments. 'My Prince's wishes are my command.'

'Good,' said Vegeta. 'You are dismissed.'

He listened as they trudged over to the door and it opened and then close it again, but then he realised Nappa was still in the room. Scowling he turned to see why the man hadn't left. Nappa stood almost nervously at the hatch.

'Vegeta, can I speak to you privately?'

'Is it about Bulma?'

'Yes.'

'Then no.'

Nappa sighed and hesitated. 'Vegeta, I was a grown man before you were born. I know to you I am just a bodyguard and vassal, but give me credit for my years. I've been where you are and I've seen others get bent out of shape by a girl. If you will hear me out I can offer you the benefit of my experience.'

Vegeta glared long and hard at him, but the truth was he was confused and felt alone with his problems. 'Okay, then, speak.'

Nappa nodded and took the other pilot's seat, perching on it; he was too big to fit in it properly.

'Now, you remember what I said before we went to Grenouillea Two about women being a trap?'

Vegeta nodded.

'Well, I think you are falling into that trap.'

Vegeta bristled, clenching his jaw on his tempter. 'How so?'

'Hmm. Did you two bang when you were on Grenouillea?'

'No!' said Vegeta and then grit his teeth, as humiliated as could be about the direction Nappa was taking this.

'Didn't think so. Well then, you sold yourself cheap, my prince.'

'What do you mean, I sold myself cheap?'

'I mean… that girl has got to you. That deal you arranged – you didn't get anything out of that?'

Vegeta shook his head.

'No favours? Nothing?'

Vegeta turned red, but he was never going to admit the various things that  _had_  happened, and definitely not the kiss that had taken place right in that room only a couple of hours earlier. That wasn't part of any deal, anyway.

'As if I would lower myself to swap strategic advantages for sexual favours!'

Nappa rolled his eyes. 'Oh, Vegeta,' he sighed. 'Anyone with eyes could see how badly you want to stir that girl's pudding, but instead she's got you bent over a barrel giving her practically everything she wants for nothing.'

'No she doesn't!' scoffed Vegeta. 'How would she have  _me_  over a barrel when  _I'm_  the one with all the power and control?'

'You don't have all the power and control. Or at least not yet.'

'What do you mean?'

Nappa gave him a misty eyed look, as if seeing through the veils of time to long ago. 'Let me tell you what my squad leader told me when I was maybe a little younger than you. We're men, and men… well, it's a fact, we want sex. Not always with women, but generally. And women, they know what men want, and they'll give it, but there's always a price.'

'And what is that?' asked Vegeta.

'Depends on the woman. Bulma, she's a woman, and a crafty, sneaky one at that. She wants that wish on Namek, she doesn't want to be killed for it… and whatd'ya know, she's got the promise of safety from you.'

Vegeta turned to glare out of the window again. Nappa's words were making him angry, and he wanted to refute them loudly and confidently, but they struck just enough at the truth that his confidence was cracked. He didn't think he'd been tricked, but maybe there was a shadow of doubt.

'Your argument has a flaw, Nappa,' he pointed out instead. 'Bulma and I never consummated-' he choked with embarrassment on that word, '-the "deal". I purposely avoided such contact, and my head remains clear.'

'Does it?'

 _'Yes_.'

'So you think you are making the same decisions now as you would have before we ever visited Earth?'

Vegeta opened his mouth to deny it, but found he could not. He didn't like Nappa second guessing him and questioning him, but he also knew he was going out of his way to protect Bulma. He knew that he thought of her all the time.

'You're not thinking straight,' Nappa went on. 'You're not thinking with your  _brain_  anymore.'

'Wha- I am not some dumb animal! How dare you-'

'Vegeta! Please! I'm not trying to shame you, Your Highness, but I can only call it like I see it. You're thinking with your dick, and the longer you hold out the longer your decision making is compromised.'

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. 'You just want me to put her out the airlock,' he accused the older man.

'No, I want you to use her while she's useful and  _then_  know when it's the right time to put her out the airlock. Sleep with the girl already – get it out of your system.'

'What?' cried Vegeta. This wasn't the advice he'd been expecting.

'Fuck her already!' cried Nappa. 'Get the full use out of the girl; get it over and done with and stop hovering over her like an anxious damsel fly. It makes me sick to see it. All the pointless self-denial you've put yourself through these last few years has your body starved, and your need is taking over your mind. You're made sex into a much bigger deal than it is. Even if we find a Saiyan woman, what's it matter if you pass the time with some alien girl beforehand? I mean, really? You're not mating her, you're not marrying her, you're not making promises to remember each other forever and always – you're just fucking. There's no taint, no scar, nothing to mark you as having tupped an alien, so why you think it matters, I don't know. And then when you've gotten that out of your system you're done with her, and all promises can be damned.'

Vegeta turned away from Nappa as he spoke, furious with shame.

'Go away,' he said when Nappa finished.

'Vegeta-'

'Leave me alone!' he roared, and Nappa knew no further point could be pushed. After Nappa squeezed down the steps of the flight deck, Vegeta crossed the room to shut the door behind him. Puar had been coming back up the stairs and he shut the door in her face. He couldn't even abide the daemon right now. He locked the door for good measure and then threw himself back into the pilot chair and stared over the console into featureless emptiness.

For a long time he just raged silently, fists clenched, chi crackling and leaking from them, trying to hold his temper back from becoming violent, his thoughts just a crazy carousel of anger with Nappa, Raditz, Brolly, Bulma, Frieza and even himself making an appearance before they settled into something more ordered.

He settled on his anger with himself first.

Was what Nappa said true? Was he compromised?

He didn't want to put Bulma out an airlock. Having sex with her seemed a little extreme, but the idea was becoming more and more irresistible. Was this why he felt this strange... possessiveness towards her? Why the thought of Brolly touching her incensed him? She irritated and shocked him no end, but part of him revelled in it. Not knowing what she was going to say or do next made him both amused and delighted. If he let himself... if he managed to entice her somehow into having sex with him, would that remove the variable of Bulma from his equations? Would that element of delight go away? He was not convinced it would. In fact he felt unhappy at the thought of it going away.

'I really am compromised,' he conceded to himself. Perhaps he should follow Nappa's advice... somehow. He had no idea how to proceed in that direction though.

Ah, but it was tempting to risk trying just to know what he'd been missing out on.

Or he might just end up making a fool of himself. His pride was offended by the thought of being intimate with someone who was only letting him to get something in return. Worse, he didn't know how to go about this. He'd never been trained in seduction or technique other than observing Nappa and Raditz on the pull (when they didn't have enough money for a brothel) and hear their filthy talk after they were successful. It sounded sordid, and he instinctually knew that what worked for Raditz on loose women at shady nightclubs would not work for him on Bulma. Crap, he didn't know what to do or think!

'Nappa is an idiot,' he reminded himself.

He sighed, his thoughts fluttering between one possibility and another. He didn't understand  _himself_  – how could Nappa understand him better?

He decided that the status quo would do for now.

With that indecision made he was left with the leaden weight in the pit of his stomach. He'd always thought Bulma had been playing with him to some extent, but the idea that there might not be one whit of genuine feeling behind those words and kisses made him feel…

He lost control of his temper for a second, slamming his fist down on the arm rest and smashing it right off. With a snort he got to his feet and forced himself to calm down again. He had no idea what was going on in her head, but in the meantime he would simply not allow himself to fall prey to her any further than he already had.

* * *

Bulma returned from the bathroom with freshly brushed teeth and her nightgown on and stood on the parquet floor eyeing up her spot next to Vegeta. He was lying with his good arm under his head, his bicep curled up in a way that was pleasing to her eye, and as she watched him his gaze flicked from the ceiling over to her, an unreadable expression on his face. She felt a quiver somewhere in the vicinity of her womb.

 _Oh. Damn. Oh damn, I might've made a slight miscalculation_ , she lamented as she started to feel excited about the prospect of merely  _lying_  next to Vegeta.  _How am I going to hoodwink and bamboozle him if I'm bamboozled myself by how much I want him? Is it still noble to use my charms for the cause if I desperately_ want _to use my charms on him? How am I even going to sleep next to him if I feel like this?_

She hopped down the steps and climbed under her blanket (recently cleaned by that blessed detail crew) and lay there, looking at the ceiling, feeling how close he was to her. Actually, she could feel how close Goku was too, but that was not nearly as significant.

'Night-night, Bulma!' said Goku.

Bulma laughed. Sometimes Goku could be so sweet and childish it made her feel forty years old. 'Goodnight, little brother.'

'He's not your brother,' pointed out Vegeta.

'No,' said Bulma. 'But he's like a little brother to me. Sometimes.'

'Goodnight, Bulma!' said Krillin in a slightly more mocking tone.

'Goodnight, Krillin.'

'I'm not like your little brother then?' he asked.

'No, you're more like my weird second cousin that the family never talks about.'

Puar giggled. 'Goodnight, Bulma!'

'Really, are we going to do this?' Bulma asked. 'Okay, then, goodnight, Super-kitten.'

'Goodnight, Bulma!' sang Tarble.

'Goodnight, illicit Saiyan friend!' she replied.

'Goodnight, token female sex-object,' said Raditz. Vegeta looked over at Raditz sharply.

' _What?_ ' said Puar.

Bulma made a face. 'Goodnight, creepy older guy who hangs around with kids!'

The others all laughed at that.

'Not by choice!' objected Raditz. 'I'd trade you all in a second for some decent adult company. You're all retarding my personal development.'

'Well, you're certainly retarded in some ways,' said Krillin.

Raditz sat straight up, making Krillin squeal and hop over Tarble onto the steps. 'Come here and say that you little punk!'

'Chill out, Raditz, he was only joking!' said Bulma. 'We don't need any bedtime violence.'

'Yes, Mommy… Oh no, wait, you're not my mother; you're just a loud-mouthed, little-'

'Raditz! Settle down,' said Vegeta in a hard tone that made it clear that a line was being drawn. 'Besides, you walked into that one,  _retard_.'

Raditz growled and both he and Krillin returned to their places. For a moment the room was silent.

'Aren't you going to say goodnight, Vegeta?' asked Puar.

'I don't need to play your childish games,' said Vegeta. But after a long pause he muttered, 'Goodnight, Bulma.'

Bulma felt a ridiculous grin spread from ear to ear and she rolled over to face him, his face still illuminated by the soft light of the holographic flames.

'Goodnight…' she searched for something she could use as a joke, to tease him, but not too badly, or to please him or show how she felt about him and could find nothing that she could utter in front of the others.

'Yes?'

'Vegeta,' she said. 'Goodnight, Vegeta. Holograph off.'

Bulma lay awake for a long time listening to the sounds of everyone else's breathing and shifting. She had made another miscalculation, or rather there were things she hadn't considered until now. She needed to keep Vegeta off kilter and interested until they landed on Namek, but they were still days and days away – enough time for him to go off her or get used to her, or who knew? Too much could go wrong. And in starting so early in her campaign to ensnare him, she had set herself up to get in way too deep with him before she started betraying him.

 _Damn, damn, damn._  She knocked herself on the forehead with her fist in time with her silent cursing.  _Don't fall for him, Bulma! Just remember who he is, what he can do!_

A killer, a maniac.

 _Oh shit, that's right_.

The boy who wanted to rule the universe with an iron fist. Killer of innocents, killer of billions. A killer so casual that he didn't even notice or care when he might have killed people.

Suddenly her stomach didn't feel so good and the tingle in her core fizzled right out. She felt suddenly ashamed of her excitement over kissing him.

_He promised me he wouldn't kill me. The kind of person you have to extract that sort of promise from is exactly the sort of person who would break their promise the moment it doesn't suit them._

_What am I doing?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I thought you'd like to know (or more truthfully, I thought that I'd like you to know!) that this story was nominated in two categories in the Unnatural Lovers/We're Just Saiyan 2015 Awards! It's been nominated for Best Humour and Best Characterisation, and one of my other stories, Monkey Business, has also been nominated for Best Humour. Voting is open now and until August 1st. Even if you don't want to vote for my fics I think you should all definitely check out the nominations list and vote because the Awards need the support and participation of readers to make to keep them going. Just head to this address:  
> http://www.unnaturallovers.com/2015-award-voting.html


	38. Awakenings

Something stirred Bulma from her doze. For a while she lay still, torn between her curiosity and her deep feeling of relaxation and comfort. Curiosity came out on top though, with the added nudge of the thought that survival was not a hundred percent assured on this ship.

She opened her eyes to see what had woken her to find more light that usual in the lounge. It wasn't the overhead light or the hologram; it was pink and shifting softly across the ceiling. It was enough to see Vegeta's face clearly as he lay next to her, and the fact that he wasn't asleep either, but looking at her.

'What's going on?' she whispered.

'Come with me,' he replied. 'Don't wake the others.'

He stood and pulled her after him by her hand, leading her up the steps to the window next to the dining table. Outside the window were not only stars, but colourful streaks and twists of misty nebulae, lit from within by infant stars. At least she thought there were nebulae – if they were, they shouldn't be moving like they did; languid arms and sheets of colour unwinding lazily as she watched. This was where the extra light was coming from, in soft hues of orange and purple and pink. What astronomer on Earth would believe her if she told them what she'd seen? It was beautiful and impossible.

Vegeta dropped her hand, and she hadn't noticed until then that he still held it, nor how warm and nice it had felt while he did. He reached for something she hadn't noticed before – a clamp for holding the window closed.

'What are you doing?' she asked, alarmed. 'Don't open it - we'll all be sucked into space!'

'Not here, we won't.' he replied calmly. For a second she was almost lulled by the deep, rumbling tone, but then her rational brain piped up.

'Yes, we will! What part of outer space has a  _breathable atmosphere?_ '

'You still don't trust me after all we've been through?'

She looked him in the eye and saw the gleam of humour lurking there - a smirk bordering on a smile. The expression sent a flutter of emotion to her belly.

'No,' she told him.

He took a step closer to her, his hand still on the window latch. 'Even though you want to?'

She grabbed his arm to stop him, knowing she had no hope of winning against his strength, but even so, she seemed weak and unable to control her hands. She tried to yell at him to stop, but her voice lodged in her throat, unable to make a sound before the seal on the window cracked open and…

Nothing happened. A warm breeze touched her face. Vegeta had been right - there was no greedy vacuum of intense cold outside. Her fear hadn't even had time to fully form before it turned into astonishment.

Vegeta pulled away from her and stepped off into the void, drifting slowly away from the ship and turned back to face the window.

'Are you coming?' he asked.

Bulma stared out at him hanging in space. It was impossible! There was no way an atmosphere could exist in space – the only thing that would hold together an atmosphere dense enough to breathe was a strong gravitation field, such as from a planet, and there appeared to be no gravity in effect on Vegeta. In fact she could feel the lack of gravity in front of her, or at least that's what she supposed it was; a weightless stirring in her belly and breasts, and her knees weak with the desire to jump after him. Something was going on that she didn't understand, but she didn't want to miss out on this experience, no matter what it was.

She judged the gap between them, and looked up at his face. Would he keep her from coming to harm? He was silhouetted by the enormous glowing clouds behind him, his face almost dark, but his eyes shone, intent on her.

'Come with me,' he said, and then that familiar longing descended on her heart. Her  _phantom_. Vegeta was her phantom – it was obvious to her now. She had to go with him, or her heart would break from missing him.

She jumped out into weightlessness and squealed at the sensation. The warm air wrapped around her body, making her feel like she was held in the gentle hands of an invisible god at the same time as she was suspended by nothing, above nothing. Vegeta moved away from her, and Bulma panicked, attempting to follow him by clumsily swimming in the ether.

'Wait!' she cried and he laughed softly at her fear and helplessness. 'Vegeta! Help me!'

He reached down towards her and she seized his hands and then his shoulders as he pulled her gently to him, anchoring herself to him to stop from drifting off into space forever. He was still laughing; the low rumble of it as warm as his hands around her waist.

And then they were slowly revolving together in the emptiness.

Bulma was dizzied and calmed and awed by the spectacle that spun around them. 'This is amazing,' she said. 'It's so beautiful!'

'Yes,' he said simply, and the sound of his voice dragged her attention back to his face. His eyes, normally so sharp, were soft in the diffused light of the baby stars, and bottomless, like windows into the mirror of her galaxy. His smile was so playful and so promising she felt herself melting in his hands. It was hard to imagine he was ever hard and brutal to see him like this. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? She could trust  _this_  man. She could love him even.

Almost inevitably their lips were drawn together, and he pulled her tight against him. Her heart took a leap into weightlessness too; jettisoned into a realm with no boundary and no up or down. He kissed her slowly, and without hesitation she kissed him back, their mouths opening at the same time so that their tongues met and the floodgates of Bulma's desire opened.

How had it taken her so long to see how wonderful he was? She was disintegrating from the point where their mouths met, her chest so tight with joy she felt she could barely breathe with how much she wanted him.

 _This is wrong!_  said the last fragment of her brain not awash in pleasure.  _I know there's a reason I shouldn't let this happen!_

It was wrong and it was right. He was her phantom and he was a fiend. But his mouth was giving, and his breath was warm against her cheek – he was a flesh and blood monster, and she moaned in pleasure and confusion and he pulled her flush against his body. She buried a hand in the hair at the back of his head, and with the other she timidly traced down over the hard muscles of his chest and belly – he felt like everything she'd imagined. He kissed her deeper in response, then abandoned her mouth to kiss her ear and then her neck, the feeling sending new rivulets of thrilling heat through her.

'Bulma,' he spoke, the burr of lust in his voice dragging like rough silk across her naked want. His hands slid over her, down her back, over her buttocks and down her thighs to pull them up and wrap her legs around his hips. She jerked with surprise as his hardness pressed against her flesh that was so ready to cleave…

'Mmmm!' she moaned, inadvertently waking herself up. Desperately she tried to hold onto the ends of the dream to keep the feeling alive and imagine what happened next, and ran a hand down into her panties to satisfy the need that had been building.  _Ah, Vegeta_ …

Then she froze, remembering where she was. She opened her eyes and looked one way, and none of the younger boys nor Raditz seemed to be awake. Then, much slower, lest she wake him, she turned the other way to make sure Vegeta was asleep.

He wasn't even there.

Frowning, she quietly sat up at looked around, and her heart began to beat double time when she saw him standing at the same window as he had in her dream. There was no clamp on the window, and there were no pretty nebulae outside. No soft, warm light. Only the cold, faint light of distant stars.

She still sat for long moments blinking sleep from her eyes, trying to tease the dream from reality and feeling cheated to find the two weren't the same. She stared at his back, daring herself to go over to him and turn the reality into the dream. It hadn't even been the real Vegeta in her dream, but she wanted it to be true so bad at that moment that she didn't care.

* * *

Vegeta's heart sank as he heard her get up out of the den of furs and blankets and pad softly up the steps towards him.

He'd lain sleepless for a long time, tormented by the conversation he'd had with Nappa and Raditz on the flight deck earlier, becoming more and more uneasy and twisted up over the girl who slept next to him. He had started to think she was attracted to him, and he was enraged to think that it might be an act. He wanted to follow Nappa's suggestion, and yet he could not face making a fool of himself, nor the sordidness of engaging on such a dishonest footing even though she might be a liar herself.

When she stopped at his shoulder her scent enveloped him in carnal fugginess and arousal intruded over his thoughts with the subtlety of a hand down the front of his pants. This was the dark side of her scent, gone deep and thick with stirred appetite. He recognised it from that night in the apartment, and his body responded the same way - with want.

He pressed his forehead hard against the top edge of the window in frustration, on the edge of telling her to go away. He was a creature of reason, not instinct, and he did not like to be so provoked by hot and dubious biological urges.

 _Is she doing this on purpose?_  The thought suddenly came to him.  _Is this an act of cold seduction? What if it's really someone else she wants? The "boyfriend"? Or maybe she really does want Brolly? She was the most upset when we thought we'd have to kill him._  That thought was accompanied by a stab of pain, but he immediately pushed it aside.  _Impossible_ , he told himself, trying to suppress that particular bitterness.

'Vegeta?' she whispered. 'What are you doing?'

'Thinking.'

'About what?'

'My thoughts are my own, and not for sharing.' He forgot himself and glanced at her, then immediately wished he hadn't. Her face was all soft curves and a shining moistness of eye and lips. It made him want to smoosh himself against it.  _Ugh! Stupid girl!_  Why the Hell did Raditz and Nappa think having such a creature around was a good idea? This was more torturous than pleasurable.

Her expression widened into a devious grin. 'Well, I guess that's all right, because I wouldn't want to share my thoughts right now either.'

'Why not? What are they?' he demanded, desperate for a window into her mind.

'I just told you, I'm not telling! Unless you tell me yours first, maybe?'

'No!'

She pouted. 'Wow, bite my head off, why don't you? So, are you going to stand here all night, or are you going to come back to bed?'

'What does it matter-' He cut himself short as he registered the fact that she was requesting him back next to her as she slept, and his eyes roamed her face looking for clues as to  _why_. She was watching him intently in return. He couldn't go back to being nestled a few inches of her right now – he thought he would go crazy with the effort of denying himself – which seemed to be exactly what she wanted.

'Why?'

She shrugged and put her hands on her hips. 'Maybe I just don't want you waking me again once I've fallen back asleep? Who do you think woke me when they got up, huh?'

'I didn't wake you.'

'Oh, yeah? How do you know?'

'I know.' He had left her side as she became restless in her sleep, and she still twitched and breathed like a dreamer when he'd crept away. He saw an opportunity to get at her. 'You drool in your sleep!'

'I do not!' she said, and then wiped at her chin with the back of her hand to check. 'Liar!'

He smiled at having razzed her; he couldn't help but fall back into the familiarity he'd started to become accustomed to with her. 'You do sometimes, maybe not tonight.'

She tried to look offended even though she was smiling. Whether it was an act or not, something about her gladdened him.

'Well, Prince Charming, if you won't come now, you'd better not wake me when you  _do_  decide come back to bed.'

'Why would that bother me at all?'

'Oh, yeah! Of course it wouldn't – I forgot that you're completely inconsiderate,' she said, and made to back up her words with a playful poke at his chest, which Vegeta caught before it even made contact. He enjoyed the look of mild panic that passed over her features when he didn't let it go. He supposed that he might be holding a little too hard for her liking, though she was still smiling.

'Impertinent female,' he admonished quietly, and then he breathed in, and the thick, musky scent on her hand was drawn right into his chest, hitting him hard and pushing out any other words or thoughts other than utter perversion – to lift her nightdress or suck her fingers or somehow devour her. He froze in place while the blood thundered to his loins, and her pretend scowl faded into puzzlement.

'Vegeta?' she asked. 'What's wrong?'

He pushed her away, and her puzzlement turned to hurt.

'What was that about?' she asked.

Vegeta found his voice again. 'Don't touch me,' he said, turning back to the window to get his eyes off her.

'What? Why not?' she whispered back urgently. 'I only poked you! I barely touched you, really! It's not like I could even hurt you if I tried!' She stepped right up the window frame too, trying to see his face. Vegeta staggered away, giving her his back. She seemed to be doing this on purpose! He was so stiff in his underwear he felt there was no way she couldn't have noticed. He felt humiliated by his lack of control over his own body.

'Keep away from me,' he said and then looked at their pile of bedclothes over his shoulder, realising that he couldn't go back there.

For a few long moments they said nothing, and in the silence he could hear her take a ragged couple of breaths. Then, sounding miserable, she spoke.

'Well, I'm going back to bed at least.' She took her spot next to Kakarott. 'I guess staying away from me isn't going to work if you want to sleep tonight, because I'll be right here.'

Vegeta darted down the steps, bundled his fur and blanket against his front and then walked away, heading up the steep, curved stairs to the flight deck. For good measure he closed the narrow door at the top. He heard one last word before it closed, whispered vehemently into the darkness.

' _Fuck!_ '

* * *

They landed on a large planet around midday on their ship's time. The gravity there was about one and a half times Earth's.

'I'm surprised I can stand up,' commented Bulma as Tarble piloted the ship in to land.

Raditz grinned at her over his shoulder from the other pilot's seat. 'We've been edging the gravity up ever since we left Earth,' he said. 'Done it so slowly you guys didn't even notice.'

Still, she did feel a lot heavier here, and it was uncomfortable, like trying to walk around in a very fast elevator. She glanced over at Vegeta.  _Urgh, everything is uncomfortable!_  She didn't know how everything had gone so wrong last night, but it had, and now she felt like a fool. She was bloody  _pining_. For  _Vegeta!_  She rolled her eyes.

They had landed on a rocky plain with nothing but short, tiny-leaved plants and colourful lichens growing on it. When they opened the door it was cold and windy, and Bulma hurried back inside for more layers of clothes to wear while the boys unhooked the water and power from the regen tank and manhandled it out of the door. Bulma joined them reluctantly, shivering, and not just from the cold. The older Saiyans had been in agreement; Bulma should be the one to get the jewels on Brolly. Goku, Krillin and Tarble had been placated by the assurance that they would be just out of sight to help her if needed.

Now she stood in front of the tank under the cold sun of this nameless planet, looking at the still figure within. He looked skinny. In the seventeen days he'd been in the tank his cheeks had hollowed, the ribs begun to show through the muscle that had covered them, his hips start to jut and his legs look longer and thinner. They had topped up the nutrient canisters so many times that they'd gone through most of the supply, but apparently this wasn't enough to prevent wasting during a long term stay. Heaven knew what other effects the tank had had on him. The feedback panel put Brolly's brain activity levels at a very low level of consciousness – only slightly above a coma.

The battery light was flashing, too, to show that the tank was disconnected from its power source and had only a handful of hours until it ran through its battery power.

She tried to imagine how this would go.

'We didn't think this end of the plan through very well,' she mumbled to herself, or perhaps to Tarble, who was standing next to her, looking at Brolly with similar consternation.

'Indeed, we did not,' said Vegeta from behind her, striding towards her with Raditz next to him, holding, of all things, his home-made spit roasting gear, and Goku and Krillin bearing frozen game from the pantry. Vegeta stopped short of her though, and when his eyes met hers for a second he quickly looked away.

'Are you guys so hungry for barbeque we can't get Brolly out first?' she asked.

'This  _is_  for Brolly,' said Vegeta.

'Yeah, we reckon he'll be pretty damn hungry when he gets out,' said Raditz. 'The distraction of food could help things along.'

'You sound like you have a plan already,' she said, feeling even angrier that she hadn't been given a say in a plan that used her as a pawn.

'We do,' replied Vegeta.

'Well, don't keep us in suspense!'

* * *

The plan was this – Vegeta, Nappa and Goku went to find trees or similar to turn into a bonfire while Raditz prepared the meat for cooking and Tarble and Bulma were consigned to the kitchen to come up with some treats. Once the fire was built and then burning down somewhat, Raditz chucked the beasts over it and Bulma made disastrous experimental muffins and cookies from the mixture of alien ingredients in the kitchen and pantry, and hydrated a bunch of dubious Grenoulliean dishes and desserts. They carried the dining table and chairs outside and set up dinner before the tank, and a few hours later, when the meat was cooked they took their positions. Nappa and Raditz lay flat on the top rim of the ship, out of sight but close enough to hear what was going on below. Vegeta and the boys were to remain below, as they were small enough to be hide behind the regen tank.

'What if he doesn't regain consciousness?' she asked Vegeta as they stood before the tank. 'What if he's too weak to get out?'

'Then that will make things very easy, will it not? You can just shove the crown on his head.'

'And what if he won't wear either of them?'

'Then you'll figure something out – you're very manipulative, after all.'

Bulma looked sharply at Vegeta, but he just remained staring stonily into the tank

'Is that why I have to be the one to get them on him, then?' she asked carefully.

'Yes. That and you have made some sort of connection with Brolly. Last time he was clear-headed and without his crown he tried to kill Nappa, Raditz and I. He hasn't tried to kill you yet.'

'There's always a first time!' she retorted.

'That's why I'll just be here and the others above,' he said, and started walking around the back of the tank that Krillin was still peering around.

'Wait!' she snapped, frustrated and scared. 'I'd hardly say it was a "connection" I made with Brolly! You don't even know what happened!'

Vegeta stopped and half turned but didn't look at her. 'Yes, I do. Raditz told me you led him on with empty promises of loyalty and… _affections_.'

'Oh, you do know,' she said lamely.

Vegeta snorted with disgust and disappeared to the back of the tank. 'Saving Brolly by putting him in the tank was your idea, so you do your part now to complete it!'

Bulma whimpered.

'Okay, I'm about to drain the tank!' she called out for the benefit of the others above.

'Righto!' hollered Nappa in return.

She pressed the button with a shaking finger and after a minute the pump began to work, sucking the pale aqua fluid away. Brolly sank with the water level and folded to his knees on the floor of the tank. For a short while Bulma was hopeful that he was fully unconscious, but then his hand moved forwards to stop himself falling forwards. As the last of the fluid disappeared Brolly slumped to his hands and knees in the bottom.

The door popped open and reluctantly Bulma swung it out of the way. Brolly groaned, shifting side to side.

'Hey,' she croaked, her fear stopping her voice coming out properly. 'How do you feel, Brolly?'

Brolly let out a long groan and lifted his head; his dark, wet bangs hanging in his eyes. 'Not good,' he said. He tried to lurch to standing and failed, falling to all fours again, hands on the lichen outside the tank, and Bulma jumped back in fright. 'Why can't I stand?' he said, and Bulma remembered her pity for him. This must be scary for him too.

'You're – you've been in the regen tank a really long time,' she told him.

He looked around the edge of the tank entrance. 'Why?'

'You remember that you got sick, right?'

He looked up at her, a frown of bewilderment and panic on his face. 'Sick?'

'From the wound, you know? Your missing tail? You got really sick and almost died.'

'Oh, yeah,' he said, comprehension returning to him. 'I remember.'

'We had to put you in the tank to stop you from dying,' she said, her voice warbling a little. Recalling the emotion of that time, and her fear and pity, her eyes started to prick with tears as she watched his feeble attempts to crawl out of the tank. 'Then we had to go to a Planet called Grenouillea Two to get the cure for you.'

He collapsed onto the rocky ground before the tank like a new born foal. 'Am I better?' he asked. 'I don't feel better.'

'You're cured; you're just weak from the tank.'

He shivered then, his naked skin twitching over the thin muscles. 'Cold,' he said, and Bulma grabbed the blanket she had brought out for this purpose and threw it over his body. Brolly got to his knees again and wrapped it about himself, dropping one of the ends with his shaking fingers. Despite her fear, Bulma stepped forward and pulled the blanket tight over the front of him, covering that nakedness that had adorned the lounge for so long like a piece of macabre conceptual art. Brolly gripped the blanket tight in front of him and breathed in deeply.

'Where's the food?' he said, sounding more urgent than he had before.

'Just behind me,' she said. 'Do you want to eat? We made all this food for you.'

He nodded and started crawling to the table in a weak but determined manner. When he got there he struggled to raise himself using the table.

'Do you want help?' asked Bulma, too scared to touch him without asking permission. Brolly scowled but then nodded, and then Bulma wasn't sure how to help him. She hooked him under his blanketed arms and hauled, trying to get him into the chair they'd set with his assistance, but the higher gravity made this even harder than it might've been. He almost knocked the chair right over and sent a bottle of juice tumbling off the table to shatter on the stones, but he made it, and without so much as a glance at Bulma he started eating, reaching for the great steaming chunks of spit roasted bird and tearing into it with his hands and teeth, fat and meat juices pouring down his chin. Bulma winched a bit at the even-more-messy-than-usual display of Saiyan appetite and the moans of appreciation Brolly was making. The hastily roasted bird was black on the outside and not just raw, but still cold in the middle, but Brolly didn't seem to care. After some meat he began hoeing onto the approximations of vanilla custard cupcakes that Bulma had made – sunken and dense, though still sweet and hopefully edible. She watched him eat for some minutes, laying her hands on the two silk lined boxes of jewellery in front of her, and wondering when and how to attempt to get them on him.

Brolly slowed and then stopped, staring off into the distance.

'What's wrong?' she asked, knowing that he hadn't even eaten a normal sized Saiyan meal, so he couldn't be full.

Suddenly Brolly turned his head aside and vomited onto the ground. Bulma squealed and turned away with her hands on her ears – Saiyan puking was even more disgusting than human; he was like a hosepipe! When he was done and slumped over, spitting onto the ground, he let out a whine of pure misery.

'Why can't I eat?' he asked. 'Are you poisoning me?'

Bulma truly hoped it wasn't her cupcakes. 'No! Brolly, you know I would never do that to you!'

He sat up again and got his elbows on the table. 'One of the others? They don't like me, you know.'

'They do like you!' objected Bulma. 'Why else would we have gone to such great lengths to save your life? Your life was in our hands for days. They wouldn't poison you  _now_.'

Brolly growled and the hair up Bulma's back stood up.

'You know what it is?' she said much more gently. 'You've been in the tank so long your stomach isn't used to holding so much food. Just eat a little bit, and slowly. You can always have more later. Here.' She passed him another bottle of juice and a bowl of mashed root with salt with a fork stuck in it. Brolly hesitated, looking her in the eye before accepting the items. He took the bottle of juice first and sipped from it. Then he took the bowl and started to eat slowly, as she'd said, glancing up and down between the mash and her face.

'Where're the others?' he asked between mouthfuls.

'Off hunting and things. They'll be back soon.'

He was halfway done with the bowl when he stopped, still looking her in the eye as a small smile added a gleam to his gaze. Even though he was still clumsy from his uber-sleep, he already seemed more consciousness and present than she'd ever seen him before.

'I remember,' he said.

She shivered and hoped he didn't notice.

'What do you remember?'

He smiled wider, the expression almost shy and quite transforming; wide and happy and charming. He was a good looking boy after all. 'You. Did you really say you'd come away with me?'

'Yes,' she said.

He sighed in wonder. 'So you'll be my queen when I go back to Horten to reclaim my throne?'

'One day, when we're older.'

'Older?' he said and sat straighter. 'How about now? I'm not sure how much longer I want to hang about with these guys. I think I'm done with them.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. In fact, I'm going as soon as I feel better. So you'll have to come with me now.'

'Oh, okay,' said Bulma, her fear a step away breaking completely free. 'Not  _right_  now though, right? I mean, you're still  _eating_.'

'No, I don't think I could walk yet, let alone fly. Maybe tomorrow.' He looked at her again, his eyes wandering in a very penetrating and possessive manner over her face and upper body. 'You're beautiful,' he said.

'Thanks,' she said and he raised his eyes to hers again.

'It's weird. It's almost like I'm seeing you for the first time, but I know that's not true.'

Bulma shrugged, not sure what she could say to this, but then she jumped in her seat as he suddenly took hold of her forearm and ran his greasy hand down it. 'Wow, you're soft,' he said. 'Smooth. I remember than from the first time I saw you. I picked you up when we thought you were dead.'

'Did you?' she asked. She hadn't known that.

'Yeah. Vegeta told me to get rid of your body because he thought Tarble had killed you. I thought it was a shame that someone who smelled as nice and felt as nice as you should be dead, but then I realised that you were still alive and told the others.'

'Well…thanks for…noticing.'

He smiled again. 'Do you remember me carrying you inside?'

'No. I don't remember anything that happened that morning.'

'Well, when I told him you weren't dead, Vegeta told me to take you inside and put you on the bed. You looked so pretty, all pale with blood in your hair, and Vegeta ordered us all around while he and Nappa cleaned you up.' He frowned, thinking something over. 'Vegeta is really bossy – I don't know why I always seem to do what he says. Are you sure he's not around? I don't want him showing up and starting to order me around again - I'm not in the mood.'

'No, he's not here,' she squeaked. 'I wanted it to be just you and me when you woke up.' She forced herself to relax, to lower her shoulders from her ears and not quake. Staring into the mashed tubers she forced herself to grasp Brolly's wrist in return and stroke her fingers slightly on his skin. He flinched and gasped slightly, and his surprise was almost touching, in a way. She looked up into his eyes and felt an awful pang of guilt for this fakery. He haltingly stroked her back with his fingertips in the same way and goosebumps erupted up Bulma's arm.

'Are you feeling a little better?' she asked.

He nodded, his mouth open as he stared at her.

'That's good.'

'Maybe if I'm feeling even better before the others come back...we could take the ship now and leave them here?'

'Urh, maybe...' Oh god, she had to get some of this jewellery on him quick. She dragged her arm from his grasp and picked up the first of the boxes. 'Brolly, when we were on Grenouillea Two getting the cure for you, we also got your crown and necklace fixed up.' She opened it, but Brolly was sneering before the lid was even all the way up.

'I'm not wearing that piece of shit again,' he said. 'It weighs my hair down, it scratches, it looks dumb...I can't think why I put up with it for so long.'

Bulma snapped the lid closed again and chucked the box on the ground, immediately switching to plan B.

'You know, that's just what I said to the others! I knew you wouldn't want that thing back and I don't like it either.'

Brolly smiled at that.

'But I thought to myself, the Grenouilleans make such amazing jewellery, and a king needs a crown...'

Brolly grinned. 'No, he doesn't. He just needs power and for everyone else to be in fear of him.'

Bulma faltered in the act of opening the second box and then she tittered, forcing a laugh. 'Very true! But anyway, I got you a gift on Grenouillea.' She opened the box and turned it to him.

Brolly frowned into the box. 'Is it a necklace?'

'No, it's a diadem - for your head. They're very fashionable on Grenouillea.'

Brolly made a scornful face.

'Um, I think they look great,' she said. 'And this one is a very special one.'

'It is?'

'The gem stone is exceeding rare.'

'Is it?' He looked at it with renewed interest. 'It's girly looking.'

Bulma was inclined to agree - the white-platinum links were too chunky for women's jewellery, but the brilliant green pendent stone that would hang on his forehead was over the top for Earth Men's fashion. 'No, it isn't! This is very masculine where I come from!' she lied.

He picked it up out of the box and held it up, but then moved to lay it down again.

'And it's a gift of...my love for you,' she said, reaching for anything that would convince him to put it on. He paused with it in his hands. 'Please Brolly, at least try it on. I spent so long picking out the one that would suit you the best.'

'May as well try it on,' he ceded. He lifted his hands to his head and Bulma hurried to stand and help him position it correctly, balanced and even. Then she quickly picked up the box and handed it to him. There was a mirror in the lid.

'What do you think?' she asked, and when he held up the mirror she quickly made some adjustments.

'Hmm,' he said doubtfully.

Bulma pressed the rearmost link for a second as the instructions in the box had said and then stepped back, holding her breath.

Brolly just stared for a long moment as his reflection then turned his head this way and that.

'Do you like it?'

An enormous grin spread across his face. 'Yes. I do. It looks amazing.' He continued staring at his reflection then laughed as if from sheer delight. 'Wow! It really suits me.'

'It really does,' agreed Bulma, and that was no lie. For all it was a piece of jewellery purchased sight unseen, the gleaming white metal and green gem complimented Brolly rather than dominating his face like the old gold band and red stone had.

'There's earrings too,' he said lifting them out. 'Are these for me as well?'

'Yep,' she said, watching him put them on with relief. There was a moment when he flinched slightly as whatever mechanism inside the earrings moved into action and clamped themselves permanently to his lobes, but he just shook it off and picked up the mirror again to admire himself.

Bulma sat down again, wondering if there would be a definite sign that the diadem was working, though it was certainly doing  _something_. Brolly flicked the pendant and then shook his head from side to side to swing the earrings to and fro.

'Are you still hungry, Brolly?' she asked gently. 'Maybe you should eat a little more.'

'Oh, yes!' he said, putting down the box. He started scooping up the last of the mashed tubers. 'These are good,' he said, his mouth full.

She decided to tentatively test the effect. 'You know, Brolly, I don't think I want to leave the others just yet,' she said. 'Can we wait a little longer? I want to see Planet Namek, which is where they're going.'

'Hmm, I guess so,' he said. 'Planet Namek could be interesting.'

'You don't mind sticking with the others?'

He paused and frowned. She held her breath because Brolly looked truly confused and she was worried that whatever spell the diadem was casting was about to fail. His expression flickered and then smoothed out into bland happiness again. 'Nah, they can be annoying sometimes, but they're okay.'

 _Phew!_  'Great! Anyway, I think they might be back soon.'

'Good; I can show them my new diadem thing! I hope they don't have ones as good as mine!'

Bulma smiled with relief. 'No, I only got  _you_  one, because you're special to me.'

He turned a beautiful, good natured smile on her.

'Thank you, Bulma!'

* * *

Brolly ate for a while, proving amiable to Bulma's suggestions of what to eat and to slow down and even stop when she thought he'd had as much as was wise. Bulma felt weak with relief that this ordeal was over and Brolly preserved, though she was intrigued and little disturbed by the personality shift the Grenouillean diadem had had. For a few minutes the real Brolly had begun to emerge, and now he was thankfully, but a tiny bit sadly gone again.

Vegeta appeared from around the tank looking sullen, with his arms crossed awkwardly in front of him because his shoulder was still paining him.

'I see you're out of the tank,' Vegeta stated.

Brolly looked around and his brows shot up in pleasant surprise to see Vegeta. 'I still feel really weak, but I'm sure I'll feel better soon,' replied Brolly. 'Look what Bulma got me!' he said, pointing at his head and shaking it side to side to flick the earrings and pendant around.

Bulma smiled at Brolly's simple minded happiness, but Vegeta sneered.

'Very fetching,' he said insincerely.

The others dropped to the ground and appeared from behind the tank and Brolly laughed with delight, greeting them with the same enthusiasm he'd shown Vegeta as they crowded around the table, nodding and saying 'Hi'.

'It's good to see you awake again at last,' said Goku happily, but even he was frowning a bit with puzzlement. After Brolly finished showing them all his new adornments, Goku turned to Bulma.

'Is he okay?' he asked Bulma. 'He seems different.'

'Shush,' she warned him.

'Well, if Chuckles here is done with the food,' said Nappa, sneaking his hand towards one of the drumsticks. Vegeta nodded, and the locusts descended. Within a couple of minutes all the food on the table was gone.

'Hey, give that back!' cried Bulma as Raditz nicked the flattened cupcake right out of her hand as her fingers closed around it.

'Too slow,' he said, and Bulma looked to Vegeta to defend her right to get a proper share of the food, but he just watched Raditz pop the cake in his mouth.

'Excuse me, but I didn't get enough to eat!' she prompted.

'Neither did we,' said Vegeta. 'Go back into the kitchen and prepare more food.'

'What! I'm not your maid, you know,' said Bulma, getting sick of Vegeta's regression of attitude. 'Maybe you should do it. You said you'd do a turn in the kitchen after all to prove how easy it was.'

'I said no such thing!' he replied with an unwarranted amount of ire. 'Raditz, come with me! You others, bring Brolly inside and cloth him, and the tank and table too.'

Raditz looked a little unhappy with this.

'Was there any point in snatching that sweet?' Nappa asked him as he walked away. 'Vegeta's probably going to sucker you so hard in the gut that you regurgitate it. Shoulda left it for me!'

Vegeta turned again and called back, 'On second thoughts, Girl, prepare the regeneration tank for another usage.  _Then_  make us some more dinner.'

 _Girl?_  Bulma was so stunned, insulted and hurt by this that she couldn't come up with a suitable response before he took to the air and was probably out of earshot.

'Asshole!' she shouted after him half-heartedly. Krillin made a sympathetic grimace but Nappa just chuckled.

'Kakarott, help that halfwit inside the ship.'

* * *

The tank got good use that evening. Brolly was clothed and settled on a sofa, making small talk with Bulma about their time on Grenouillea as she set the tank to a cleaning cycle and then retreated to the kitchen to produce even more food. She resorted to her capsules, too fed up to face cooking alien food again, but by the time she'd finished prepping and heating steamed pork buns and some family sized portions of beef and vegetable stir fry the boys were back, bearing a half conscious and bloody Raditz with a weeping Puar bringing up the rear.

'Jeez, what've you done to him?' cried Bulma as Nappa stripped Raditz on the steps before the tank. Her eyes swivelled to Vegeta and he was giving Raditz in a completely chilling, black stare. He then turned that look on her and she took a step backwards, even though she was still on the other side of the lounge in the kitchen.

'Following through on the punishment I promised on Grenouillea.'

'Arrh, s'okay,' drawled Raditz, blood drooling from the side of his swollen mouth. For a second his resemblance to Goku was apparent. He even managed to laugh breathlessly in a way that suggested it hurt to do so. 'Just get me in the fucking tank, Nappa.'

Nappa laughed, sticking electrodes on his chest, and Raditz managed to pull himself upright enough to get in the tank.

Goku and Krillin looked shell shocked, though Tarble just looked worried. Vegeta walked into the kitchen and grabbed a tureen and spoon without a word to Bulma, and then stalked back outside to eat.

'He just didn't stop, even when Raditz was down on the ground,' said Puar, softly. 'It wasn't really a fight.'

'That really didn't give me much of an appetite,' remarked Krillin, taking two buns anyway. Goku and Tarble grabbed bowls from the breakfast bar and began eating until Nappa glided up behind Tarble and whispered, 'Are you sure you want to be eating so much when you lot are next up for discipline?'

Tarble gulped and lowered his fork and his eyes. Goku on the other hand looked at Nappa in alarm and started eating faster. Krillin turned pale.

Thankfully Nappa took his food outside too. Tarble handed Bulma his bowl. 'Can you save that for me?' he asked and trudged after Nappa.

'What do you think would happen if we refused to go outside?' asked Krillin.

'They'd probably drag us outside,' answered Goku. Then he got a steely glint in his eye, looking forward into an imagined future. 'I think we've gotten stronger though. I think we might be able to fight back more against Nappa now.'

'This isn't right!' said Bulma. 'They're going to beat you to a pulp like Raditz? No! I won't let this happen!'

When Nappa yelled at them to get outside they wandered out like the prisoners to the gallows, but Bulma marched out, furious, picking Vegeta as her target and getting right in his face before letting rip.

'How can you treat these  _children_  in such a barbaric way? What the hell have they done to you that deserves them being beaten savagely?' She was so angry with him that little bits of spit flew out of her mouth and hit him in the face, but there was nothing that could be done about that.

Vegeta sneered and stepped back from her. 'Lying, disobedience, stupidity! Endangering us and our mission! And they're warriors, not children!'

'They're just teenagers even younger than us! They're not in your stupid fucking PTO! Neither am I! Neither, for that matter, are YOU! Quit acting like you're still beholden to some stupid military order!'

Nappa made a noise of disgust behind her.

'I'll use whatever methods I like. Nappa, deal to Tarble.'

Bulma wheeled around, but Tarble was stepping forward obediently. Nappa rose into the air and Tarble went up after him.

'No!' she cried. 'He's still got a broken hand!'

Nappa flew at Tarble, and the boy defended himself, flying backwards and fending the man with his legs and good hand, but Nappa's superior speed and reach won out pretty quickly. Tarble's head flicked back from a punch and he sailed in a huge arc, crashing into the ground quite a way away. Bulma screamed, but Goku said. 'He's okay, Bulma. Nappa didn't hit him full strength.'

And Tarble's little figure did pop up again, leaping back into the sky to meet Nappa for more punishment.

'Why is he going back?' she asked, distressed at this apparent lack of self-preservation.

'Tarble knows he has to do this to regain his standing,' said Vegeta.

'That's not it,' said Goku. 'He wants to be stronger and beat Nappa one day.'

Vegeta gave a cool chuckle at that. 'You're probably right there, too.'

They watched as Tarble crashed into the stones again, and again struggled to his feet and back into the air.

'I…I don't understand you people,' admitted Bulma.

'Then keep out of Saiyan affairs and let the brats reap the consequences of their actions.'

'You realise I'm not a Saiyan, right?' asked Krillin quietly, but no one answered.

'Girl, go back inside if you can't stand the sight of violence,' said Vegeta.

Bulma wandered back towards the ship where Puar hovered, but didn't go back inside. Instead she stayed there sniffling on tears of wrath, with Puar clinging to her shoulder. She forced herself to watch as Tarble was beaten down until he could no longer stand, and then Goku and then Krillin, all three fighting back for all they were worth, but still ending up very much on the losing end of the fight.

Tarble was laid out next to her, groaning in pain, and she hurried inside for her first aid kit, but by the time she was back out he was sitting up on his elbows watching Goku fight. When the beaten Goku was deposited next to him, Tarble said, 'That was a pretty good show.'

'Yeah, Nappa had to work a lot harder to put me down this time, I could feel it,' said Goku happily, even though Bulma was pretty sure his arm was broken again.

'Idiots,' Bulma muttered. 'Why am I wasting my tears over them?'

She had more sympathy for Krillin though, who went up trembling with fear. He still fought valiantly though, between frequent cries of, 'I'm sorry! I promise I'll never lie to you again!'

He was moaning piteously when Nappa picked him up by the back of his shirt and dropped him on Bulma's other side, and he eagerly took some sedative to dull the pain of his broken ribs.

'Hey, cut that out,' said Nappa, catching her administering it. 'A warrior needs to know how to endure pain or else he risks being crippled by it during battle. That'll get him killed.'

Bulma glared needles at him.

Vegeta approached, his face still dark.

'Are you guys finally done beating the shit out of each other?' she asked spitefully.

'No,' said Vegeta. 'Nappa, get in the air again.'

'What?' asked Nappa. 'Why?'

'Because you passed on your duty to an insubordinate who was not up to it, thereby endangering all of us.'

Nappa's face looked blank, and it sounded a flimsy reason to Bulma too.

'Okay, then, your Highness.'

Vegeta's fight with Nappa was faster, meaner and more brutal than anything Nappa had dealt to the boys. Nappa went down a few times without hitting the ground, but when he did, he hit like a meteor, throwing up a massive crater of dirt a mile away. Bulma ran inside the side, not waiting to see if he was dead or alive, and not able to give a reason for the many distressing emotions she felt to see it. She stood in the middle of the lounge, listening to Brolly's gentle snores from the couch and feeling a vague sense of everything being out of her control and her utter aloneness. When Vegeta dragged the body of Nappa up the rampway she burst into tears, but then the big man let out a ragged breath and she knew he was still alive.

'Tell me…Tell me Raditz's almost done…ina tank…' he gasped.

Vegeta looked fairly banged up too, standing heaving great breaths, but Bulma felt disgust when she looked at him. He lifted his eyes to her, and some of the fury was gone, chased away by exertion, but they still burned her with their coldness. There was something else there too, though. She thought she could read shame there in the set of his mouth and chin. She ran around him and up the stairs to the flight deck, slamming the door after her.

* * *

That night they all had rather poor sleep as one by one the boys took their turns in the tank. Bulma took a leaf from Vegeta's book and took her blanket upstairs to sleep in solitude for once, pleased to discover that the door could be locked.

'The "warriors" can go rot,' she muttered to no one but the stars, and then she cried and cried for her parents and her home and homesickness and loneliness as the stars whisked past, the ship taking her further and further away from Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks for all your comments so far guys!
> 
> The Unnatural Lovers Fan Fiction and Fan Art awards is still open until (I think) midnight of August 1st EST (less than 2 days at the time of posting), so go and vote and support the awards.


	39. Countdown to Namek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yea of little faith! I have returned from the mountain, bearing a chapter!
> 
> Okay, I know it's been a long time for me, and I could say things about being busy and these chapters being hard and writer's block, yadda, yadda. The truth is that the last two week I HAVEN'T been very busy at all, and even with much free time at work to be tappy-tapping away I have just found it very hard going. Why is it that the longer I'm writing fan fiction the harder and slower I find it? PARADOX!
> 
> Sorry, I have had a margarita. Now where was I?
> 
> This chapter has a guest beta - Froglady15! My amazing and wonderful regular Beta is still too deeply immersed in the joys* of new motherhood (yes, she had her baby if you want to go congratulate her), so I asked my friend Froglady to look the chapter over for me. Any errors, you can blame her for them. LOL, just kidding! Another margarita, where are you?
> 
> So, on with the story.
> 
> *In this case, "joys" may refer to extreme exhaustion, endless baby-feeds and poo-filled diapers.

Ten more days to Namek.

In the most part they passed by Bulma in a dreary trudge towards into an impending sense of doom. Vegeta continued his cold treatment of her, and she suffered it silently and privately as there was no one she could talk to about it, and she found it hard enough to admit to herself how hurt she was by him. The small ship left her feeling trapped and unable to get away from him or the other Saiyans.

The forced proximity was made even more uncomfortable on the third and fourth days by period cramps. She had never desired privacy more than when she realised that all the Saiyans were aware of her state. She had walked past Vegeta, who sat with Nappa, Raditz and Krillin, practising their chi suppression again. She'd turned back hoping vainly that Vegeta would take notice of her, only to see him sniffing and frowning, his eyes flicking to her crotch for a split second before turning back to Krillin. She hurried away to the sofa, thinking she had surely misinterpreted that look, when Tarble, chi-supressing graduate, had come to sit next to her a few moments later and said:

'Oh! I was wondering why you smelt like that, and I just figured it out! You're doing that thing, aren't you? Men…surating?'

'Menstruating,' corrected Nappa, without looking up. Bulma's mouth opened, but no sound issued; stuck in the indecision of utter awkwardness.

'Oh, that's right. Menstru-'

'Shut up!' she snapped, her voice coming back to her and her face flushing red. Tarble flinched and looked upset. Worse, everyone in the room looked up to see why she was making a fuss.

'Sorry,' said Tarble, though he looked plainly confused as to why he was sorry. 'Was it because I said it wrong?'

'No,' said Bulma, jumping to her feet. She had forgotten all about Goku's amazing olfactory abilities, and now she realised that all the Saiyans must share them. She could have died on the spot, but instead she tore upstairs, seeking again the isolation of the flight deck.

The flight deck had become her workshop, her bedroom and her retreat. Day after day she secluded herself there, electronics and tools arrayed all about in a deliberately messy fashion, dropped items of clothing and her sleeping bag and blanket marking her tiny bit of territory. After the first night sleeping up there, and seeing that the lounge would be even more crowded now, she decided to sleep there every night. The door had a lock which she used to deny Nappa entry on his early morning wanderings. That'd pissed him off, and his banging and swearing for her to open the door the first time she'd slept up here had been frightening, but it had woken the others too, and Vegeta had told him to shut up and get over it. Goku later told her that Vegeta felt this sleeping arrangement to be for the best anyway, and Nappa was told he was not to make a commotion about it again. This was a small relief, but it also made her unhappy because…well, Vegeta didn't want her close to him.

Goku and Krillin were not being much use to her - the couple of times she'd managed to find a moment to talk to them in private since leaving Grenouillea Krillin had had no ideas on how to steal the dragonballs from the Saiyans, and Goku was inclined to see what unfolded on Namek and play things by ear. Puar was kept too much in Vegeta's pocket to even join their whispered conferences, though Bulma was beginning to think this was more voluntary on the cat's part than enforced. When this angry thought occurred to her she let a bitter tear slide down her face, imagining herself the lone saviour of her entire planet's populace. She might be a genius, but even she needed an ear to bounce ideas off and a friendly shoulder to be comforted on. She was homesick, lonely, wronged: she was like a flower, withering without light; a tender-hearted girl crushed under the yoke of responsibility; she was…

Brolly came up the stairs, interrupting her sulk. He sprang merrily from the door to land before her where she lounged in a pilot chair. He'd grown in the tank – in height at least. He'd already been taller than Bulma before he went in, but now he was at least six feet tall. It was decidedly unhuman for a boy to grow three inches in less than three weeks, but then again, he wasn't human.

He smiled his wide grin, looking as delighted as usual to see Bulma. She couldn't help smiling back when she saw it, even though she felt a little uneasy about this transformation. The old crown had flattened out his personality until there was almost nothing there, but this new diadem made him happy nearly all the time, and even when a wrinkle in his mood appeared he was easily distracted from it, and he was always agreeable. He was also an idiot. He spoke his thoughts, which were always superficial, and mostly about himself.

'Hello, again,' she said. 'You look happy about something.'

'Tarble says I'm getting better at sensing chi,' he explained.

'Oh. Well done, then.'

'Thanks. I can already do a bunch of things with it. I sensed you up here.'

'Oh, really?'

'Yup. Now I'll be able to tell where you are all the time. Cool, huh?'

'Excellent,' said Bulma insincerely. Although he was all sunshine now, the jewellery hadn't lessened his interest in her. He tended to seek her out any time he had nothing better to do, and she'd had to tell him not to touch her or stand too close. When he wanted to know why he couldn't, she had told him that if the others figured out that they were a couple that it would stir up trouble. The off-the-cuff lie was safer than telling him she wasn't actually interested in him; she still didn't totally trust the jewellery to control him if he was direly provoked. Besides, it was only a handful more days to Namek and the maybe a few more days to gather the dragonballs. After that, Brolly would cease to be a problem. In fact, Brolly would probably be the least of their problems.

_Oh god, what was going to happen on Namek?_

Another stomach-clenching wave of dread washed through her.

Each day that passed brought them all closer to the precipice over which she couldn't foresee anything. Bulma was troubled by the awareness of hours and minutes and seconds rushing her along towards it. She would surface from thought, from peace, from sleep even, gasping with panic at the nearness of the inexorable event horizon. She began to have trouble sleeping, and in the night would stare at the stars whizzing by as if they were in a hurry to get her to the moment of crisis, and she would feel like she was counting down to her execution. And maybe she was.

Even if they succeeded in taking the wish from the Saiyans – in completing their herculean task – would the Saiyans let them live? After Vegeta's promise she would have thought that likely, but more recently she had felt that promise as flimsy as paper. If they usurped the wish from him, Vegeta was going to be majorly, and certainly violently pissed off and how would the promise hold up then? Or against one of Nappa's impetuous outbursts of violence? And should the Saiyans let the Earthlings live, how would they get home to their resurrected people? Vegeta was hardly likely to give them a ride back to Earth after they'd just stolen his dearest wish from him. It was looking like they were going to be either dead or stranded on an alien world very soon. Getting the wish was going to be hard enough. Getting safely home was starting to look impossible.

'Bulma!' said Brolly, interrupting her thoughts.

'What?' she asked.

'You weren't paying attention. I asked why you wanted to go to Namek. Is it those dragonballs the others keep talking about?'

'Yes,' she replied, deciding to tell him, as certainly the other Saiyans knew already. 'I need the dragonballs to wish all the Earthlings that Frieza killed back to life.' Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe she should get Brolly on their side. She didn't trust his dim-wittedness or his cow-like willingness to follow anyone's suggestions, but maybe she could utilise him somehow? Prep him for use now? But his next question startled her.

'Why?' he said, taking a seat in the other pilot's chair.

' _Why?_ ' she repeated. 'Because they're dead!'

'Yeah, but aren't lots of people dead?'

'I guess, but these are  _my_  people. You know – my parents, my friends, and I want them back.' She paused, watching Brolly frowning quizzically at this apparently novel idea.

'I could get you  _new_  people,' he said. 'Once we get out of here I can give you as many as you like.'

She groaned at his lack of understanding. 'I don't want just any old people!' she told him. 'I want  _my_  people.'

Brolly puzzled for a second before his face returned to blithe peace again and he nodded sagely. 'Oh, I get it. Your people are the  _best_  people.'

Bulma hesitated but agreed anyway. 'That's right – they are.'

Brolly grinned at her. 'Then I'll help you get them back.' Bulma barely held in a bark of amusement at how easily he had been won over to her side.

'Well, thanks. You know Vegeta wants to wish for something else though?' she warned him.

'What?'

'I don't know,' she conceded. 'He'll try and make you help him get his wish instead.'

His brows rose in consternation. 'What should I do?' he asked.

'I'll tell you what to do,' she said. 'I'm coming up with a plan.'

'Okay.'

'Look, Brolly…Can you keep this a secret? This conversation, my plan? Everything?'

'I think so,' he said, doubtfully.

That wasn't good enough. 'Please, Brolly, can you try and keep it a secret that you're going to help me?'

'Why?'

'Vegeta won't like it very much.'

'Why does that matter?'

'Because he'll try and stop us. My plan will have more success if he doesn't know.'

Brolly looked confused and then settled back into happiness again, reaching out his hand to her. 'Okay, then. We'll wish your people back to life and then rule them together, as their king and queen.'

Bulma was so surprised by that statement that she laughed. There was no way she was ever letting Brolly come anywhere near Earth. She patted the back of his hand and he convulsively tried to snatch her fingers. She pulled them away, just in time to hear someone's tread on the stairs.

'Someone is coming!' she hissed at him. 'Secret, remember?'

He nodded and Tarble appeared in the doorway. He paused, biting his lip.

'Yes?' she prompted him.

'Hey, I'm sorry about before,' he said.

Bulma crossed her arms, her earlier embarrassment brought to mind again. 'Good.'

'Krillin told me that it's not something you mention about to girls. I didn't know that.'

'Well now you do.'

'Sorry again. Well…anyway…I just came up to tell you that Vegeta wants you to come downstairs and test him and Nappa and Raditz.'

That figured, but she didn't feel in the mood for co-operating with Vegeta. 'Tell him that I'm not coming down unless he asks nicely. In person.'

Tarble raised his eyebrows. 'Really?' But when Bulma didn't answer he shrugged and said, 'Well, I'll  _tell_  him that. Brolly, you should come down too. I'm going to try and teach you to lower  _your_  chi at some point, so you may as well watch.'

Brolly hopped to his feet and followed Tarble without a backwards glance at Bulma, and they both went downstairs. Bulma listened to the sound of voices for a couple of minutes and then a heavier tread came up the stairs again. She hoped it was Vegeta, but she could tell just by the sound that it wasn't, but at least it wasn't Nappa.

'Come downstairs,' said Raditz even before he'd fully emerged into the room. 'We need you to test our chi control.'

Bulma felt a tiny bit more crushed by this disappointment. 'Well, I need to not be around you  _apes_  right now,' she said, taking her misery out of Raditz.

'Too bad. If you don't come down soon, Vegeta's going to throw a tantrum. I can see that look in his eye.'

'Not my problem.'

'Oh yes it will be,' said Raditz sternly. 'If you don't come down this time I think the chances fairly high that one of us will be dragging you downstairs next time.'

Bulma glared at him, growing angry at the thought of being carried downstairs against her will. 'Sure, just one more humiliation, why not?'

Raditz huffed in dismissal and moved towards her, and Bulma shrank back into the seat, raising her knees to her chest and gripping the one arm rest tightly; why the other one was on the floor under the console was a mystery.

'Oh-no, you don't!' she said.

Raditz stopped short and raised his hands. 'I was just taking a seat!' He collapsed his tall frame into the other pilot's chair and sat back considering her.

'Why won't you come down?' he asked.

'Because if Vegeta wants me to come down he should ask me himself instead of sending a minion, like a coward.'

'Well, he didn't, and I resent being called a minion!' said Raditz. 'What the hell is up with you two lately? You're both being impossible, shitty, little snotbags! What the hell does it matter who asks you?'

Bulma was silent, feeling even more humiliated. Her insistence on Vegeta might seem suspicious to the others, which it was, and petty, which she supposed it also was. But she hadn't asked for much – just for Vegeta to face her and speak to her for a moment – and he'd refused.

'Bulma,' said Raditz, reaching out a long leg and jerking her chair sharply on its pivot and knocking her out of her contemplation of the broken arm rest.

'What?' she said, irritated.

'Have you and Vegeta fallen out or something?'

She looked up at him half alarmed and half hopeful that he knew what was going on. He didn't look that concerned though, more amused.

'I don't know,' she said. 'Why don't you ask him? And then, when you know, you can tell  _me_.'

'Oh,' said Raditz, looking less amused now. 'Meh, he just gets in shits about things sometimes. Could be something you've said or done, or not done…He'll hold a grudge until he gets an opportunity to beat the crap out of you…Although-' He halted, looking at Bulma. 'Guess he's not going to do that with you.'

'Oh thank you, I couldn't have guessed that myself,' she replied sarcastically, and Raditz shoved her seat again, spinning her right round and nearly throwing her out of the chair until she reached out and stopped herself by grabbing the console.

'Come on,' he insisted. 'Come downstairs. You're going to have to sometime anyway.'

Bulma started to get up but then stopped, remembering her other reason to not want to be around the Saiyans. 'I have no wish to be the laughing stock right now!' she said. 'Much as I'd love to punch you all in the face.'

Raditz snorted. 'What's the difference with now? You're always the laughing stock, aren't you?'

Bulma screamed through her clenched teeth in anger at his quip, which only caused him to laugh more.

'I am not!' she shouted. 'You know you'd all be dead right now if it wasn't for me? I don't want to be exploited for my weakness – it's humiliating! Especially knowing you can all smell that I'm…that you can smell me!'

Raditz laughed at her outrage and she kicked out at him. He moved his legs away too fast though, and sent her chair spinning again.

'Newsflash – we can smell you all the time, idiot,' he said.

'You know what I mean!' she cried, halting her spin again, provoked beyond her embarrassment by her anger.

'What do I know?' said Raditz, and seemed genuinely not to have clicked yet.

'Oh, you do know! What Tarble said downstairs!' She turned red again.

Raditz's eyebrows come up. 'That you're serving your steak with sauce right now?' he asked.

Bulma struggled between amusement and outrage at that horrible metaphor, but succeeded in burying the amusement. 'Yes! And you all know!'

'So what?'

'So, it's humiliating!'

'How?' he asked.

'Because you know something very private about me!'

Raditz frowned. 'It's private? And yet it's totally obvious the moment you stand near?'

Bulma thought she might dissolve to tears at this confirmation of her fears. 'Precisely! Humans can't smell that well! It's an invasion of my privacy!'

Raditz laughed again. 'Well it's not private here. Nothing the body gives away is private here! Just sitting here right now I can smell what you had for breakfast, and that Nappa farted downstairs just now. I can tell what everyone has just been doing when they come back from the bathroom, even when I wish I didn't - and can I just say – Krillin is going to wear that knob away of he keeps polishing it as often as he does. I can smell when someone is injured, infected, drunk, filthy, horny or scared – all us Saiyans can. A bit of old blood is hardly the worst bodily odour we have to put up with.'

Bulma was appalled. Smell when someone was scared?  _Horny?_  Her blush deepened and then just as suddenly faded away in a wash of shock as she remembered the strange turning point between her and Vegeta when she'd woken up after her dream…Oh jeez, Vegeta could smell  _that?_  And then he'd reacted like he did…

She was thrown beyond a place of embarrassment into a state of uncomprehending disconnection from reality, staring off into space, her brilliant brain stalled like a computer in safe mode to prevent the horrific connection from being made, thus saving her dignity and feelings. When Raditz was done laughing at her face he again asked her to come down stairs and she rose, numb-brained, her mouth and eyes still slack, and was standing before the others on the parquet floor by the dining table before remembering that she wanted to be anywhere in the galaxy other than facing Vegeta right now.

'What took you so long?' he asked.

She shook her head clear and tried hard not to look at him where he was leaning against the wall, but she couldn't stop herself - she just had to know if her appearance had stirred his attention and feeling. It hadn't. He was glowering at Radtiz, not her, and then turned his head to look out of the window. Nappa was leaning against the dining table, straining the poor piece of furniture, and Krillin and Goku were between them. Tarble and Brolly hovered around on the steps and Puar watched from the table.

Nappa chuckled, misreading Bulma's hesitation. 'What's up, Princess? You scared?'

Bulma flushed red, anger rushing back to her, glad that Nappa had allowed her to cover her chagrin with anger. Her eyes snapped up to his leering face and she snarled back at him.

'Absolutely not! In fact I can't wait to smash you, you meat-headed oaf!'

Krillin and Tarble flinched at her brazen words and Raditz sucked in his breath and let it out with a low, 'Oo-hoo!'

'Don't hit him too hard, Bulma,' Goku warned her. 'You don't want to hurt your hand again.'

'It'd be worth it,' she said.

'You want me to bend over, so you can reach, little girl?' Nappa taunted her.

'Don't bother, I'll just hit you in the nuts instead,' she said, which only made Nappa laugh again, as if she'd been joking.

'You'd better make it a good one, Sweetheart, because this'll be the last time a woman gets a hit on me.' He bent down to offer her his cheek, and Bulma stomped up the stairs, trying to figure out how to make the most of this opportunity, although she was loath to touch the man as long as it would take to slug him. She raised one arm, deciding on a good, hard jab to the nose.

'Stop,' said Vegeta's voice, and Bulma felt her wrist gripped from behind, though she refused to turn around.

'Nappa, your chi has rebounded during your little trash talk – get it under control,' said Vegeta, dropping her wrist quickly.

'Oh, whoops, I missed that,' said Krillin.

'Let me go first, then,' said Raditz.

Scowling, she turned around and came one step back down so Raditz was within arm's reach. He smiled at her; a genuinely sympathetic smile, and Bulma felt herself grudgingly losing her grip on her shield of anger a little.

'All right, then,' she muttered.

'Just a sec; I'm not quite ready,' he said, and closed his eyes for a few seconds, then took a breath and raised his chin, still smiling with his eyes closed. 'All right, am I good?'

'You're good,' replied Krillin, who seemed to still be serving as educator and supervisor.

 _Urgh!_  Bulma thought to herself. Raditz in that moment was behaving so much like his little brother that Bulma didn't even want to hit him, but at the same time, she didn't want to lose this battle. Sure, they were  _trying_  to be weaker than her, but she didn't want to seem any feebler than she was, so she made a fist and clenched her jaw, and wound up for a decisive wallop. She decided on a back-handed thump with the meat of her fist into the side of Raditz's jaw, putting her whole body into a windmill swing. It made an impressive thunking sound and jarred her wrist, but its effect on Raditz was not as impressive.

'Uh,' he said, and staggered a little before righting himself.

'Hmm,' said Krillin. 'I could have sworn you were low enough to be bowled over.'

Raditz rubbed his jaw and ran his tongue between this teeth and his cheek. 'It  _did_ hurt, though. Think she made my mouth bleed.'

'Bulma, are you okay?' Krillin asked.

Bulma wanted to shake her hand about to banish the sensation of the jarring, but she held still in order to seem tougher. 'I'm fine. He just didn't fall over because of his greater mass.'

'Mass?' repeated Goku. She turned around to find him looking puzzled and Krillin trying to look like he wasn't puzzled.

'Yeah. Because he  _weighs_ so much more than you and Krillin, even if his power level is down really low, it takes more force to overcome an inertia that size. I could knock you guys over with the same amount of power, but my hand doesn't have enough mass or speed to overcome Raditz's inertia.'

'I get it!' said Goku, to her surprise. 'Never heard those words before, but I get it.'

'I should hope you do, Kakarott, as such fundamental physics are essential for a fighter to understand,' said Vegeta.

Bulma involuntarily looked up at Vegeta where he leant against the wall. He wasn't looking at her, not even when he commanded her.

'Girl, you will test me next.'

'If I must,' she said, her hurt and embarrassment remerging, disguised as sullen annoyance, and she approached him.

He closed his eyes without making any eye contact with her, and stepped out from the wall. The insolent refusal to  _see_ her flooded Bulma's fire with fuel. Should she slap him? Punch him? She wanted to  _throttle_ him for not looking at her even when she was standing right before him! She would  _make_ him see her!

She grabbed the collar of his hoodie and shook him sharply with as much force as she could muster. Vegeta lurched about but still didn't open his eyes even when his bored look crumpled a little.

'Hey – look at me!' she demanded.

Krillin asked her timidly what she was doing, but she ignored him, infuriated by Vegeta's continued resistance. She shook him again, growling and shoving him hard back against the wall. His head hit with a thump and now his eyes did fly open, going from wide eyed surprise to narrow-eyed temper in a split second.

'Finally!' she shouted, but Vegeta gripped her by the shoulders, pushing her back away from him. Unbalanced, she took a step backwards but hung onto him, hauling him after her.

'Insolent girl!' he exclaimed.

'Insolent  _boy!_ ' she yelled back at him, trying to wrench free of his grasp with some success. His chi was still so low she could go toe to toe with him, though Bulma was not consciously thinking this. She was more thinking of taking her pound of flesh from this mean, horrible boy who didn't have the decency to want her as much as she'd wanted him, and they struggled for a second, evenly matched.

'What the fuck are you two doing?' asked Nappa.

Vegeta pushed her on one shoulder and she lost her balance and her grip on his hoodie with one hand. As she staggered to regain her balance the back of her ankle struck the foot Vegeta had hooked behind her and she went down. Realising it was going to happen, she pushed back against the leg that tripped her with all her might and managed to overbalance him too, and Vegeta was pulled after her, landing on top of her with a cry of disbelief. His knee hit her hard in the thigh, but as soon as Vegeta had hit the floor over her opposite shoulder she rolled after him, rearing to her knees over him, spying his wrists and diving after them. She captured one in each hand, and at the moment he saw he was caught he gave a short bark of incredulous laughter.

She heard some more laughter from their audience, but Bulma struggled on in fury against the resistance Vegeta put up. He curled his legs up, preparing to get to his feet, so she threw her weight over him to keep him down, then managed to haul a leg over and sit up.

'Bulma, what are you doing?' Puar's high pitched voice cut over the rest of them.

Bulma was busy taking this opportunity to teach Vegeta not to disrespect her.

'I'm trying to hit him, what does it look like?'

He was glaring at her now, though – his mouth stretched into that terrifying grin. There was no respect there at all. His wrists turned and he broke her hold easily and she pulled up, away from him, and then tried to catch his wrists again, gaining one and missing the other. His free hand went after hers and his captured one turned again, grasping her own one in turn, iron hard. The pressure made her heart beat faster. Of course! Vegeta was not going to let her have the upper hand for long! His chi was probably already skyrocketing past hers and he was laughing at her as she was on the way to losing this pathetic wrestling match, and she still hadn't hit him yet! She decided to forgo subduing him or even trying to free herself by giving everything into landing a slap on his face. He saw it coming and turned his cheek, but he couldn't get away with her weight on his middle. It struck with a crack.

Vegeta turned back, a pink slap mark on his cheek, a look of utter astonishment on his face. For a split second Bulma regretted this action as foolish, and then the world lurched and spun, and now it was her with her back on the ground and with a snarl, Vegeta was over her,  _her_  wrists pinioned to the floor,  _his_  weight heavy on her stomach, and his gleeful leer hanging over her.

'Oh, shit!' she cried, but as much in excitement as fear. Before she had a chance to find out what Vegeta would do next, hands grabbed his arms and pulled him up and off. Similarly, she felt other hands dragging her away across the floor. She saw Vegeta wrenched into the air to hang stiff-bodied between Raditz and Nappa.

Goku and Krillin held her in one arm each and Puar was up near the ceiling, looking down on her from above Nappa. Goku was scolding Vegeta, but Krillin was scolding her.

'What're you  _doing,_  you idiot?' Krillin hissed in her ear. Bulma didn't answer. Vegeta was staring back at her, and she felt as locked into his gaze as she had been pinioned a moment ago. All his distance of the last few days turned into burning  _seeing_ , and she felt her toes curl at being exposed to the full force of it; a thrill of horror, or excitement, or maybe both, playing through her like a sharp note on a violin string.

'And let that be a lesson to you!' she cried with the last of her rage-born bravado.

Vegeta jerked his arms to try and free himself and Raditz and Nappa grabbed him tighter.

'Prince Vegeta! What're…?' Raditz was saying, struggling for a way to express himself without provoking Vegeta more.

'I think you'd better calm down, your Highness,' said Nappa.

'Let go of me!' he roared at them, his focus on Bulma broken. 'Let go of me at once or I shall free myself, and you'll both regret it!'

The older Saiyans complied immediately and Vegeta lowered his gaze to the floor before turning away, his cheeks starting to colour.

Bulma got to her feet, pulling out of Krillin and Goku's arms and stepping away, crossing her arms. Tarble and Brolly stood by. Tarble was rattled but Brolly was confused.

'I thought you were supposed to just hit him?' he asked. 'What was that all about?'

'What're you trying to do, get yourself killed?' hissed Krillin, but Bulma ignored the question, too intent on what the others were saying.

'I don't know why you felt it necessary to defend me from a mere girl,' Vegeta said more calmly, but with considerable irritation

'Not that I'd entirely mind, but I thought you were gonna murder her,' she heard Nappa say. 'And I figured you'd be very disappointed with yourself if you did.'

She glanced back over her shoulder to see Vegeta's reaction. He went to the table where a book lay open still, and sat down. 'You needn't have bothered,' he said. 'As provoking as she is, I wasn't about to lose my head entirely.'

Bulma didn't quite know what to do with herself or her face while the boys were looking back and forth in confusion between her and Vegeta's back, but she felt herself beginning to burn with embarrassment, but also a heady kind of joy. She'd made an ass of herself but she had dared to attack Vegeta, fought with him on an equal footing for a moment, and even though he'd overpowered her, his reaction was so wild... She felt both ridiculous and powerful. He was not impervious to her after all; he was like embers under the dark coals for her, but whether they glowed with hatred or lust she couldn't tell.

'What now?' asked Nappa. He smacked a fist into the palm of his other hand and cracked his knuckles ominously. 'Do I get my turn?'

'No,' said Bulma flatly and ran away before anyone had the chance to argue with her.

'Yeah, I think that might be all for today,' said Krillin.

* * *

Ten days whittled down to three days.

Bulma tried to arrange a conference in the bathroom under pretext of all the Earthlings doing their teeth at the same time. This didn't work very well - not only was it hard to talk and maintain their teeth brushing, but it didn't take the Saiyans long to realise the confluence of Earthlings in the bathroom. Nappa was rattling the locked door within two minutes, threatening to break the lock if they didn't open up immediately. He didn't say so, but Bulma became aware from then on that whenever two or more Earthlings were together, a Saiyan was sure to turn up promptly to intrude. It seemed that they'd had their own secret conference and the outcome was a determination to disrupt.

At mealtimes she cast speculative looks at her rival conspirator. She tried to tell herself she was monitoring him for clues to his thoughts as they approached Namek, but she knew that wasn't really true whenever their eyes happened to connect. His gaze was dark, but not cold, and neither of them could last for more than a second before having to look away.  _At least he's not ignoring me_ , she thought with a galling shiver.

That day Krillin and Goku tried to teach the others how to raise their chi as needed, but the lessons quickly became theoretical rather than practical. Even Krillin and Goku powering up caused the ship to shake and everyone's hair to stand on end. Little cracks of static discharge glanced over their skin and Bulma cried out, 'Stop! You'll short something!'

'That felt strong,' said Goku as he let it go. ' _I_  feel strong. Stronger than last time I tried anyway.' He eyes moved tellingly to were Vegeta was watching with interest from the floor.

'Me too,' confirmed Krillin, sounding surprised. 'Maybe humans get a little bit of the zenkai effect, too?'

'Maybe next time you'll take your beating with a little more fortitude then?' asked Vegeta.

Krillin turned red.

* * *

Three days became two, and a terrible thought occurred to Bulma.

She accosted Vegeta in the laundry to ask him how Frieza managed to be so close to Planet Grenouillea Two and if he'd considered the possibility that they were still being tracked.

He had jumped as if in fright when she burst into the room with her question, but continued stuffing his underpants and socks into the cleaning pod. 'I have considered it, and no, I don't think it likely,' he'd replied.

'Well, why not? How was Frieza so close by?'

'Because there is a garrison planet, Planet Frieza Sixty-Five, only a few days travel further toward the centre of the galaxy from Grenouillea. He was most likely headed there to restock, or refuel or reinforce. Besides, he probably knows where we are headed, and is going there himself. Would you let me out?' he finished gruffly, as she was blocking the door.

Bulma numbly let him pass, fear liquefying her insides afresh. She followed him back out into the lounge, not believing that he could be so casual about something so dire.

'What makes you think that?' she asked.

'Because Frieza will have done just as we did when we went to Earth – use scouters to track down the owners of the highest power levels.' He threw himself down on a sofa next to Raditz, unheeding of Bulma's stricken countenance. 'He will have found the same old Namek bastard that we did, who no doubt, will have told him the same tale he told us. If I know Frieza at all, he'll want to wish for immortality so that he can rule the galaxy forever.'

Raditz had been trawling through the media library for something they hadn't seen already but stopped at these words.

'So…he'll be right behind us…' Bulma concluded.

'Yes.' Vegeta glanced up at her and then away again, shaking his head slightly.

'Aren't you  _worried_  about that?' she asked him. Personally, she felt ill with the news.

'Worry is a neurotic sentiment,' he said with scorn. 'It's a concern only. If Frieza has detoured to Planet Sixty-Five he'll be at least a four days behind us – more than enough time for me to get my wish and be gone.'

'Shit, I had forgotten that,' said Raditz, looking, on the other hand, entirely worried. 'Frieza is going to Namek too!'

'Imbecile!' said Vegeta, and snatched the remote out of Raditz's limp grasp. 'Your slow wits had better not hold us up on Namek! We're going to be playing against the clock.' He finally looked up at Bulma, and now there was nothing but coldness in his face. 'Make sure you keep that in mind during your scheming. Hold us up and we all lose  _everything_.'

Upset both by this new blow and Vegeta's tone she had gone first to the bathroom, and fallen into tears of overstressed despair that took a long time to peter off into sniffles. She was still blowing her nose by the time Brolly knocked on the door to tell her she was missing lunch. She went back out, putting on as stoic a face as possible and told herself that this didn't change much. If Vegeta was right then it would only take a few days before they either had a wish or Vegeta did. Frieza wasn't going to get a chance to gather the dragonballs.

However, when he got there he might just kill everyone on the planet.

* * *

Two days became one.

After dinner on the last evening before landfall on Namek she followed Krillin into the kitchen to put her dishes in the sanitiser.

'I'm going upstairs now while they're still eating,' she whispered as they bent over the open unit. 'Meet me in a minute. Don't bother trying to bring Goku, it'll only attract their attention more. I'll try and talk to him separately.'

Krillin nodded, and Bulma walked away, trying to look as bored as possible as she sloped back across the lounge and up to the stairs.

'There goes the princess again, back up to her tower,' said Nappa with his mouth still full.

Bulma slowed her step but then continued, until, as she got halfway up the stairs she heard him mutter, 'Now let's see if her little knave follows her up there.'

She stopped, her eyes just below the level of the ceiling to see Nappa leaning back in his chair, still chewing and grinning at his own perceptiveness. It was one thing to try and disrupt schemes with counter schemes, but quite another to openly point out that it was happening.

'I've got  _stuff_  to do,' she said, ignoring the reference to Krillin for now.

'Yeah? What kind of stuff?' asked Nappa. 'What the hell is it that you're doing up there anyway, hour after hour?'

'Making radars,' she replied.

'And is that all?'

'Yes, that's all!'

Bulma couldn't help her eyes darting to Vegeta to see what he thought of this. Vegeta was paused with his spoon in his bowl, looking at her in a way that suggested he was seriously considering what Nappa said.

'Oh, come on!' said Nappa, turning to Raditz and Vegeta. 'For all we know she's altering the course of the ship, or programing it to self-destruct!'

'As if!'

'Don't be an idiot, Nappa,' said Vegeta. 'She wants to live and to get to Namek too – she wouldn't do either of those things.'

Raditz snorted and Bulma burst out in a derisive 'Ha!'

'Maybe not, but you trust that girl too much,' Nappa objected.

'Who he trusts and how much isn't any of your business!' shouted Bulma, stomping back down the stairs. The last thing she needed right now was more suspicion.

Nappa stood up. 'I'm the prince's bodyguard – so yes, it  _is_  my business!'

Vegeta protested this but Bulma talked over him.

'And why would Vegeta need a bodyguard like  _you?_ From what I've seen, you're weaker and far dumber than he is!'

'Because he does!' roared Nappa, going red in the face and stepping around the table towards her. 'Maybe he needs me to shield him from pasty, conniving alien slags like you!'

'Pasty?  _Slag?_  You're just a pandering idiot!' she cried. 'A great big lump of stupid!'

'And you've got a mouth too big for a bitch so weak!'

'You're the bitch, bitch!'

Nappa's nostrils flared. Bulma thought they looked stupid and her lip turned up in a sneer of contempt.

And the next thing she knew she awoke in warmth and darkness, swaddled in contentedness that was ripped away the moment she was consciousness enough to realise where she was.

She was in the tank, and the water was in her eyes, and it was dark outside.  _How? Why?_

The tank began to drain, and she was hyperventilating, clawing at the locked door and unable to remember how she got in here.

As the last water drained away she ripped the mask off and the electrodes from under she shirt. She was fully clothed, and the clothes hung soaking from her as Tarble opened the door.

'Hello. Are you okay?' he asked softly.

'No! I've been in the tank and I don't remember why!' she said, and then shivered.

'Nappa hit you,' said Tarble solemnly.

'I don't remember!'

'You were arguing by the stairs.'

The words sparked the memory and the argument started to come back to her, though not the memory of the blow itself. Bulma began quaking, although there was certainly no danger now. She started brushing water off herself and then took the towel Tarble held out.

'What'd he do?' she asked.

'He slapped you, but you flew backwards and hit your head on one of the stairs and it knocked you out.'

Timidly she stepped out into the room, scared that Nappa may be waiting. It was not completely dark – the holographic fire burned low, and she could see the bundled forms on the floor.

'They're all asleep,' she observed. 'Is it late?'

'Not too late,' replied Tarble, stepping back.

'Did the others make you stay up to watch out for me?'

He smiled. 'I don't mind. I'd hate to wake up alone.'

'Thanks, Tarble.' She went to hug him, and he subtly leaned away from it, and then she remembered Vegeta's edict. She sighed and patted him on the shoulder instead. She needed a shower and her nightdress, so she would have to creep past Nappa's bedroom - a thought that made the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand up - but she steeled herself and stepped around Tarble. She immediately came across an obstacle though – a hulk of a body collapsed near the tank, dried blood decorating the wooden floor and steps underneath it, one of those steps splintered and broken.

'Oh, my god!'

'Vegeta flew off the handle at him for hitting you,' Tarble explained. 'It's lucky they were both practising their chi lowering at the time, or Vegeta might've put him through the hull of the ship instead of just the step.' He looked at Bulma who was staring in open mouthed horror at Nappa – at the mess of a face that made her feel ill. 'Don't worry, he's only unconscious. I had to stay up and help him in the tank after you got out.'

Shuddering, Bulma fled to the bathroom, making it there just in time to break down into ridiculous tears of belated fear. She went into the hot shower with all her clothes on to wash the regen tank fluid from them and to banish the cold tremors from her bones. She spent a long time hugging herself under the water, trying to calm down from the knowledge that Nappa almost killed her by accident. She hated him and she hated how fragile she was in comparison to these freaks. However, her skin crawled at the memory of Nappa's crumpled form on the floor and the blood of dry blood under his unrecognisable face. He'd been brutalised worse than  _she_. The worst part was that she was sure that Nappa would blame  _her_  for his beating. It was almost frightening enough to make her wish he hadn't been punished at all.

Finally coming out of the shower pink from overheating, she took her time getting dry and ready for bed. Passing through the lounge she saw Nappa was already in the tank and Tarble was sprawled under his fur, asleep. She went up to the flight deck but was now too scared to sleep up there; the lock seemed like a flimsy barrier against Nappa's temper. Instead she towed her bedding downstairs and looked for a space to insert herself into between the boys.

Brolly's revival seemed to have rearranged the order of sleepers a bit. Krillin slept in her spot next to Vegeta now, with Goku on his other side. There was no gap big enough for her without waking someone and getting them to move over.

'How long are you going to stand there?' asked a low, grumbling voice.

Bulma almost jumped out of her skin. Vegeta's form stirred in the darkness.  _How long has he been awake?_  she wondered.

'There's nowhere for me to sleep,' she told him.

'What about upstairs?'

'I don't want to sleep upstairs,' she admitted.

'You want to sleep here?'

She nodded. Vegeta sat up and coolly flipped Krillin over so that he almost landed on top of Goku. 'Uh!' Krillin said, waking up and looking around, but then he saw Bulma climbing into the space he'd just vacated and just said, 'Oh,' smacked his lips and closed his eyes again.

'Better?' asked Vegeta.

Bulma felt some gladness and relief for the first time in days. Vegeta had placed her beside himself. Vegeta had severely punished Nappa for her, and though she was horrified with the result, she couldn't feel any sympathy for Nappa over it.

'Yes.'

'Good. Hologram off.' The low flames of the fire dimmed to blackness. Vegeta lay back down next to her and was silent for a moment before rolling over towards her.

'What you did today was stupid,' he said.

Bulma blinked, feeling too vulnerable to bear being harangued right then, but she mounted a defence anyway.

'Not as stupid as what Nappa did!'

In retrospect she could see it was tempting fate to argue so spitefully with Nappa; she knew what kind of person he was. However, all the fault still lay with Nappa.

Vegeta was glaring at her.

'You shouldn't provoke him like that. He could've easily killed you.'

'Well he shouldn't hit people hard enough to kill them just because they called him names!' she protested, her voice hiking up as she felt close to tears again. 'He should learn some self-restraint!'

'Self-restraint?' Vegeta echoed. 'A Saiyan is not trained for self-restraint.'

'Well they  _should_  be! What about you? You're one of the most restrained people I've ever met!'

Vegeta said nothing to this, though he seemed to be struggling for something.

'I thought you were supposed to protect me from him anyway,' she said, and suddenly felt on shaky ground again, because she wasn't sure if that agreement still stood.

Vegeta hissed like h

e'd been scalded and answered, 'I did the best I could after the fact, but I didn't know he was going to hit you! Hopefully after tonight he'll think twice about laying a hand on you, but next time he lapses you might be even less lucky! So as Nappa lacks self-control,  _you_  should exercise some instead!'

Bulma was speechless for a moment too, finally choking out a terse, 'Fine!' but it didn't at all convey the mixture of feelings at play in her at that moment. She was outraged that she should have to curb her behaviour to suit Nappa's dangerous impulses; fearful that it might happen again; relieved that Vegeta still held to his promise to protect her; incredible gladness that he cared enough about her to lecture her on safe conduct; and faint hope that all the warmth she had started to feel towards him hadn't been completely foolish after all. She let her breath out with a sigh and quickly had to cover her face with her hands to stifle the sobs that threatened to bubble up again.

Vegeta rolled onto his back once more, near enough that his arm grazed hers as he settled himself. Tears welled up silently under her hands, the ache in her chest too complex for her to even understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Who reads these notes? I hope you do. This is where I impart essential story-following information. Like, shucks, I really don't know when Ill be able to post the next chapter. I have it mostly written, but things are at a tricky stage...I need the next chapter finished and the one after that finished before I can commit to the next one. You get the picture. I'll be back at some point. Sorry also if I haven't responded to your review. I realised just tonight that there were a bunch of recent-ish reviews I never got around to replying to. I swear I read every single one though! I mean, what author wouldn't? They are like kisses and silk sheets and twenty dollar bills - I want to roll about in them...Except for the odd one that's like finding a piece of lego or a cactus in the bedsheets, but it's all flavour, right?
> 
> Sorry. I will try not to be tipsy when I next post.


	40. It's All Fun and Games Until...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi...I'm back! Thanks for all your encouraging reviews! Sorry, Lady Lan, I won't be posting drunk this time. No, today's post is brought to you by the flu and laryngitis and the letter Aaaaaaaaaa.
> 
> Thank you again to Froglady15 for betaing in Adli's maternity leave :D

The next morning Bulma awoke in a shroud of dullness, like a protective layer of grey to keep out reality, but reality began to crack its way in anyway as their arrival on Planet Namek loomed and excitement levels rose. The Saiyans' preparations reminded her that there were still preparations left for her make too.

Nappa didn't appear from the room until after breakfast, which was unusual for him, and when he did he kept his eyes downcast and his mouth shut. He and Vegeta kept well clear of each other. In fact everyone seemed a bit edgy after the events of last night and everyone was very cautious of, and polite to, Vegeta. Bulma accosted Tarble in the corridor and demanded more details about what happened after Nappa knocked her out, but Vegeta himself appeared from the kitchen just as she did, and Tarble held his tongue.

After breakfast she readied her capsules, did a sweep of her gear and introduced the rest of the ship's crew to their new communication system.

'You put the stretchy band around your throat, and it velcros closed. You put the earpiece in your ear, obviously.'

Everyone did so with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Puar, especially, was delighted to have her own petit transponder collar.

'How does it work, Bulma?'

'It's an open channel. If you want to talk over it, just press the disk on the collar-' She did so. '-And when you talk it will be transmitted to all the earpieces.'

Some of them started to ear Bulma's voice amplified in their ears.

'Simple.'

After that demonstration Bulma went and locked herself in the smaller lavatory. Waiting until she was sure no one was coming past she tapped the collar twice.

'Don't jump or flinch or say anything!' she said. 'Goku, Krillin, Puar, I made a second channel that's private for us. If you just press your collars the transmission goes to everyone. If you tap it twice and hold it, goes to just us four. Got it?'

Silence was her answer. Of course, they couldn't talk.

'If you can hear me and understand, double tap your collar and say something of no consequence.'

She got three almost simultaneous replies.

'I'll be glad when this is all over.'

'Dum dee do…'

'Something of no consequence!'

Bulma grimaced at Goku's literal interpretation of her instruction but let it slide. Hopefully that strange utterance wouldn't grab the attention of a Saiyan.

'Good! Now, I've got no idea what we're going to do with this, but we can plan and co-ordinate if we need to. Things are going to go very differently to the hunt on Earth, and when I get the radars out later you'll see why.'

She imagined them all asking ' _Radars_?' silently.

'Yes, that's radars, plural. In the meantime, would you all - at separate times of course – make your way to use the small toilet. I am planting three empty, A-sized capsules in the vase holding the glass flower arrangement.' As she said this she did slip the three little capsules into the vase. 'I want you to all take one and not let any of the Saiyans see it. Possibly, one plan would be to use the radars to find dragonballs without letting the others know we're about to find a ball, and then  _hide_  those balls in the capsules. It would be great to get all seven this way, but realistically, that's not going to happen. In fact, it's going to require an element of luck as well as cunning to hide a ball if a Sayain is right on your tail. And I guess you wouldn't be able to pull it off if the ball was in a difficult or out of the way place because you'd be following the radar into a dead end cave, say, and then come out without a ball and say "Onto the next one!" But, if we can hide even one ball, once Vegeta and the others have the other six they won't be able to make a wish before we have a chance to figure out how to steal the rest from them. Okay?

'Oh, one more thing, there's a piece of paper in every capsule with two Galactic characters on it. Try and memorise it, or leave it in the capsule just in case you forget if you have to, but whatever you do,  _don't_  let the Saiyans see it!'

'Mmm,' said Krillin.

'Don't worry; I know you probably can't answer, but once you get in here you can always ask any questions over the private line. I'll do my best to try and find an opportunity to answer them.'

She left the bathroom and it was only as she closed the door that she remembered that Puar, being a cat, didn't wear any clothes she could conceal a capsule in, and she had never learnt to read the Galactic alphabet.

'Damn.'

* * *

They gathered on the flight deck as the ship slowed and entered the Namekian solar system. The yellow sun made an impossibly bright spark at its centre, but other, smaller sparks, one white and one orange, burned just as bright on the periphery.

The crew were quite colourful too, having all put on the training suits that Raditz bought on Grenouillea II, which were colour coded according to size. Nappa and Raditz were both in indigo, the largest size. Brolly was in green, Vegeta and Bulma both in orange and the other boys in red. The suits were cross-over V-necked, a bit like one of Goku's gis, but much stretchier and very sturdy feeling, and one-piece as well. They were tight over the body and thighs, though looser around the lower legs and ankles than the Saiyan's battle suits had been, and sleeveless. Most of the crew had put t-shirts on underneath, but Nappa and Raditz, apparently used to skin-baring, skin-tight ensembles, had not.

Bulma had put on a navy Capsule Corp shirt underneath as her cleavage made the V-neck rather exciting without it. She hadn't been planning on wear a training suit at all until she heard Raditz telling the boys that they offered some protection from glancing chi attacks, heat, friction burn and other things that Bulma didn't like. Now she discretely plucked at the fabric at the back of her ass. It was very tight over her hips. With it tucked into her boots she had thought she looked sexy in front of the bathroom mirror, but she was a little less comfortable with the look in front of the others.

Krillin had blushed too when he emerged from the bathroom wearing his.

'Never in my life have I had to worry about "visible panty line" until today,' he had muttered.

Now with the communicator bands around their throats and their matching uniforms, the crew looked like the members of some bizarre acrobatic troop.

'You can just make the planet out,' said Raditz, pointing across the sun to something that looked like a large but dim, green star. 'The place where wishes come true!'

'What would  _you_  wish for?' asked Goku.

'I don't know,' admitted Raditz. 'I hadn't thought about it. Kinda seemed like Vegeta's thing.' He looked sidelong at Vegeta in the other pilot's chair. 'Although, come to think of it, I wouldn't  _mind_  a wish.'

'Don't even dream,' said Vegeta.

'Well, perhaps I get my hands on them all first-'

'No!' snarled Vegeta. 'If you even joke about it I'll tear your fucking throat out, Raditz! The wish is mine!'

'Holy crap, your Highness, I was only…uh, never mind.' Raditz subsided into a seething sulk, turning his body subtly away from Vegeta and towards Nappa, who stood on the other side, still silent and brooding.

'Girl, bring me the dragonball radar,' Vegeta ordered, getting up from his chair to face her. Bulma felt her guts tighten with excitement, and not the good kind.

_Here goes nothing!_

She went to her boxes of electronics and dug out her four dragon radars (rectangular rather than circular this time) then turned and presented them. Vegeta's eyes lit up with dark glee, and with a laugh he snatched them from her and passed one each to Raditz, Nappa and Tarble. Bulma grit her teeth but allowed it because she knew what was coming next. Vegeta pressed the button on the top of the radar he held and his smile of triumph disappeared.

'What is this? Some sort of splash screen? How do I get to the radar function?'

'No, that  _is_  the radar function,' she said coolly.

'But it's in some sort of non-galactic script...' He looked up at Bulma, lips closing into a hard line, eyes narrowed as he figured it out.

'I couldn't get the parts to make the screen graphical, so I designed then to give text instructions instead,' she said.

'In Earth script!'

'Yes, I guess it is,' she said, pretending to ignore Krillin, Goku and Puar's gasps and exclamations of appreciation. 'Oh no, I forgot that you guys couldn't read it! What a dummy I am!'

'Gods, damn it!' yelled Nappa, erupting into voice for the first time that morning. 'This is what you get for pinning your hopes on such a sneaking slut, Your Highness!'

Vegeta broke his ferocious glare to yell at Nappa. 'Shut up! If I want to hear your opinion I'll ask for it!' He considered the radar another moment and then turned back to Bulma. 'Make us new ones,' he said.

'There's not enough time for that,' she said. 'It'll take days and days!'

'Make  _one_  new one!'

'No, still days. And we'll be there in like…half an hour?'

'Fifteen minutes or less,' Raditz supplied the answer.

'You're lying!' Vegeta accused her. She  _was_  lying, as it would only take her a matter of a couple of hours to reconfigure all the radars to work with a graphic interface, but Vegeta couldn't know that for sure.

'I'm not! Besides, I don't have enough parts. I guess me, Goku, Puar and Krillin will have to use the radars.' She reached for his and he pulled it to his chest, his expression moving rapidly from outrage to a reluctant smirk back to calculation.

'You're fooling no one,' he said after a pause.

'I have no idea what you're talking about,' Bulma replied, though she absolutely did.

Vegeta clenched his teeth, the muscles of his jaw visible as he bit down on temper, and he crossed his arms.

'You will  _assist_  us in using the radars, but you are not being trusted with them alone.'

'Okay. We'll  _assist_  you in using the radars.'

Vegeta huffed and turned his back to her to look out of the dome towards the sun. Her heart was beating quickly, but the Saiyans seemed to have accepted the bluff.

* * *

The green planet grew swiftly larger. At first Bulma thought that perhaps the whole planet was forested with dots of lakes and small seas scattered around, but as they got even closer and began to travel across the surface, as well as towards it, she saw that the green shone and glittered while the aqua was duller, so it was actually the other way around - sparse landforms peaking out above the vivid green seas. Here and there the tan or bare rock or sand stood out in the turquoise and green. There were no polar ice caps to be seen through the yellow tinted clouds either.

'"Planet Namek has a stable atmosphere",' Raditz read from the Galactic Directory, displayed on the console before him while Bulma and the others looked over his shoulder. '"No extreme weather patterns, very long rotational intervals of over seventy two hours, although night seldom fully falls due to the two small suns caught in orbit of the larger sun." Wow. I guess that explains the other lights out there. "Limited vegetation… Severely damaged ecosystem, long periods of drought in many areas. Not suitable for long term habitation, no significant mineral deposits or natural resources and following a cataclysmic climate shift the indigenous sentient lifeforms teeter on extinction".'

'What?' cried Vegeta.

Bulma felt the air rush out of her at this unexpected news. Her hands found Goku and Krillin's shoulders and gripped them tightly, and she exchanged a look of horror with Krillin. Goku looked concerned over her reaction, but she could tell that he didn't really know what the words had meant.

'When was that entry last updated?' Vegeta barked at Raditz.

'Nearly a hundred years ago!' replied Raditz.

Most of the crew gasped out in dismay.

'What if they've gone extinct since then?' squeaked Puar.

'Then this is all for nothing,' said Vegeta.

Bulma suddenly felt a little faint, and maybe Puar did too because she dropped from the air and landed on the back of Vegeta's headrest.

'I'll scan the area we're passing through now,' said Raditz and then proceeded to look through menus on the console, muttering under his breath about unintuitive computer interfaces.

 _Oh please, God, oh please!_  Bulma prayed in her mind, and then realised that the god she always assumed was immortal and eternal had in fact been just a Namekian himself. So she changed tack and prayed directly to the Namekians.  _Don't you dare be extinct, okay?_

'The scan doesn't show a lot down there,' said Raditz. 'Some things here and there that might be ruins or small habitations. Definitely nothing like a city.'

'Just land the ship,' said Vegeta, his voice sounding strained. 'We'll know soon enough if there are dragonballs or not.'

* * *

They set down gently in a blue-green meadow.

'Is it safe to breath out there?' Bulma asked.

'Sure is,' said Radtiz, already hitting the ramp lowering button. They filed downstairs and out into the sunlight and stood blinking in its brilliance. The green sky was eerie, but beautiful; deep emerald at the zenith fading to pale lime at the horizon, dotted here and there with puffs of cream and yellow clouds. They had landed on a low plateau next to the sea, and tiny waves on the nearby shore lapped softly. A single, slender and straight tree with a dense puff of feathery leaves atop it stood on the heath like a lonely sentinel lollipop. It was a beautiful scene, but also bland and somehow lifeless. What struck Bulma the most was the stillness. It was so quiet. There was no birdsong, no breeze, no rustling of leaves. Just the water on the sand and the barely audible padding of their feet on the thick, moss-like ground cover. It was unnerving.

'The grass is almost the colour of your hair,' observed Goku, and the sound of his voice disturbing the preternatural quiet made the rest of them flinch.

'No way,' said Bulma loudly, doing her best to fight back against the quiet. 'That grass stuff is teal. My hair is more of a turquoise.'

Vegeta turned on the radar in his hand and shoved it under Bulma's nose.

'What does it say?'

The display read  _'Seven dragonballs detected. Nearest ball is the three star at three thousand and eighty two kilometres, seventy eight degrees, WNW.'_

'There are dragonballs!' she said with relief, and then more joyously, 'Dragonballs!'

'Hn,' grunted Vegeta in satisfaction, keeping a tight handle on his smile, but Goku, Krillin and Puar jumped in the air and cheered.

'I knew Kami wouldn't have sent us here if there wasn't a chance!' said Goku.

'I can't believe I ever doubted you, Goku!' said Krillin.

'You doubted me?'

'Well, only a little, at first and then just before, but-'

'I'd stop your celebrating, if I were you, brother,' Raditz butted in.

'That's right,' said Vegeta, his expression pulling into a malicious smirk that didn't look particularly pleased. 'Planet Earth will go rot, because the only one who will be making a wish is me!'

He looked back and forth among the group, his eye resting on each of them for a moment.

'We shall divide up into four teams,' he said at last. 'One Earthling per party to read the radars. Radtiz, you will take Kakarott, I will take  _Bulma_.' This last was said almost as if he were swallowing her name in shame, and Bulma struggled not to react to Krillin's little 'Uh!' of exasperation and Raditz's dirty chuckle. But Nappa's reaction was not so discrete.

'Your Highness, that girl is poison, and she thinks she can trick you. You should let Raditz or myself handle her.'

Vegeta turned and looked up at his second in command. 'If you think she might be able to trick me, I have no idea why you think you or Raditz would be immune to her!' he said. 'And I wouldn't trust  _you_  not to kill her!'

Nappa turned red with indignation. 'Prince Vegeta-' he started.

'Yes?' said Vegeta, his voice dropping to a dangerous hiss.

The two locked eyes, Nappa obviously struggling to hold his rage down, but he managed it.

'Nothing, your Highness.'

'Good.' He turned his back on Nappa again. 'I will take Bulma, Tarble will take Puar and…Brolly will take Krillin.'

Bulma could have laughed with joy – putting Krillin and Brolly together was the best combination she could think of for the completion of her plan. Nappa wasn't so pleased though.

' _What?_  You'd trust  _Brolly_  but not  _me_?'

'You will stay here and make camp,' Vegeta said, his words as heavy as a judges gavel as he delivered the sentence. 'And if you say another word you will be spending the time in the tank rather than making camp.'

This was the best thing Bulma could have asked for - for Nappa to completely side-lined.

'O-kay,' said Bulma, trying to deflect focus from the inflammatory situation between the two. 'Now that that's sorted, I need to show Goku, Krillin and Puar how these radars work. I upgraded them.' The Earthlings gathered around her for instruction and she encouraged them to crowd in, leaning over the radar to obscure the view of the Saiyans.

'So it's all in text of course, but from the front page you can choose to follow the closest ball or another ball. These radars are set up to detect the harmonics that the different starred balls give out, so now we can see which ball we're going for before we set off after it. And because all the radars are linked we'll be able to see which ball each other has decided to follow so we don't waste time all going after the same ball. The directions are given in kilometres, metres and degrees, and there's an on board compass, but of course it's not graphical, so to engage it you just press there on the "degrees", then it comes up with directions "left, left, left, right" etcetera, until your facing about in the right direction. Got it? And once you've found a ball you just press here next to it and either save its location or mark it as collected.'

'Yeah, I see,' said Goku, taking the radar and scrolling through the list of balls. He pressed the four star ball, selecting it as his target. He grinned over his shoulder at Bulma. 'For old time's sake,' he said.

The grin was wiped of his face in the next moment as Vegeta forced his way into the circle.

'Are you children done?' he asked. 'Back onto the ship. Three teams will take a pod each out to their targets, and Raditz's team will take the ship to theirs. We'll launch the pods from the upper atmosphere. Gather anything you should need.'

At that decree Bulma's plans hit an awkward kink. She followed the others in and up to the flight deck again, feeling uneasy. Raditz took the pilot's seat again, but Vegeta hung back, content to watch from Bulma's side as Raditz woke the console up and engaged the fusion engine.

A dialog flashed up onscreen.

' _Enter unlocking sequence: _'_

'What?' sputtered Raditz. Bulma put her fist to her mouth and bit the side of her finger nervously. Raditz sent the dialog away and tried to engage the fusion drive again. 'What the fuck is this?' he cried as the same message appeared. Vegeta rushed forward to see, and quickly repeated Raditz's actions to the same result.

'Have you ever seen this before?' Raditz asked.

'No.' Vegeta entered a random sequence and got an angrily flashing "FAILED" response. 'Reboot the ship's systems,' he suggested. 'Maybe we've turned a safety feature on by accident.'

'It won't make any difference,' said Bulma. Vegeta and Raditz looked back over their shoulders at her. The Earthlings were looking at her in puzzlement too. She hadn't told them about this yet.

'Why not?' asked Vegeta.

'Because…' Bulma took a deep breath. 'Because I put a lock on the engine. Now it can't be used without a special security code.'

Vegeta got up from his seat. 'And what is it?' he demanded.

'I can't tell you,' said Bulma. 'Not until we're ready to leave this planet.'

'Why not?'

Bulma took a step back. She was mostly, but not completely, sure that Vegeta wouldn't hurt her. His hands had moved away from the sides of his body in unconscious readiness for action.

'So that you can't leave without us,' she said.

Vegeta's eyes bulged as he realised what a move of defiance and control this was. In her peripheral vision she could see Nappa shaking his head and throwing his hands in the air in a dramatic but silent expressing of his vindication. He had been quite right to accuse her of using the ships computer against them during her long hours alone on the flight deck – he'd only gotten the specifics wrong.

'Give us the code!' Vegeta all but shouted, and Goku and Krillin rushed to her sides, ready to defend her.

'No! And if we wind up dead you'll never leave this planet either!'

Vegeta paused and then relaxed a little, narrowing his eyes at her. 'Playing more  _games_?'

Bulma crossed her arms. 'This is what you agreed to, remember? On Grenouillea? A challenge to make things more interesting,' she said, a little uncertainly. That hot morning on Grenouillea already seemed a long time ago, but the mention of it stirred the memory of their almost kiss, and then the real one they'd shared right on this spot. It all seemed ludicrous right at this second, but Bulma wished he was as warm to her as he had been then. They stared at each other, and as if reading her mind, the frown on Vegeta's face flickered and lifted, and a wry smile broke free before being stifled again.

'So I did. Then let the games begin! And what do we have for our first challenge?'

'An insurance policy,' she said plainly. 'To make sure Krillin, Goku and Puar and I get off the planet alive again. We've each got a piece of the code. If we enter our codes in the right order the ship will take off. None of us knows the full code.' That last bit was a lie. Bulma had considered generating the code randomly, printing it and only looking at her own piece of it, but her naturally strong urge for self-preservation caused her to peek at the whole thing. If one of the others died incidentally she would still like to get off the planet. Of course  _she_  wouldn't really need the code anyway as she could just run her password cracking software over it, but she was counting on the Saiyans not having the same abilities.

'Clever. But unlock the ship now – we need to move it.'

Bulma shook her head. 'Then you'll see the code. It wouldn't be much of an insurance policy then.'

Vegeta considered it a moment. 'We can't kill you, but we could probably torture the codes out of you.'

Puar gasped. 'No, please don't!'

A shock like ice water hit Bulma's nerves at those words, but then she remembered last night and the threat rang hollow.

'Are you going to torture me?' she asked softly.

That question took Vegeta by surprise. His expression moved from smug to troubled to angry - Bulma figured he was trying to imagine it. No, he would  _not_  torture her. She could see that realisation dawn on him, but he covered it smoothly.

'I could torture Kakarott and Krillin; I know how you hate to see them in pain.'

'I'll take anything you try to give,' Goku growled, taking an aggressive stance that compensated for Krillin gulping and turning pale.

'These boys are tough to crack,' Bulma bluffed (Krillin gave her a baleful glare, but luckily didn't otherwise refute her). 'It could take all day – are you sure we've got time to spare? Easier, surely, to leave the ship where is it for now?'

Another pause while Vegeta considered this. 'I agree. A change of plan, then. The ship and Nappa stay here. The teams will take the three pods.' He cast his eyes about them again. 'The teams will now be Bulma and I, Kakarott with Raditz, and Krillin, Brolly and Tarble together. Daemon, you can come with me. Your radar can be a spare.'

'Only three teams?' asked Bulma. This removed some of their flexibility. 'That's going to slow us down.'

'Not significantly, now that we can't move the ship. And I felt one of the teams was weak. This is better. Raditz!'

Raditz stood. 'Your Highness?'

'Find some cable or tethers strong enough to bind the hands of the Earthlings.'

* * *

The pods were uncoupled form the side of the airlocks and fell with great thuds to the ground. Bulma stood near Vegeta. Indeed, she couldn't be far from Vegeta now – her hands were bound in front of her with plastic hose, and Vegeta had tethered her to his wrist like a lazy dog walker taking a toy poodle out for a stroll. Likewise, Krillin was tied to Brolly, and Goku to his brother, but they were tied with some kind of alloy cable used to anchor the ship in a space dock. They'd had to agree to this treatment because refusing to find the balls was their only leverage, and ultimately not leverage they could afford to employ. Bulma didn't know how they were going to pull off any skulduggery now. Maybe Goku could break free? He'd been straining against his bonds since the moment they'd gone on.

Vegeta had considered a leash for Puar, holding a loop of hose to go around her neck before her, but the cat had shrunk from it.

'Hmm,' said Vegeta eventually and picked the cat up by the scruff of her neck, placing her roughly on her shoulder and leaving the leash. 'You are too timid a thing to defy me, and leashing you wouldn't work either, would it? You are likely to turn into a snake and slip out of it.'

Now they piled into the pods.

Raditz filled most of the available space in the first pod, which meant that Goku had to worm in past his knees and lie prostrate across Raditz's lap.

'If you fart in my face, I will kill you, brother or not,' said Raditz as the pod door closed. The pod levitated to a great height, paused, turned, and then suddenly accelerated towards the horizon at a terrifying speed. Brolly and Krillin got in the seat of the second one, and Tarble was about to follow when Vegeta grabbed him by the front of his training suit and hauled him aside, leaning down to snarl softly at him. Bulma was still near enough to hear though.

'I know you are not the brightest, but unlike Brolly you are also no idiot.  _Do not_  trust the Earthling. I am holding you solely responsible for whatever happens.'

Tarble was shrinking back from the older boy. 'But...but what if-'

'No "buts",' Vegeta cut him off. 'I'm trusting you over Nappa! Don't make a fool of me, or it'll be the last time you do!'

'No, your Highness!' said Tarble, pinkening up. Vegeta let him go, satisfied with the answer and Tarble squeezed himself into the pod, squatting on the floor in front of Krillin's legs.

Then it was their turn, or Team Orange's turn, as Bulma was already mentally calling them. Vegeta got in, taking one side of the seat and making room for her on the other side. Bulma manoeuvred her backside into place, and it was a tight fit. The armrests jammed her shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip and thigh to thigh with him. Puar found a comfy spot behind the headrest. Bulma caught one last glare of Nappa's sullen wrath before Vegeta pulled the pod door down on it.

'Which direction?' asked Vegeta.

Bulma turned on the radar and selected a ball – the one star. She turned the radar around until it told her she was pointing in approximately the right direction and then pointed for Vegeta. 'About nine thousand kilometres that way.'

'What is a kilometre?'

Bulma rolled her eyes. 'Never mind, I'll just say when.'

Vegeta pressed a button in the wall and a few lights and a tiny screen lit up underneath it.

'Pod, launch to atmospheric cruising altitude,' he ordered it. Immediately Bulma's stomach was crushed towards her tailbone and she let out a squeal and dropped the radar. When they came to a sudden stop several hundred metres in the air she threw her hands up brace herself against the pod ceiling.

'What are you panicking about?' asked Vegeta.

'Is this ride going to potentially kill me?' she asked. 'I've seen the way these pods move with very little regard for human frailty!'

Vegeta sighed. 'Must everything cater to the weakest?' he asked, but he snaked his arm behind her back, wrapping it around her, his hand resting on her ribs below her breast. Bulma looked at his face, astonished, and Vegeta turned faintly pink as he said, 'Bringing you here would be quite a waste if you got hurt now.'

'Yeah,' she said. 'That's right. You've got to take care of me.'

'And I will.'

He looked away, still pink, and Bulma suddenly felt utterly confused.

_No, it can't be…not after days of silence and weirdness?_

'What about me?' asked Puar.

'You've got claws, don't you?' replied Vegeta.

'Are you sure that's okay? I'm not allowed to claw the furniture at home,' said Puar.

Bulma giggled, her nervousness making Puar's statement absurd.

'Don't be ridiculous!' said Vegeta, trying to look back over his shoulder at Puar. 'What does this look like? Frieza's luxury space yacht?'

'I guess not.'

Vegeta bumped noses with Bulma as he turned back and the two reared back from each other, confronted with how close they were pressed.

Vegeta cleared his throat.

'Enough dallying,' he said. 'Which way?'

Bulma pointed it out again and Vegeta lifted a small panel of upholstery on the arm rest on his side. A tiny joystick apparatus popped up.

'Pod, I am taking manual control of navigation,' he said aloud.

'Acknowledged,' replied the tinny voice of the pod's computer.

Then he took the joystick and pressed it forwards and the pod accelerated, pressing Bulma back into the seat and his arm.

They tracked over the sea and islands for a long time. The occasional tree became more frequent, though never growing tightly together.

'It's very pretty, but very...samey, isn't it?' she observed.

'Boring, is the word you're looking for,' said Vegeta. 'I haven't seen a single sign of habitation.'

Bulma checked the radar.

'I think we're veering a bit too far to the left,' she told him, and he twitched the controls to the right. The pod jerked a little; Bulma swayed and Vegeta's hand tightened in reflex. She started as he settled his hand again, his fingers moving slightly against her ribs through the fabric of her suit. She looked at Vegeta before she could stop herself, but he was fairly blank faced, staring ahead through the tinted glass of the pod's portal and seemed to be innocent of any intent to the movement.

 _Woah, being a bit sensitive there, Bulma!_  she told herself, and then he looked back at her, his slightly questioning expression flattening out into the same kind of stunned helplessness Bulma suddenly felt. Her body was sending her a barrage of all sorts of irrelevant information about how warm Vegeta's thigh was pressed against hers, how his encircling arm made her lean slightly into him, how the warm and slightly spicy smell of his skin was pricked with the sourness of stress, and how he was so close she could see the dark tawny glints in the darkness of his eyes. She felt it coming and couldn't stop it – the wave of tingling delight that washed down her, like magic fairy dust to set her heart to wing and her blood flying to organs that had no part in dragonball hunting. Vegeta took a deep breath and Bulma felt the wave rebounding, creeping up from her collar with embarrassing heat. His pupils opened to swallow those tawny glints in blackness and his lips parted. He could smell the change in her! How could he not with that Saiyan nose and in these tight quarters? And yet the idea only fanned the flame of Bulma's heat.

She looked out the window again, and now she could see Vegeta's chest visibly rising and falling in the corner of her eye, when surely it hadn't been before.

 _Oh my God, is this happening now?_  she asked herself.  _Here? With my hands tied like a hostage and the do-or-die moments bearing down?_  She stared sightlessly out the window, her eyebrows doing a dance of disbelief and incredulity despite her effort to keep a straight face.  _I should probably never play poker_ , she noted to herself.  _Damn_.

She was so distracted that it was a few moments before she realised that the ball that had been before them was now behind.

'Hold it! We've gone too far!'

Vegeta put the pod into a tight turn which threw Bulma practically into his lap. She pushed herself back up quickly, scrabbling to pick up the radar from between Vegeta's legs with her bound wrists. Vegeta practically stood up in his seat.

'What the hell are you doing?' he cried, then seeing what she was really after, grabbed the radar and shoved it into her hands again.

'I can't help that I'm clumsy when you've  _tied my wrists together!_ ' she said, still red in the face. Then she looked at the radar and swore.

'We've gone past it again!'

Vegeta stopped the pod, and this time, without his arm around her, Bulma tumbled forward and slammed her forearms into the pod window, the radar popping out of her hands again and hitting her in the face.

'Fucking ow!' She gave Vegeta a reproachful look over her shoulder caught him looking guilty, although this settled quickly into something more moody.

'I forgot,' he muttered in apology.

* * *

The pod set down on a much larger land mass than they'd been passing over previously. In fact there was no sea in sight, only hills and rocky bluffs and other formations of bare rock. The three tumbled out of the pod and Bulma kicked the thing in spite.

'What a crappy excuse for a vehicle!' she said. 'Whoever designed this has obviously never encountered the concept of user-friendliness.'

'They're not meant to be friendly – they're attack balls, used for fast, stealthy and cost effective deployment of soldiers,' Vegeta told her.

'Attack balls, huh? I'll attack it – with a wrench and a few choice feature upgrades!'

' _Which way?_ ' Vegeta said, recalling her to their task.

She pointed over the top of the pod. 'That way, five K.'

'And how far is that?'

'About an hour's walk.'

'No,' he said. 'We're not  _walking_.' He stepped up to Bulma and looped her arms around his neck, then dipped and caught her under the knees with one arm. She squealed.

'Daemon, hop on,' he ordered Puar, and the cat did, gripping Vegeta's shoulder with all her claws. Puar peeked over his shoulder at Bulma, her face worried. Without waiting for anything else Vegeta took a few running steps and launched himself up and forwards, and they shot away. They hadn't gone far though before Bulma saw the problem with this arrangement.

'How far now?' he asked her.

'Vegeta, I can't see the radar!' she shouted over the air rushing past. 'My hands are tied behind your head, you dummy!'

With a scowl he alighted on a hilltop and put her down, unlooping her arms from his neck, inadvertently pressing her against him in the movement. Bulma didn't bother stepping back.

'Dummy am I?' he said, his scowl not quite covering the playful tone in his words.

She held up her hands, trying to keep serious herself. 'Just what is the point of this? What do you think I'm going to do? Attack you? I couldn't hurt you if I tried!'

'You  _did_  try, if I recall.'

Bulma had forgotten for a moment about that embarrassing episode. 'Well yes, but did I hurt you?'

'No.'

'Then what's your worry? All this-' she shook her wrists, '-does is slow me down and make it harder to find the balls.'

He stared at her, their faces all of eight inches apart, and Puar looking on from his shoulder. He had that look of calculation and amusement in his eyes again. Yes, this was a game for him and he wasn't giving any ground without considering the consequences first.

'Are you going to untie her?' asked Puar. 'I'm sure it will be much easier if she has her hands free.'

'Thank you, Daemon, for such impartial advice,' said Vegeta sarcastically, not taking his eyes from Bulma's. But he reached for Bulma's wrists anyway and undid the knots that tied them together. Bulma grinned with triumph, but the smirk was wiped from her face the next second as Vegeta took the free end of the hose and wrapped it around just her left wrist.

'What?'

'I agree, you will be less clumsy if you are able to use your hands, but I'll not let you have free rein.'

Bulma lifted one brow. 'You realise I know how to untie a knot, right?'

Vegeta lifted a brow in imitation of her. 'Try and do so, then.'

She did, and blast him if the damn thing was impossibly tight. She tried her fingernails and then her teeth on it to no avail.

Vegeta laughed at the efforts. 'Let us get going.' He held out an arm, but Bulma eschewed it, coming up behind him and hopping on his back to poke her head over the opposite shoulder to Puar.

'This is much better. Now we can go,' she said. 'That way. Onwards, steed!'

'I suppose you think I am your beast of burden on your quest for the dragonballs?' he asked, leaping into the sky again.

Bulma tightened her grip around his neck with her free hand. 'Well, now that you put it that way…'

* * *

Tarble's voice cut over everyone's earpiece.

'We're just setting down. It looks like the ball we're after might be in some sort of village.'

'Carry on,' said Vegeta. 'Raditz, do you have anything to report?'

'Not yet. We've been going in the wrong direction for the last few minutes. Kakarott is an idiot.'

'Am not!'

'I won't disagree with your assessment,' replied Vegeta. 'Nappa, anything to report?'

'Only that L'Goontian adult entertainment isn't what you'd have thought,' was Nappa's sullen reply.

'Nappa, you'd better have dinner ready for us by the time we get back!'

'I'll only need about twenty minutes warning. It'll all be heat-n-eat crap. All the game meat in the pantry has been used up; did Raditz tell you that?'

'Well if the game is used up, go and find some more!' shouted Vegeta over the line. 'We're on a planet, aren't we? There must be something worth eating out there!'

'Fine, I'll look into it.'

Vegeta huffed in irritation after Nappa's obfuscating reply. Bulma had no interest in easing relations between those two, but she didn't want Vegeta to be in a bad mood right now.

'It looks like we're coming up to a village too,' she said to distract him.

A few squat, dome shaped building squatted together amid some tilled fields and cultivated land, though more details couldn't be made out at this distance.

'I see it.'

Something tiny and green was moving purposely towards the houses from a field.

'Ooh! A Namek!' she cried. 'Set us down!'

'Why?' asked Vegeta.

'Because I think the ball is in the village. If it is, we don't want to get the Namekians all frightened by flying right into their midst.'

'And why would that matter?'

'Because they might attack us!'

'That would be foolish of them,' said Vegeta, and Bulma stole a look at his profile, expecting and finding a smile there. She shook his shoulders hard in protest, not noticing that he was already dropping towards the ground.

'I mean it, Vegeta! I don't want more innocent people hurt or killed if we can help it!'

He set down in a shallow valley near the village, his tail releasing her from that half-familiar restraint. Bulma slid from his back.

'Just to be clear, I am not doing as you say out of feeling for the Nameks,' he told her. 'Though I expect no problems, only fools rush in. I want to know what we're dealing with.'

Bulma smirked. 'You tell yourself whatever makes you happy,' she sang, skipping ahead of him. The hose went taut and wrenched her arm back, making her stagger. She looked back and Vegeta was snickering, his arms folded in front of him and the hose in his hand.

'What did you say?' he asked.

'Nothing. Hurry up.' She yanked on the hose in retribution and succeeded in getting him moving, though he took in the slack of the hose as he came, until there was only about a foot of play in the line. In silence they walked down the dry streambed of the valley together, close enough that their arms brushed each other's occasionally. The leash was no good at all. Bulma cast her mind about, trying to think of a way to get him to take it off.

She decided to try a tactic that she'd used before.

'You're so desperate to keep me close to you that you put me on a short leash, huh? I can think of better ways to let a girl know you're interested.'

She'd expected him to protest that he wasn't in any way doing this because he was interested in her, but he said nothing at all for a few moments.

'Such as what?' he asked eventually.

She looked at him in surprise, but he kept staring at the ground ahead. Was he playing some mind trick of his own? She decided to throw something out there and see what happened.

'Like…giving her flowers.'

Vegeta snorted. 'I might've known you'd come up with some inanity like that. I don't, however, see any flowers. Do you?'

'No.'

'Bulma, he's holding you hostage, not asking you out,' said Puar from Vegeta's opposite shoulder. Bulma had almost forgotten the cat was there, and didn't appreciate the interruption of her delicate investigation.

'As if I didn't know that!' said Bulma.

'What other pointless ways do Earthlings court each other?' Vegeta asked.

'Do they have chocolate in space?' asked Bulma off hand.

'Never heard of it.'

 _No boyfriends AND no chocolate in space!_ Bulma sighed.

'They can go on dates together,' volunteered Puar.

'Which is what, exactly?'

'Like go to the cinema or the fairground.'

'The  _cinema_?'

'Puar, he's not going to know what anything is,' said Bulma. 'Dates are doing fun things together as a couple. They could be really lavish, but they could be really simple.'

'Like going for a romantic walk,' said Puar.

'Really?' said Vegeta, slyly. 'So it could be said that we are on a date now?'

'No!' said Puar. 'This isn't romantic, and you're not dating either of us.'

'Ah, that word again. So what would make it  _romantic_  in your estimation, Daemon?'

'Er…if it was a walk along a deserted beach, or in the evening under the moonlight, or if you were holding hands.'

Vegeta laughed. 'I think if _I_  was on a walk under the moonlight it would be a very different sort of evening than this 'romantic" one you mention.'.

Bulma was staring at him, suspicious and half-hoping, her eyes so much on him that she stumbled over a rock and was caught under the elbow by him.

'Stupid rock!' she said, giving it a kick and then walked on. Vegeta didn't let go of her though, but slid his hand down her forearm to grasp her hand lightly. She tripped again just because she was so shocked she forgot how to walk properly, and she grasped his hand tighter at the same time he did. She looked at him in disbelief, waiting for the moment that he would pull his hand away, but it didn't come. He was looking back at her with an equally penetrating but guarded expression.  _Very_  guarded.

 _Does he mean to make this a date?_  she wondered, though  _wondering_  was the wrong word for the kind of frantic speculation happening in her brain right then. It wasn't like it was the first time they'd ever held hands, but it was the first time that he'd held her hand when he wasn't going to drag her headlong through some terrifying scenario. There seemed no other reason for this than to touch her. Part of her was incredulous –  _A fucking date, here and now? This is fucked up!_  – and the rest of her was incredulous too, but in a totally gratified way. She glanced over at Puar, but couldn't see her on the other side of Vegeta's head, so there was no way the cat would be able to see their linked hands.

Looking ahead again, her mind raced along the path of  _What does this mean for our quest for the dragonballs?_  but didn't get very far before running off course into  _Where is he going with this?_ and _Does he really mean this?_  Not knowing how else to test his intention, she ran her thumb up the soft skin of his inner wrist. And then she got the same treatment in return; his thumb stroking over the back of her hand. She glanced at him again, and Vegeta, perhaps on edge as well, snapped his head up to meet her eyes and when they did…There was a crack of electric understanding as the question was asked and answered on both sides at once.

_Oh! Oh damn!_

Vertigo assailed her for a second, though vertigo didn't normally emanate from the crotch with a pang of breath-catching joy, but whatever – when it hit her brain it was enough to make her lose her balance for a moment and stumble a third time.

Vegeta held her hand steady as she recovered.

'I had no idea when I agreed to give you my protection that I would have to defend you even from the scenery,' said Vegeta, his voice burring in its rumbling softness so much that he had to clear his throat afterwards. His eyes curved into an almost-smile and she could see he was teasing her. She grinned, losing her cool at the first opportunity.

'Hee hee!' she tittered, unable to respond in any way that engaged her higher faculties, which were doing not much more than flapping their hands and screaming,  _OMG, what?_

They walked on in silence along the streambed, climbed a waterfall that had only a trickle of moisture falling from its lip, and skirted a dip where a standing pool of water reflected the green sky.

The peace and stillness and Bulma's euphoric non-thoughts were suddenly disturbed by a dog sized creature popping to the surface of the pool. It was a chicken-shaped, frog-faced, rubber horned amphibian, and it hopped from the water to stalk towards them curiously.

'I think that's the first animal I've seen here,' said Puar.

'Is it dangerous, do you think?' asked Bulma, shrinking behind Vegeta, who chuckled at the thought of this small thing being a threat.

'Only to small fish and grubs, I'd guess,' he said, turning his smile of amusement on her. 'Its chi is low. I think even you could take it in a fight.'

'So you're saying it's even more harmless than I am?'

He smiled wider, his eyes becoming dark slits. 'I would never say that  _you_  were  _harmless_.'

Bulma took this as a compliment, and as they walked on, she was floating on a cloud, gnawing on her bottom lip to stop her grin from splitting her face in half. Vegeta shifted and changed his grip on her hand restlessly, as if he was not content to merely hold it but must always be experiencing it. Bulma turned her palm and meshed her fingers with his, and as they slid together, she wondered when the skin between her fingers had become so erotically sensitive. The first time Yamcha had held her hand had been pretty knee-weakening, but this was much worse. Maybe it was because Vegeta holding hands was about as natural as a horse standing on two legs. Maybe it was because he was so ill-suited to the role of boyfriend that it was hilarious and a hundred times more flattering that  _she_  should have been the one to tempt him down off his mountain of disdain to risk a simple, sensual pleasure.

_I did it! I got Vegeta to fall for me! Only I could be so clever and daring and beautiful that the jerk would finally give in and willingly touch me…_

_Is it wrong that I can practically feel myself pooling in my sneakers?_

_Urgh, it IS wrong! What am I meant to be doing here? Think, Bulma! Dragonballs! Wishes!_

_I should probably think how I can use this to my advantage. If only I knew what he was thinking! I wonder if he'll do more than hold hands? Oh, yes please!_

_Bah! I'm toast!_

'Surely we've gone far enough?' asked Puar, hauling Bulma from the deepest depths of her befuddlement to somewhere closer to the shores of agency.

'Oh. Maybe,' said Bulma. 'I'll check the radar,' and she reluctantly dropped Vegeta's hand as she needed two hands for the task. 'Yeah, I think we're level with the village now.'

'Then let's go see what we're dealing with,' said Vegeta, leading the way up the side of the valley, through the sparse copse of trees.

At the top of the hill the ground rolled off and then fell into a bit of a cliff before flattening out into a plain. They hunkered down on their bellies along the edge of it, Puar between Bulma and Vegeta, so there was no chance of any furtive contact, but quickly Bulma decided that was a good thing, as it allowed her thoughts to cool off.

Closer too, the houses were definitely alien in concept. They were spherical and beetle shaped, with odd horns shapes and bugling fish-eye windows like the ones on their ship. A couple of green skinned men walked about. Bulma's first impulse was that these people were innocuous; ordinary farmers like the ones on Earth, but then again, Grenouillea had taught her that superficialities didn't tell the whole story. They were the same race as her planet's god (how did that happen anyway?), so who knew what sort of folk these people were? Then a couple of bald, green skinned children ran out of one of the houses, their laughter carrying over the fields to them, and the sound was somewhat reassuring.

'This doesn't look like any trouble at all,' said Vegeta. 'I can sense some decent power levels around, but nothing unmanageable, even if they should attack all at once.'

'They shouldn't need to attack anyone,' said Bulma. She almost said that maybe they could just walk in and ask for the dragonball, but on second thought, in her experience anyone in possession of a dragonball was unwilling to give it up freely, and her money didn't count for anything here. 'Puar, maybe you could go in closer and scout out the exact location of the ball?'  _Good thinking there_ , she congratulated herself,  _as that gets Puar out of the way for a while too_.

'Okay!' said Puar brightly. 'I could use the other radar to find it!'

'You still have the other radar?' asked Bulma in surprise.

Puar turned around and Bulma noticed for the first time that Puar's belly was looking rather...rectangular. That cat had formed herself a kangaroo-like pouch on her front to hold it. She slipped her paw into the top of her pouch and pulled out the radar.

'Huh,' grunted Vegeta in surprise and Puar's happiness faded and she glanced at Bulma, perhaps realising as Bulma was that she had just blown a huge opportunity to snaffle a ball from under Vegeta's nose.

'If you find the ball little one, make sure you bring it right back to me,' said Vegeta. 'I doubt you could conceal one without some tell-tale bulge anyway.'

Puar nodded forlornly, and then with a tiny "poof!" transformed into a chicken-phibian like they'd seen earlier, the radar clutched under one scrawny, sucker-fingered arm.

Bulma stared after Puar, not wanting to look at Vegeta yet and shatter the rationality that Puar's boo-boo had forced back into her mind. If they were about to collect their first dragonball then it was quite possible that so were the other two teams. If they kept up this rate of acquisition then the entire hunt could be over in a few hours, and unless Goku or Krillin were being luckier than she was, then Team Earth was going to have lost. She needed privacy to put another plan into motion and increase their chances. She still needed to get this leash off her. She needed a plan B.

'Vegeta, untie me,' she said bluntly, offering him her wrist without looking at him.

'Why should I do that?'

'Because, if you must know, I have to use the bathroom!'

Vegeta hesitated, long enough that Bulma gave in and looked at him to see what the problem was. He was frowning. 'Perhaps I shouldn't, as you are likely to try some trick or escape if I do.'

'I'm not going to squat in front of you, if that's what you're thinking!' Bulma said, with genuine outrage. After all, as she talked of it, her bladder started to feel full for real.

Vegeta turned red. 'There is a couple of arm lengths of hose. I would turn my back of course.'

'Don't be ridiculous!' she said, sitting up. 'What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? Even if I used my hoverbike to run away, you'd catch me in a few seconds flat, and you can track my chi anyway! What on Earth do you think I'm going to do?'

'What on  _Namek,_ you mean,' Vegeta corrected her, and sat up too. 'Fine, I'll untie you, but I won't allow you to go far.'

'I'm going down to that rock,' declared Bulma, pointing back the way they came at a large boulder that was stuck incongruously halfway up the valley slope. It was a good forty yards away.

'That's too far!'

'Well what am I going to do?' she cried. 'I may be slim, but I'm not skinny enough to hide behind one of those trees, and I don't trust you not to look!'

Vegeta scoffed. 'As if! The filth of your mind! No doubt  _you'd_  look if it was I who was pissing!'

'You're right, I might peek,' she told to him. 'Perhaps you should go too while I'm behind the rock.' She shoved her wrist towards him again, and with a sigh of impatience he snapped the hose.

' _Don't_  try anything.'

Bulma was already on her feet and dancing away.

'Where would the fun in that be?' she muttered under her breath.

* * *

Krillin, Tarble and Brolly were also making their way towards a village on foot.

Krillin was walking between Brolly and Tarble, holding the radar out in front of him with his tied hands. The cable cut deep into his skin and his hands were throbbing and taking on a purple hue. Raditz hadn't gone easy on him when he'd tied him up. Brolly was ambling along like he was walking in the park, looking around with interest but no hesitancy or caution. Beside him, Tarble and Krillin's heads were swivelling all over the place as they tip toed through the fields towards the village. They tried to keep behind any stand of trees or rock that they could for as long as possible before braving the open again. Krillin didn't really want to meet any more aliens, especially with his hands tied, as it generally hadn't gone so well for him the other times he'd met aliens. Perversely, he would have felt more at ease if Vegeta, Raditz, or Nappa were with them. Maybe Tarble felt the same way, because he was as skittish as a mouse. It wasn't exactly hot on Namek, but a sheen of sweat could be seen on Tarble's face. Krillin glanced over the fields and then at Tarble again. It was hard to believe that this was his captor. Well, technically, Brolly was, but Tarble was in charge.

They hove-to behind another boulder.

'Tarble, please!' said Krillin in a low voice.

'I'm sorry!' was Tarble's reply. He looked at Krillin, his distress obvious. 'If it was up to me I'd untie you, but Vegeta…'

'Vegeta isn't here, and my hands are killing me! Raditz tied the cable way too tight.'

'I…I'm sure your hands will be all right.'

'That's all right for  _you_  to say.'

Tarble stuck his head around the rock. 'Come on. The coast is clear.'

They scurried out and started across the last stretch towards the group of curious looking buildings, Brolly loping along in the rear holding Krillin's leash.

'I don't know what you expect me to do,' said Krillin in a stage whisper. The closer he was getting to these peoples' homes the more scared he became. He could sense chi up ahead, maybe not as close as the houses, but in that direction. 'We're friends Tarble. It's not like I'm going to attack you.'

Tarble threw himself into an irrigation ditch, forcing Krillin and Brolly to leap in too, getting their feet wet. Tarble looked at Krillin. 'You're not just saying that because you want me to untie you? That we're friends?'

'Of course not!' said Krillin, which was only half a lie; he had begun to consider Tarble a friend, but he  _was_  only telling him to persuade him to untie him.

Tarble smiled. 'Then I hope you can forgive me for today.'

'You could  _untie my hands_. That would go a long way to making amends.'

Tarble's smile crumbled and he looked away. 'No offence, but I know what's at stake for you. I know that friendship might not mean so much in the face of saving all your people. So I'm sorry,' he said again. 'But I think Vegeta really might kill me if I screw up this time.' He turned and crawled over the edge of the bank, looking like he might cry, and with a sigh of frustration, Krillin started after him. He felt some sympathy for Tarble – he really did – but Tarble was right. Right now the young Saiyan was nothing but an obstacle in the way of saving everyone he'd ever known before the night he'd flown out of Bulma's nursery window.

Krillin didn't clear the bank before his tether went taut and he fell back into the ditch.

'Bulma?' said Brolly, clutching his ear, still crouching in the ditch.

Krillin frowned. He couldn't hear Bulma himself.

'Okay,' said Brolly, and quickly pulled Krillin in by the cable.

'What!' cried Krillin, but Brolly just crouched over the bindings and began working on the knots.

'Krillin,' he heard Bulma speaking in his ear then. 'I told Brolly to free you. I set up a third channel just between me and him because he said he'd help us out. I didn't want him on the same channel as us though, in case he ended up changing sides again or something. I told him to do whatever you say, okay?'

'Okay,' said Krillin, stunned, and then realised Bulma couldn't hear him because he couldn't touch his transponder while Brolly was still tugging at the cable.

'What are you doing?' cried Tarble, who had now noticed that the others weren't following and doubled back. 'Don't untie him!'

Brolly got frustrated and yanked at the cables, making Krillin yelp in pain, but it worked; the metal fibres of the cable twanged and snapped.

'There!' said Brolly as the cable fell apart.

'Brolly, why did you do that?' said Tarble, hands to the sides of his head in horror.

''Cause Bulma told me to,' said Brolly with a certain triumph.

'Krillin, what's happening?' asked Bulma, but he still couldn't answer; Tarble took a few steps backwards, putting his hand to his throat, and Krillin moved before he had completely thought through what Tarble was about to do. He slammed into the other boy, reaching for his neck, and Tarble went down, getting his hands up to fend him off. Tarble screamed, and the two went rolling.

'Brolly!' Krillin shouted, and then cried out because Tarble's knee got him in the inner thigh. 'Get his transponder off!'

Brolly joined the fray, pinning both boys down, and the short struggle ended almost immediately by the sound of Velcro parting.

'Got it,' said Brolly, standing up again with the item in his hand. Tarble shoved Krillin away and stumbled to his feet.

'Give it back!'

Brolly clutched the thing to his heart. 'I'm helping Bulma,' he explained. 'We're going to use the dragonballs to bring her people back to life.'

Tarble looked between Brolly and Krillin, eyes wide with desperation. 'Vegeta will be furious! He'll - he'll kill me for letting this happen! He'll kill  _you_ for betraying him, for sure!'

'Really?' said Brolly. He looked unsettled and began to offer the transponder back to Tarble.

'No!' Keep hold of it, Brolly! Don't worry about Vegeta!' Krillin put himself between the two boys. 'You want to help Bulma, right? Vegeta will know that you were only doing what she said. He won't be that mad at  _you_ \- it's not like it was your idea.' Krillin felt a sick pain in his chest as this lie. He knew Tarble was probably closer to the truth. He was trying to talk Brolly into sacrificing himself for their cause unless they managed to make it off Namek before...well. Krillin's knees became weak and almost dropped him. What really were their chances of getting off Namek?

'And...after we've made the wish, we can leave the planet and leave Vegeta here!' he added, praying with all his might that  _this_ wish came true too.

'That sounds all right to me,' said Brolly. 'You should just relax, Tarble.'

'No!' cried Tarble, and launched himself, not at Brolly, like Krillin had been expecting, but at the monk. Not holding back even a little, he barrelled head headfirst into Krillin's stomach, winding him thoroughly, and Krillin landed on his back, tumbling heels over head until he crashed into Brolly's legs. His struggle to breathe and not to vomit distracted him at first from realising that he no longer held the dragon radar. By the time he'd made it to his knees, Tarble was a distant speck in the sky. Brolly was asking him questions.

'Should we let him go? Or go after him?'

'Go!' gasped Krillin, gesturing furiously.

Brolly made a running leap and was away, accelerating at an amazing speed. One second air born and Krillin could  _see_ the air parting in a slipstream around him, forced out into a cone, another second and...

~CRACK~

Krillin's closed his eyes, trying to master himself. Did Brolly just break the sound barrier? Was that possible? He would have been amazed, but instead he was just puked onto the grass.

'Bluergh-hurh!'

* * *

'Krillin, is everything okay?' asked Bulma. 'I think I might have to go now, but when you can talk, let me know.'

Bulma peeked around the rock and yes, Vegeta  _was_ making his way towards her. Quickly she tugged the neck of the suit down over her hips and squatted to do her business, hoping the sound of her taking a whizz would be enough to reassure him she wasn't up to no-good. Or  _good_ , as she liked to call it.

'Were you talking?' asked Vegeta from around the other side of the boulder as she was still mid flow.

'Go away! I'm still busy!'

'How can you be taking so long?'

'Do you mind? I don't question your toilet habits, do I?' She finished up, and better able to think when she wasn't squatting half naked, she ad libed, 'I couldn't find the toilet paper in my capsules. You heard me swearing to myself because I was so desperate to go I was almost wetting myself, if you must know!'

'Huh.'

Krillin spoke into her ear just as she rounded the giant rock to find Vegeta resting against the far side of it.

'I'm all right, mostly. Brolly's caught Tarble, and I guess we'll go get the dragonball now.'

Bulma let out a sigh of relief and smiled before she could stop herself, which Vegeta saw and puzzled over.

'Doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?' he said, cocking his head. 'Just a good toilet break every now and then?'

Feeling slightly ridiculous, and unable to quite get rid of the smile, especially while Vegeta was looking at her like that, she tried to excuse it.

'Well, there's nothing like having your  _liberty_ taken away to make you appreciate the small mercies.'

'Well, as it makes you so happy, maybe I'll keep all the liberty and be more generous with the mercy in the future,' he said, and as she stepped closer he lifted the length of hose again.

'Oh no, you don't!' she cried and started to back away. Vegeta was astonishingly fast though, and caught her by the wrist before she'd gone more than a step. At least it wasn't bone crushingly tight this time. He really seemed to have learnt her limits. She yanked hard, and though he held firm he took a step forwards to balance himself. Bulma gave a half-amused huff - Vegeta was keeping his power low. He was also smiling.

'It would be more merciful not to tie me up again,' she pointed out.

'I'm new to this "mercy" horseshit,' replied Vegeta.

'Oh, I get it; baby steps.' She yanked again, twisting her arm around to try and break the hold and succeeded in towing him in a semi-circle, but he wouldn't let go.

'Keen for another love-tousle?' she said sarcastically, and Vegeta actually started to blush.

'If that's what it takes.' He brought her wrist up then, holding the hose in his other hand and marched Bulma back a few steps until she was pressed against the rock.

'I thought we'd established that tying a girl up is no way to show her you're interested!' she cried as Vegeta tried to loop the hose around her wrist. She twisted and struggled so much that he dropped one end of the loop of hose.

'Dammit,' he muttered. He stopped what he was doing and looked her in the eye, breathing hard, even though the effort couldn't have tired him - he wasn't even trying properly. One of his hands had her wrist pinned flush to the rock and his other arm was braced across her chest, holding one end of the hose.

'Well,  _this_  girl is a sneak and a liar, so I'd be foolish not to,' he said, the smile fading, though there was no hostility taking its place. No, there was...something strange in his expression. Something conflicted. The longer he looked at her the more anxious he looked, and the pressure of his arm and hand, already not much, eased to gentleness. Their bodies were close but not touching, and now he retreated a little further. He had her contained so delicately she could probablyforce her way out, almost as if he was inviting her to.

 _He likes me_ , she remembered and her stomach levitated from all the butterflies taking flight in it, making her chest feel full.

'Maybe I should put a leash on  _you_?' she mumbled, hardly knowing what she was saying.

Vegeta was silent, and at first she thought he wasn't going to say anything, but then he passed the hose to his other hand and pressed it into her hand that he had against the rock.

'Go on then, tie me to yourself,' he said.

A flush of tingling travelled up her arm from where he pressed his palm against hers, and blossomed as warmth from the neck of her training suit. It was hard to be this close to Vegeta; hard to have him staring at her like that for second after second without bursting into flame. She  _must_  get out or else she was going to fall apart.

Almost as if he read her mind he dropped his eyes.

'As if that's any different to  _you_  tying  _me_  to yourself,' she managed to say.

'Then I guess we'll both go free.'

She pushed against the hand that held hers and he gave way, so she pushed herself from the rock and he dropped his arm and leant away from her, keeping that distance; he was letting her go. She took a little step forward and expected him to back off further and let her pass. He did take a step back, but then his eyes snapped back up to hers, suddenly steely with resolve and he stepped forward again, right into her, his lips landing on hers solidly.

Bulma squealed in astonishment.

She grabbed his shoulder with her free hand to keep her balance, and he took it for encouragement, pressing her back to the rock again and following with another kiss.

She hadn't expected this! She hadn't thought Vegeta had the gumption to make his own move! She gasped, her heart thumping as it tried to deal with the surprise. She looked up, and there was his eyes, his lashes tangling with hers – this was really happening! Every thought was up in the air for a second, as she tried to figure out how to respond. She put her arm around his neck to keep him close and he leant a little closer, separating from her just for a moment to gasp before sinking his lips against hers a third time.

And now Bulma received a second shock, as  _Vegeta_  poked his tongue way between her lips and not the other way around. Hadn't  _she_  been trying to seduce  _him?_  Her eyebrows leapt so high they nearly jumped off her face, but she opened her mouth to him, and he slid his tongue past her teeth and against her own he made a noise like 'Mmph!'

His involuntary moan bypassed Bulma's shocked brain and connected directly to her groin. All her previously up-in-the-air thoughts came crashing to the ground and scattered everywhere, leaving behind only rushing heat and giddy joy, melting the means and ends into a mess of wants. Hadn't this been what she wanted all along? She didn't remember the  _why_ , but it was certainly the  _what_  she had been wanting.

Vegeta kissed her inexpertly, managing to be both tentative and clumsy, but it didn't matter – Bulma was already swept away by the fact that he was kissing her at all. She kissed him in return, aware of every minute movement and breath of Vegeta's as he bowed to her superior skill and then returned to the action with gusto. He had braced his hands against the rock either side of her, but now he moved one slowly, inching it over her arm and then around her waist. Impatient, Bulma tightened her arm around his neck and wrapped her other around his back and then hauled him in; pulling him against her, obliterating that cautious few inches between them.

Both of them heaved a sigh as the shockwaves of that contact reverberated, like the joyous breath of a campfire when someone unwisely throws gasoline over it. Vegeta clutched her tighter, pressing himself against her.  _Oh yeah, there it was!_  He wanted her badly, and Bulma thought she would explode soon from the sheer amount of watery-kneed desire that was filling up her body. She ran her hand up his back, loving the feel of it, loving the way each movement of their lips and tongues together caused a deep thrumming of those base harp strings of her body that sang a song of lust and reciprocation. Kissing Vegeta was like cutting a cake with a samurai sword! It was like launching fireworks with a bazooka! And it was definitely like making out with the baddie from a children's fairy tale, the villainous Prince Charmless. She was locking tongues with the run-away minion of the galaxy's evil overlord. The very evident and extravagant unsuitability of this boy to the role of lover made her moan into his mouth as his hand slid hesitantly up from her waist towards her breast.

 _Do it_ , she willed him, kissing him deeper, holding him tighter.  _Do it!_

'Bulma!'

The cry jarred her out of the moment. For a split second she thought it was Krillin, but Vegeta had heard it too, and he looked over his shoulder.

'She is busy, Daemon,' he said, huskily.

Bulma's dazed admiration for his rumbling voice suddenly went airborne straight into panic as she registered what the words meant. She shoved him away from her with both hands. He gave her a sharp look, but Bulma didn't heed it – the heat of the last few minutes had flash-frozen into crystals of guilt.

'What are you DOING?' screeched Puar. She hovered behind them, her hair standing up on end. Bulma didn't think she'd ever seen the cat look so shocked.

'Calm down, Puar!' Bulma said.

'CALM DOWN? Bulma, how could you? I thought we were trying to save the Earth and you're making out with the very person who is trying to stop us!'

'One's got nothing to do with the other-' Bulma tried.

'How could it not?' screamed the cat.

'Well, maybe there are reasons you don't know!'

'What reasons?'

Bulma stumbled. What could she say?

'There  _are_  reasons…' She nodded her head frantically towards Vegeta behind his back, but Puar didn't take the hint.

'I don't think there is!' said Puar. 'There's no good reason for cheating on your boyfriend!'

'Well, you'd be wrong!'

'Maybe the  _reason_  is that you're a tramp who drools over every hot guy that gives you the time of day?'

'What!' screamed Bulma. That didn't even sound like something Puar would come up with by herself. 'I am not! Who said that?'

'That's what Yamcha said about you once, and I defended you!' cried Puar, hiccupping and breaking down into a tearful yowl. 'He said you always had your eyes open in case something better came along! I thought he was just angry because you'd broken up with him at the time, but now I think he was right!'

Bulma was speechless. Yamcha had said this?

'Daemon, that is enough!' said Vegeta.

'No it's not!' replied Puar. 'I'm not your Daemon! I'm Yamcha's best friend!' She pointed at Bulma. 'And you're cheating on him when he died trying to save your parents!'

Bulma collapsed under that accusatory claw, the full impact of her thoughtless culpability rolling over her. Brave, beautiful Yamcha… Everything Puar said was true; her own feeling of guilt showed her it was so. Why else would she have been trying to hide her flirtation with Vegeta from Puar? It was because she knew that it was wrong.

'Yamcha was no angel either!' she cried, tears welling up out of her eyes. 'He flirted too! He cheated on me that time with the blonde at the amusement park!'

'He never cheated!'

'He kissed her!'

'No,  _she_  kissed  _him!_ '

'He let her!'

'Well you're cheating on the whole planet!' screamed Puar. 'Don't you want to wish him and your parents back? What do you think you're  _doing?_ '

'I was just…just…'

Bulma burst into tears and slid down the rock into a crouch to cover her face with her hands.

'That  _is_  enough!' roared Vegeta, sounding furious now, and Puar squealed. Bulma opened her eyes to see he had caught the cat in his hand.

'Don't!' she cried. 'Don't hurt her!'

'I don't need help from a traitor!' said Puar spitefully.

'And I don't need a Daemon who is not loyal to  _me!_ ' Vegeta hissed, and Puar closed her mouth and went very still.

'I want you to think very carefully, Daemon, about whether you would like to continue in service to me.'

Puar started crying again, but nodded her head.

'What was that?'

'Yes,' mewled Puar. 'I do.'

'Then I never want to hear about "Yamcha" ever again.' He let her go and she fell to the blue moss, a pathetic weeping bundle of fur. Bulma wept too, feeling more and more like a fool; like the disloyal tramp Puar accused her of being. Vegeta crossed his arms and looked down pitilessly on the cat.

'As you can't behave yourself, you will go back to the pod and wait for us there.'

At once, Puar rolled to her paws and then floated away in the direction of the pod, throwing one last snarling kitten-face over her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Froglady's comment to me: The theme of this chapter is 'God damn it, Puar!'


	41. Someone Kills a Village of Namekians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello Everybody! I figured you'd all been waiting long enough and I decided I was committed to the events of this chapter enough to post it. I have two and a half more chapters after this in the bank and I'm still not out of the woods yet. I've been sick twice, first with flu and then a cold that has dragged on to the point that I think I have a sinus infection, work is really getting very busy, we're coming up to Christmas, I have done hardly any Christmas shopping or cooking, husband is wailing at the vapid consumerism and gnawing emptiness of Christmas and the lie of Christmas Spirit, my in-laws are feuding amongst themselves, and I don't know what city we're going to be in on Christmas day, so the next month I might not get a lot of time to write.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter has been double-betaed! How cheeky is that? First Froglady beta read it and I made some revisions based on her thoughts and some of my own, and then looks who's baby actually fell asleep! Adli had time to get all caught up and agreed to take some time out of her precious baby-free moments to clean up my chapter. Is that greedy, having two beta readers?

Nappa flew aimlessly over the islands and bays looking for animals and feeling sorry for himself. The injustice of his treatment by Vegeta was at the fore of his mind again. The royal whelp just didn't seem to get that everything Nappa did was in his best interests.

He could almost have been glad that Vegeta had taken the girl off alone somewhere – then perhaps nature would finally take its course – but Bulma was a bitch far too clever to waste such an opportunity without taking advantage of it in some way, so he wasn't glad at all. Vegeta's dream was so close now that Nappa was ready to buy into it, and what a dream it was! If Vegeta got his immortality and then surely his rise to overthrow Frieza was just a matter of time. And then who would be the right hand and second to the ruler of the galaxy? Nappa, that's who! All he would have to do is hang in there and he'd have an achievement he could die gloating about.

Vegeta was risking all this for the sake of his dick.

They needed to get somewhere with more women; in Nappa's opinion Vegeta was picking the worst girl in the universe to lust after out of sheer lack of options. He should have told Vegeta to take her while they were on the ship if he was going to, and then  _leave_  her on the ship, preferably bound and gagged, though in all likelihood, Vegeta wouldn't have listened anyway.

Movement caught his eye below. Another small reptile? He already had a handful, but was hoping for something bigger. He passed on it. Maybe he'd keep looking. Maybe he'd run up on some Namekians – they were decent size. What would roast Namekian might taste like? If he saw any he would be sure to find out.

* * *

Raditz and Goku were making not such great time due to Goku occasionally mistaking left for right. Goku had not been too quick to correct himself either – he was taking things slow until he had a better idea of what he was going to do when they got close to the dragonball. Goku had heard the exchange between Bulma and Krillin though, and now he wasn't as concerned as he initially had been, so he guided Raditz in earnest. Now there were within a few kilometres of the ball, and they had finally ditched the pod.

'Come on, where is it?' asked Raditz the moment they took to the air again under their own power.

Goku held the radar up and turned it until it lined up in the direction of the ball. 'Looks like it's over there near that…group of weird, lumpy buildings.'

Raditz grunted. 'It's a village or something – the first sign of life we've seen so far. I wonder what's with the smoke?'

There was a thin column of smoke drifting up into the sky from one of the domes.

'It must be a chimney,' said Goku. 'They're probably cooking or something.'

'This place must be really primitive, then,' said Raditz.

'But you cook over a fire sometimes,' Goku pointed out.

'So? That's because that kitchen is a pain in the ass to cook in.'

'Oh.'

The two brothers looked at each other.

'Well, are we going to go check it out or what, Kakarott?'

'Yep.' Goku decided that this was as good a time as any to start ridding himself of disadvantage and tossed the radar at Raditz. 'Here, hold this a second.'

'Why?'

But Goku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was frowning in intense concentration and let out a low growl of effort. He took another breath and clenched his jaw, his arms and body starting to shake with effort.

'What're you  _doing_?' asked Raditz. The air started to move around Goku, buffeting his hair and loose parts of his suit. Then it started to whoosh; streams of wind becoming visible, rushing over his body like a tiny storm. The hairs on Raditz's arms and face started to prickle with tell-tale static. With a howl, Goku straightened his body and his arms, snapping the cable around his wrist into shards.

Raditz started in alarm and Goku grinned to see it.

'Your chi just…trebled at least!' his brother exclaimed. 'Was that the powering up you were trying to do on board the ship?'

'Yep.'

'Well, why didn't you do that straight away and break the cable as soon as we tied you?'

'Because then you would've just looked for something stronger to tie me up with. Now that we're out here, you've got nothing to tie me up with at all!'

'You're not as dumb as you play,' said Raditz, eyeing Goku's gleeful countenance. 'Oh no, wait a minute – you are, because my bare arms will do for binding quite well!'

Goku turned and flew towards the village as fast as he could, forcing Raditz to pursue him. To Raditz's surprise, it wasn't easy. As he got close, Goku yelled over his shoulder.

'Do you want to waste time wrestling with me, or do you want to find a dragonball?'

'Think I'll make time for both,' said Raditz, catching Goku's ankle and hauling him towards him. Goku kicked him rather hard in the chest and caused him to let go.

'Oof! That's no way to treat your older brother, Kakarott!' he said and dived at him headlong. He grappled Goku around the stomach and drove him towards the ground. 'You should treat me with more respect!'

Goku fought back against the fall with the aid of his chi, so when he smashed into the aqua moss it wasn't as hard as it might have been. Raditz somersaulted and landed on his toes a short distance away – a remarkable agility for someone so tall and muscled. Goku rolled to his hands and knees and dug his toes into the dirt in preparation to spring.

'Is tying me up the way to show respect to a  _younger_  brother?'

Raditz grinned. 'It is, because I respect you enough to think you might be troublesome enough to need tying up!'

'Well, I respect you enough to not hold back while being troublesome!' Goku leapt at Raditz, charging his hand with chi. Raditz caught his hand mid-air and the two paused for a second, feeling the strength of the other's resistance in the trembling of their arms. Raditz's grin turned to a leer. Goku's intense stare turned dark and taunting. For a second the brothers looked very alike, but no one was around to see it.

'Trying it on, are you?' asked Raditz.

And then his huge knee slammed up and caught Goku under the chin.

* * *

Vegeta wasn't sure at what point he'd made up his mind to follow Nappa's plan, or even if he would take it to its conclusion, but his progress along the path, which, to borrow a phrase from Raditz, had been running like an express shuttle to Planet Goodtime, had suddenly exploded in orbit thanks to his own Damon's hostile interception.

Vegeta breathed hard, still reeling from the kissing, frustrated that it didn't appear like it was going to resume any time soon. Bulma was collapsed on her hands and knees, wailing unrestrainedly.

'Be quiet!' he ordered her, but she just shook her head, continuing as if he hadn't spoken.

The sound was not just an assault on his ears.

Urgh,  _feelings_...just as Nappa had said.

Every day since he'd been counselled by Raditz and Nappa that she was probably playing him for her own purposes, the fog of heightened emotion around the topic of Bulma had gotten worse despite his best effort to ignore it. When Nappa had warned, weeks ago, about the way women could wield the feelings of men, he had feared he already knew what Nappa meant. He had thought he was already feeling the touch of the snare; of those tremulous, warm, softly aching things that made Bulma take up a way bigger part of his concern than she warranted. But those weren't a shade of what they had built into by this point.

This was… _pain!_

This was  _want_  on a scale that had started to rival his quest for ascension in its gnawing obsession. This was bitter and hungry, and seeing Bulma made him want to roar with frustration that he didn't know her mind; that he was becoming a slave to thoughts of her; that she be so close and yet he couldn't just take her and use her to smother the feelings to death with.

He crouched down and pulled her to her feet against her will. Forced to stand she fell back against the rock and covered her face with her hands. That might have been just as well, as her face was all wet and pink and scrunched up. Her grief angered him, and the pain reared anew.

'Why are you weeping for that dead, weakling "boyfriend"?' he asked, and this must've been a wrong thing to say, because Bulma's head came up and her wail turned into a screech of fury.

'Don't you say anything bad about Yamcha!' she roared at him.

'Why not? You did!'

She screeched again and then lashed out her fist, hitting him on the upper arm. Even if his energy hadn't drifted to somewhere around twenty times hers it wouldn't have hurt him, striking him flatly on solid bicep. It still pushed his rage higher though, and he growled in warning.

'I wouldn't expect you to understand!' she yelled in his face at the top of her lungs.

Indeed, he did not, and feeling his hands begin to curl with the desire to grab her and shake her like a doll, he snarled and did an about face, stalking away up the valley, putting trees and distance between them.

'Where are you going?' she shouted after him. 'Vegeta!'

He walked on, and as he went her heard her resume her hysterics.

_Damn this! Damn her too!_

He decided to run, weaving between the pom-pom topped trees until there was no chance of hearing her, and slowing, came upon a tree that looked particularly happy. He punched it so hard that an eight inch section of the trunk flew into the distance and the top of the tree hopped in the air before coming down and bouncing on top of him. He swatted the pole of the trunk out of the way and then leapt into the air, murdering all the trees in the vicinity with his bare fists and booted feet.

Once that was done and he admitted to himself the utter futility and silliness of the act, he sat down on one of the toppled trunks to think.

After Brolly had been woken from the regen tank Vegeta had given in to the realisation that she was using herself as a lure. He had tried then to put her out of his mind in earnest, and ignore her when present. This didn't work well; thanks to his chi training, he was quite aware of her even when he couldn't see her, even as he was now. He could smell her and he could hear her voice and see the junk she left lying around, and the others would talk of her. It didn't matter if he didn't look at her - on the ship he was unable to avoid thoughts of her.

And they hadn't been good thoughts or happy thoughts.

She seemed unhappy too, but he'd had no way of knowing why. He'd wondered if it was it because he'd withdrawn from her, thereby ruining her plans. Brolly slunk around after her, and Vegeta pretended not to notice, but he was disgusted that she appeared to tolerate it. Brolly was a moron! The only thing he had over Vegeta was his height! Their inane chitter chatter from the kitchen or filtering down from the open door of the flight deck made him view all his own conversations with Bulma on Grenouillea in a different light. Was this how it had seemed from the outside? A witty girl  _humouring_ some calf-eyed dolt in order to lead him around by the nose? He refused to believe she held any real regard for Brolly, but became less convinced about the authenticity of her feelings for him as well. And he had forgotten about the  _Yamcha_ thing.

Yamcha! What _at all_  could that dead Earthling have over himself? Or even over fucking  _Tarble_ for that matter? Whatever this Yamcha might've been, he wasn't anything at all now except for dead! And in the heat of fury even the Daemon had still flown her flag for  _Yamcha_... Vegeta smashed his fist into the ground in temper. That disingenuous cat! He would have her use by any means necessary, but nothing angered like the thought that Puar still belonged to someone else in her own mind.

At least with Bulma he'd had fair warning.

Even with every indication that she was just being selfishly manipulative, she'd found a way to make him doubt it again. She made it clear during the farce of a training session that she was angry with him for ignoring her, and for a moment she'd convinced him that it wasn't just because he'd wrecked her plan. She had amused him with her audacious and ridiculous attack and she had made him feel regret for shutting her out.

And then he'd nearly lost his fucking head in front of all the others when she'd slapped him and he'd felt that strange impulse within him again, heady and out of control, delighted and vicious and submitting all at once. He was a drum that beat for her – hollow and aching to be struck. He had been very close to acting out shamelessly on that impulse in front of the others. Thank the gods Nappa and Raditz had shut him down because Vegeta wasn't sure what would have happened.

Since then his resolve had weakened. He couldn't  _not_ look at her. He had to know the truth of what she felt. He had to know  _her_. It felt like losing to give in to her, but he decided Nappa may be right and the only way back to sane possession was forwards through mad surrender. Maybe by losing he could win? Maybe if he did to Bulma what she had been trying to do to him, he could get what he wanted from her  _and_  no longer be her puppet? If she felt something for him then he could take advantage of that. And if she didn't, then at least he'd be getting his money's worth out of the stupid deal he'd made with her. Saving the sanctity of his Saiyan skin for a probably non-existent Saiyan breeder seemed like a most quaint and naive notion now.

These were the painful, needful thoughts that consumed him much of the time on the ship, and they were crowned by furtive plans and fantasies about getting Bulma alone on Namek. And then when he realised what he was considering, what he was risking, he shoved the thoughts aside. They had come to Planet Namek for one purpose - for his wish of immortality that was likely to be his best shot at surviving Frieza's wrath, and his chance to become the first Saiyan to rule the galaxy! There should be nothing he should risk for this and no desire higher in his mind!

He could feel her now, her fluffy, cloud-like chi bumping along slowly towards him. She was probably scared of alien chickens and Namekians. He snorted and shook his head. Of course, unlike himself, she had some reason to be wary. He considered leaving her to fare for herself for some time as punishment, but it only took a few minutes before he gave in to the truth that his promise to protect her went deeper than just contractual obligation. He really did feel some need to keep her safe, and thanks to Nappa, now everyone else knew it. He flushed with shame again at the memory of last night, when Nappa had swatted her like a fly and she'd gone down...He wasn't the only one who cried out, but in his ears, his scream of 'Bulma!' had carried a terror that later embarrassed him.

He had rushed towards her with the others, but felt that she was still alive before they even touched her.

'I didn't mean to knock her out, but she deserved that and you know it,' was Nappa's immediate defence, uttered while Vegeta was still leaning over her.

Vegeta had leapt from the floor, hurtled at Nappa and slugged him in the face. Nappa had slammed into the steps on the other side of the room, breaking them, and Vegeta was rather surprised that he hadn't gone through the wall before realising first that his chi was still down low, and second, that they were all really lucky it was. 'Shut up!' he'd yelled at Raditz, who was busy shouting the same realisation in his ear, and then he'd jumped onto Nappa's chest as he was struggling to rise, grabbed him by the back of his head and raised his fist.

'D-does Saiyan pride mean nothing to you, my prince?' sputtered Nappa, a few flecks of blood flying from his mouth from the lip Vegeta had mashed against his teeth.

Confusion had stayed Vegeta's hand. 'Of course it does! What does that have to do with anything?'

'Because I am a Saiyan Elite!' said Nappa, raising his own arm to ward off the hovering blow. 'I shouldn't have to put up with being spoken to like that! She insulted me to my face – and by way of me, you as well! Would you have just let her get away with that?'

Vegeta floundered. 'We shall never know, because you took the matter into your own hands, didn't you?'

Nappa scoffed. 'You would have. You'd have let her trample over us as if we were lower than she is! I've had females a hundred times more worthy than that flimsy scrag polish my boots and sell me hand jobs. I won't have  _her_  lording anything over me, and neither should you! You should be thanking me for shutting the bitch down.'

'I gave you an ORDER!'

'If you weren't so soft on the girl you'd-'

Nappa got no further as Vegeta's fist descended, and he pounded the other's face until Nappa was still and the whole room was silent.

Kakarott had held Bulma in his arms, regarding Vegeta sternly.

'I think we should put Bulma in the tank,' he'd said. 'But you just put Nappa in a worse way.'

Vegeta had tried to act nonchalant about the decision, like he barely cared either way, even though his hands were shaking as he wiped his bloody knuckles clean on the front of Nappa's shirt.

'Nappa disobeyed a direct order. Put her in the tank first.'

* * *

Puar floated back down the valley, almost blindly, dashing tears from her eyes with her paws and convulsing with sobs. Bulma's betrayal had come almost out of the blue and hurt Puar in more ways than one.

 _How could she? I would never do something like that!_  she kept telling herself over and over, the horrific scene of Yamcha's final battle running in her head followed by the sick feeling of seeing Vegeta pressed up against Bulma and their mouths sloppily moving against each other. For a terrible second she'd thought he'd been attacking her – a thought that was almost as upsetting as the truth was angering - it filled her tiny body with rage!

She used to get embarrassed when Bulma and Yamcha made out while she was present, but she hadn't minded because Bulma made Yamcha happy, and this was all part of Yamcha finding a girl to marry. That's what he'd wanted more than anything, and he'd died not knowing that he'd wasted his time and his heart on that unbelievable…tart! Puar wept harder at the injustice.

How long had those two been carrying on under her nose? Puar didn't buy Bulma's inference that she was sucking face with Vegeta to get information from him – she'd seen that weak nod when Bulma had been flummoxing about for an excuse – you don't get much information out of a person when your tongue is down their throat! Besides, staying close to Vegeta and earning his trust was  _Puar's_  job, not Bulma's! Puar thought she'd been doing a pretty good job, too. Vegeta did seem to trust her, and Puar was not so convinced of the prince's evilness any more. She even felt a little sorry about Bulma's duplicitous behaviour on  _Vegeta's_  behalf.

She stopped dead in the air in dismay - Bulma had made her admit her loyalty to Yamcha in front of Vegeta! He had been so angry, and then he'd threatened her like he hadn't since they'd left Earth... He would probably never trust her again.

She was far down the valley now, well out of earshot of Vegeta and Bulma. Puar double tapped her transponder disk.

'I hope no one is relying on Bulma!' she said. 'Because she has other things on her mind than  _saving the world!_  I'm afraid it's up to you and me, Goku and Krillin!' She let go of the button as a fresh storm of tears hit her – venting hadn't helped much.

'Oh, that's Bulma – she does tend to get distracted,' replied Krillin. 'I'm sure if you remind her of what's important she'll get back on track.'

Puar shook her head at this amazing understatement. 'Well, I guess we can only hope!'

On the other end of the line Krillin chuckled. 'I forgot Bulma can hear us too. Hi, Bulma!'

There was a silence during which Puar considered many horrible things to say to or about Bulma, but it upset her even more to consider it.

'Guess she can't reply right now,' observed Krillin. 'I gotta go too. We're about to sneak into the village to get a dragonball. Talk later.'

That reminded Puar of her reconnaissance that she'd never had the chance to report on.

When Puar had tracked down the ball she'd found it in the central building of the complex. There was just a single room with a chair and a plinth inside, and the ball – a GIANT dragonball – perched on top of it. There was also a fat old Namek man dozing in the chair, or at least she'd thought he was dozing. Puar had considered just trotting past the open door of the building to go get Bulma and Vegeta, but then she thought maybe she could be a bit braver. She'd stepped gingerly into the room on those green chicken-lizard legs and skirted the Namek. He'd cracked open an eye though.

'What're you doing in here, little swamp hen?' he'd asked, and rolled to his feet. 'There's nothing for you in here.'

Puar had jumped in fright and then run around the circumference of the room and back out the door and the old Namekian laughed. He didn't seem very scary, but Puar didn't know that for sure, and with the old man awake she hadn't been able to just take it. She'd raced back to the other two, excited to tell them what she'd found and then…

Puar grimaced and twitched with revulsion. Bulma had probably sent her out to scout just so that she could make out with Vegeta, and now Vegeta had sent her away, probably so they could make out some more! For two people who purported to be set on hunting dragonballs they were…

They were not actually hunting them!

* * *

Vegeta took a deep breath to dissipate his anger a little more and then stood, deciding to walk back along the valley and meet Bulma halfway. He didn't want her to see that he'd levelled half a hillside of innocent tress on her account.

Clearing a spur, he saw her through the scraggle of spindle-like trunks.

'Vegeta!' she cried out again, hurrying her walk. There again, a tangle of feeling, like a badly chewed piece of grizzle stuck in his throat. Why had he thought it a good idea to compromise himself with her?

Because of what Nappa did, that's why. How ironic. Because even though he had still been angry with her, when she'd stood by the bed almost in tears and he'd made room for her next to him, the fact that she wanted to be close to him made that pain start to transform back into hope. He had decided then that if he could, he would cautiously enact his plan of getting her alone on Namek, though making sure to maintain control over the situation, no matter what transpired. It was not an easy or natural course for Vegeta to follow, and he had no clue how to proceed, but Bulma had made it so easy for him by giving him four dragonradars, and she'd practically talked him through the "date". With each step taken in that direction he had been met by success and the transmutation of a little bit more of his pain into pleasure. It turned into shame as well, but it wasn't enough to stop him; not once he had her so close, not even when he'd taken a leap of faith to kiss her…

He crossed his arms. Even though he was angry with her, just seeing her through the trees set his loins tightening with longing to press himself against her again. He'd expected he would enjoy kissing her a lot, but still, it was better even than that, and in a way, worse too. He hadn't expected his entire awareness to collapse down to just their mouths and the points where their bodies touched, and the smell of her all around him. Vegeta didn't think he'd even been so aware of texture; of softness, smoothness, wetness, roughness, all of it dizzying in just how good it felt.

He stopped his thoughts there, and stopped in his tracks too, struggling not to let the bulge in his training suit get any harder as she ran the last fifty yards to him.

'You left me alone!' she cried.

'You seemed to want to be left alone,' he replied, his anger making the words acid. She scowled at the tone.

'Not on an alien planet!'

'I see you've come to your exploitative senses again,' he said. 'You can't let your beast of burden and protection service get away.'

She flinched at that and then scowled again, looking away. 'I think we should just get on with finding the dragonball, don't you?'

'I agree,' he said coldly, but inside he was burning again with pain. Damn her and damn Nappa, he was through with all of this! He would get his wish and put this and them both far behind him.

Slouching her shoulders she turned and started trudging towards the ridge again. Vegeta fell in beside her, tolerating the sludging pace because it suited his mood. Suddenly Bulma stopped dead in her tracks, staring sightlessly at the ground as if she were listening to something Vegeta couldn't hear.

'What?' he demanded.

But her shoulders started to shake, and she didn't answer and hung her head, collapsing against a nearby trunk, hiccupping as she started to cry all over again.

'What?' he asked again, with more anger. 'What are you snivelling about now? Did you just remember some other piece of Earthling flotsam you once made some promise to?'

She shook her head. 'You don't understand!' she wailed. 'Puar's right! I'm a bad person!'

Vegeta glared at her, though she wasn't looking to see it. Bad person, huh? And so that was it – she was experiencing a crisis of conscience for kissing him.

'Bad person?' he echoed. 'Don't be so pathetic. I suppose you think  _I'm_  a bad person?'

She raised her eyes to his, full of distrust and misery. She shrugged, and then apparently changing her mind she straightened her shoulders and said boldly, 'Of course I do!'

'I suppose I am, but I've never had much time to consider the question – do you know why?'

She shook her head.

'Because the question of good or bad is for people of small deeds and arenas. There is no room for moral hand-wringing when it's a question of who rules the galaxy, or life and death, or the future of one's species. What is the point of asking oneself that when there is only one way forward and only the choice of success and failure - failure and  _death?_ '

She dashed a tear from her cheek and considered him for a long moment.

'Is that how you ended up who you are?' she asked.

'I was always who I am,' replied Vegeta. 'This is a truth that even the smallest Saiyan child knows. I chose to survive, and I am choosing to win, so I suggest if you wish the same you forget all about "good" and "bad" and learn to be thankful you're alive to make the choice!'

'I don't have to be  _thankful_ when I know I've done something bad!' she protested.

'What's the point of guilt except to poison the reward?' he asked her, pleased that she was moving from tears to something more spirited. 'If you're going to do dirty deeds you may as well enjoy them as much as you can. If you're bad, you're bad, no matter whether you enjoy the benefits or not.'

'I'm not a bad person!'

'You just said you were! You're a  _bad_ person - we're  _bad_ people! Time to face reality and get over it!'

She stared at him, her frown turning to a confused expression before she looked away. Vegeta huffed with disgust and started for the ridge again, figuring she would follow soon enough. Reaching the top he stood boldly on the edge and looked over. They had gone past the village now and looked at it from the other side, a few Namekians visible working the fields. It occurred to him that he should have asked the Daemon for her report before sending her away. Too late for that now, and Vegeta wasn't in the mood any more for the cautious approach. He had his strength to back him whatever he found down there.

Bulma finally ended her vacillating and joined him, arms contritely behind her back.

'Let's get on with it,' he said, and without asking, swept her off her feet into his arms. She squeaked but didn't argue as he flew down the cliff face onto the plain. He was aware she was studying his face though. When he set down on the grass he let go of her knees, put her on her feet and went to step back, but she kept her arm around his shoulder, keeping him close. He pulled back and she tripped after him, both her arms coming around his neck now.

Vegeta's eyes snapped to hers, just a few inches from his own. 'I thought you said this made you a bad person?'

She paused, biting her lip for a moment before speaking. 'I've decided that you're right. I  _am_ a bad person trying to do good things, and I intend to play to win,' she said gravely. 'I may as well enjoy what I can of it.'

'What do you mean by that?' he asked, and the answer was what he hoped - Bulma's lips on his.

A recently boiled pot boils faster the second time - Vegeta was plunged back into the heat of his earlier desire. He grabbed her and hauled her in tighter, opening his mouth to kiss her deeply, barely caring about the pastoral Namekians not even half a mile away. He wrapped his arms around her back, squishing her to him and marvelling at the give in her softness as her chest pressed into his and his hands roamed over the back of her training suit. It made him feel tough and hard in comparison - well, he  _was_ hard - and he dared run one hand down from the narrowness of her waist to the swell of her backside...

 _Round and soft and warm..._ Something about her made him want to be close, and closer and impossibly close. He was finally starting to understand why Nappa and Raditz wanted to seek the company of women so persistently.

Bulma pulled out of the kiss just enough to pant, 'Vegeta,' against his lips, and Vegeta felt his desire intensify as the sound touched something instinctual in him. It was not something he'd ever thought of wanting, but now he wanted to hear his name spoken like that again and again and again...

'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

Which didn't have quite the same ring to it.

'What for?' he asked breathlessly. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned her cheek aside and he found himself at the juncture of her ear and neck, where the scent rolled off her, thick and sweet, so he pressed his lips there instead, earning a tremor from Bulma. He felt a prick of something on his shoulder, but ignored it - only an actual alien attack would've broken him from his focus at that moment.

'For this,' she said, and he felt a pain in his shoulder like someone had inserted a rock under his skin. He ignored that too, until he suddenly lost his balance and only kept his feet by clinging to Bulma.

'What?' he said, trying to stand up, and saw the fearful look in her eyes. For a second he was confused and then of course he realised she had been apologising for whatever  _this_  was.

'What...did...ur...du?' His mouth didn't want to work, and as a wave of disorientation and weakness rolled over him he grabbed her again but fell.

'I'm sorry!' she screamed as his weight dragged her to the ground and he landed on top of her.

Vegeta roared, dimly understanding he was betrayed, trying to grapple with her, but he could barely lift his hands, let alone control them, and Bulma was fighting back. She managed to sit up, rolling him off of her.

'Wha ju do?' he insisted, not able to feel his tongue in his mouth, unable to stop her as she scrambled away.

Bulma looked down at Vegeta flopping about in pathetic fashion. She burst into tears again. This felt even worse to do than she'd expected.

'I'm sorry!' she told him again as he attempted to drag himself towards her. 'I didn't want to do this, but you said yourself - this is life and death, and I can't let being a good person get in the way of succeeding!'

Vegeta roared again, his jaw working and no discernible words coming out.

Bulma pitched the empty syringe away, the syringe she had filled with sedative and tipped with a rubber cork days ago in the privacy of the flight deck, then concealed in a capsule at the top of her capsule kit. She had hoped she wouldn't have to use it, especially on Vegeta, but Puar had been so right - she had taken her eye off how important their mission was. She wasn't doing all she could to win the dragonballs, and Vegeta's speech had been what had pushed her over the edge to where she didn't wish to go. She might be a bad person for betraying Yamcha, but if she was she should leverage all the methods a bad person would use to win the wish for Earth. Vegeta would probably do the same to her given the chance, right?

Something inside her doubted than now, seeing the look of shock on his face fading as his head dropped, and his eyelids followed.

'Vegeta?'

Oh god, she hoped she hadn't killed him! She'd measured out a similar dose to the one she'd given Brolly to knock him out, but delivered hypodermically, she wasn't sure if the strength of reaction would be the same. She wished she'd thought of this at the time that Brolly had been an issue, but it hadn't been until she'd been cloistered on the flight deck obsessively running over plans and measures that it occurred to her that the only ingredients to the sedative serum was the active ingredient in an alcohol base, both of which should be safe to administer hypodermically except in excessive doses. Calculating a dose for a Saiyan remained a problem though. Vegeta wasn't moving, but she was too scared to go closer right that second in case he was bluffing.

'Vegeta, are you breathing?' she squeaked and then began covered her mouth with her hands to cover the heartily horrified sobs of regret that came out. Vegeta moaned, but that was all. This was a terrible idea! She didn't enjoy being this ruthless at all!

'Please be okay!' she cried. Breaking down into tears she stood over him, watching the rise and fall of his chest, and then feeling rising anger she double tapped her transponder disk.

'I drugged Vegeta unconscious! I think I almost killed him! Are you happy now, Puar?'

No one answered, so Bulma looked around for the next thing that had to be done. She supposed she should put Vegeta in the recovery position in case he vomited while unconscious, and she did so, gingerly tugging his heavy limbs about to arrange them.

'I really hope you did the right thing,' she said to herself. This "game" they were playing was not any fun at all right now. 'Not that it was ever really a game,' she admitted.

'Excuse me, are you alright?' said a polite but timid voice behind her.

Bulma screamed and leapt over Vegeta, pirouetting in the air to face the stranger. It was a Namekian - tall and gawky, with bright green skin the colour of barely grass shoots, large pointed ears and slightly funny looking, short antennae like a snail's. He looked half prepared to flee also, already on his back foot and his eyes wide with fright, and Bulma got the impression he wasn't that old. Confronted with a Namekian at this moment, Bulma wasn't sure what to say.

'You're an alien,' said the youth. 'I know you can talk - I heard you using the Galactic All-Speak.'

'Yes, I'm an alien,' she admitted, hands already opening her capsule kit.

'You seem upset and your friend doesn't seem very well. Is he okay?'

'He's...unwell,' she said.

'Maybe you should bring him back to our village. My elder could treat him.'

'That's all right, I think he'll be okay,' she said, although she did need to go to the village. She eyed the Namekian in dismay. Her plan had been to sneak into the village unnoticed, but now that a Namekian knew she was here, she doubted she would get that chance. If she was going to have an escort she was pretty much down to asking for the dragonball. Walking openly into a village full of aliens without Vegeta was a frightening prospect; almost enough to make her wish she hadn't just knocked Vegeta out, but if she prevented him having any dragonballs from the get-go, the Earthlings' task would be a lot easier later.

'Do you mind if I ask you why you're here?' asked the boy, standing straighter now.

'Have you heard of some magic gem stones that grant wishes?' she asked tentatively, glancing down at her hand to make sure she had the right capsule.

'Have _I_?' asked the boy. 'How have  _you?_ '

'We had some on my home planet,' she told him, hoping this was the right thing to say.

'That's impossible, your planet couldn't have wish orbs unless a very powerful Namekian lived there!'

'Well, one did, until he was killed along with all my people.'

The kid's eyes got round again. 'I think you'd better come to my village and tell the elders what you said. I'm sure they'd want to know.'

'Is that so that they can torture answers out of me?' asked Bulma, trying to sound like she was joking when in fact she really feared it.

'Torture?' gasped the Namek. 'My Elders are not like that. I don't think they've ever hurt anyone.'

'Just checking. Alright then, I'll come, but I need just a minute.' She turned away to throw the capsule on the ground, not wanting to make it seem like a threatening gesture. The boy yelped at the pop and the puff of smoke, but watched her without comprehending as she picked up her handgun and shoved it though her belt. She stepped over Vegeta again and the boy frowned.

'Are you going to leave your friend there?'

Bulma looked down at Vegeta guiltily. He looked endearingly helpless all anesthetised like that.

'I'm not strong enough to carry him, so I guess I'll have to leave him here for now.'

'He doesn't look that heavy. I could carry him for you?'

'Would you?' she asked. 'Thank you.'

He hefted Vegeta's floppy form into his arms and they turned to the village, taking a path between two tilled fields. The sprouted heads of some crop showed between the furrows of one field, and the woody stems and puff ball tops of a similar plant grew in the other.

'Your crops look a lot like the trees that grow around here,' she observed.

'That's because they  _are_ the trees that grow around here.'

'You eat the trees?'

The boy laughed. 'No. We don't eat. We just grow the Ajisa trees to plant. My village planted every tree you see for a hundred miles!'

'What? You don't eat?' cried Bulma. 'Where do you get your energy and nutrition from?'

'When you live in harmony with the world there is no need for any more nutrition than clean sun and water.'

Bulma turned to gawk at him and his green skin. 'You're kidding. You  _photosynthesise_?'

'I don't know what that is,' he admitted. 'Maybe?'

'You're a walking plant,' muttered Bulma, too low for him to hear. Oh, that meant the god she had sometimes believed in was also a plant!  _What the fudge?_

Apparently the Namekian did hear her though.

'There is no real difference between the plant and myself, nor between you and myself except for form. We are all just manifestations of the universe, borrowing consciousness. That is what my Elders tell me anyway - not to think that I own my consciousness, as that too is the universe's, and we are not separate beings but all part of the same whole.'

Bulma's mind skipped the existential waffle as she was too busy contemplating living a life without actual waffles, chocolate, chips, steak, sushi, ramen or any of the rest of her favourite foods.

'Not eating must really suck.'

The Namek fell silent.

As they got close to the buildings Bulma slowed, becoming fearful again. This Namekian seemed okay, but maybe not all of them were. Finally she stopped before the first house.

'What's your name?' she suddenly thought to ask.

'Caraco.'

'So, Caraco, do you think your people will be nice to me, even if I, say, asked them for a "wish orb"?'

Caraco looked doubtful. 'They will be "nice" as long as you are "nice". I don't know what they will say about the wish orb though. We've never had an alien in our village before that I can remember. What's your name?'

'Bulma.'

Caraco smiled. 'Nice to meet you, Bulma.'

'Nice to meet you too.'

Bulma looked up at the horns of the building, and examined the strange, porous, off-white material it was made of. The building seemed to be one continuous sheet. She tapped it, and it rang hollow.

'You build your houses out of ceramic?' she asked, running her hand over the smooth surface.

'No, we build them out of our secretions,' said Caraco and Bulma flinched, removing her hand quickly.

'Secreted from where? Oh, never mind - don't answer that!'

Caraco's face twitched between a frown and a laugh, not sure what to make of her reaction.

'So, what has Caraco found in the fields today?' asked a deep and hearty voice and Bulma tensed with apprehension. A portly Namekian rounded the building to stand before them. He was a far duller green than Caraco, and instead of pink, his armoured plates were a weathered yellow. His eyes were keen, but peered out from a lined face, drooping with age and fat. How someone got fat on just sunshine and water, Bulma didn't know. Maybe this guy did cheat days.

'Ah! So it  _was_ alien life forces we could sense out in the fields,' he said.

'Yes, Elder,' replied Caraco. 'I sensed them too, and saw that one of them seemed to be sick.' He offered up Vegeta in example.

'Hmm,' said the old man, stepping forward to run his eyes over Vegeta. Bulma stepped closer too; seeing Vegeta so vulnerable before these strangers made her anxious.

'Is this why you have come?' the old Namek asked. 'You are seeking healing for your friend?'

'Er, no, actually.'

'He knows about the wish orbs,' said Caraco. Bulma wondered who the "he" was that Caraco referred to, but the older Namekian's eyes fixed on her again in surprise.

'Does he, indeed?'

Bulma gawped. Was he talking about her? Did he think she was a man?

'I sense important business afoot,' observed the old Namek shrewdly. 'Let's not hang around the back, Caraco. Bring our visitors onto the meeting ground.'

She followed the wide back of the old man between the buildings and out into an area of compacted dirt in front of them. Another couple of Namekians were in the yard - one drawing water up from a well and another sharpening a ploughshare. Both of them made exclamations and dropped what they were doing at the sight of Bulma, and out in the nearby fields a couple of other Namekian's pricked their ears up and turned towards the commotion. Soon the small yard was filled with ten or so robed, green folk, ranging in size from toddler to almost as big as Raditz, and they were all casting Bulma and Vegeta curious looks and asking each other and their Elder questions about who they were.

'All in good time,' replied the Elder, sinking into a chair that one of the Namekians had hurried forward with. Some of them sat cross legged on the ground while a few others - larger, bulkier, more suspicious Namekians remained standing. Caraco placed Vegeta gently on the ground, and the Saiyan moaned in peevish protest at the movement. Bulma sat close to him, concerned about his condition, but not within arm's length just in case he woke up.

Caraco saw her obvious nervousness and leaned towards her. 'I swear they won't hurt you if you are here with good intentions,' he whispered. Bulma crossed her fingers and prayed he was right.

Seeing his people begin to settle, the Elder spoke.

'Well, strangers, welcome to our village. I am Elder Tsuno of the Dragon Clan, Eldest Son of the Grand Elder Guru, father of our people.'

'Hi,' replied Bulma before remembering Vegeta's admonishment against saying 'hi'. It was a different situation, but it probably still stood. 'I'm Bulma Briefs.' And then because that greeting seemed inadequate in the face of Tsuno's introduction she added, 'Bulma of Earth, heir to the Capsule Corporation and only child of Doctor Trunks Briefs and Mrs Bunny Briefs.'

'And your friend?'

Bulma glanced down at Vegeta. If Planet Namek hadn't been visited by anyone for a hundred galactic years they would never have heard of him. However, she couldn't be sure that they hadn't been, or that they weren't in contact with others off-planet. 'That's Prince Doritoni of L'Goonta.'

'How do you come to be on Planet Namek, Bulma Briefs?'

Something about his warm, assuring manner made her feel like she could trust the old man. She resisted the feeling, but decided that the truth was the best way forwards on this one anyway.

'I'm here because of a monster called Frieza,' she told them. She paused, but none of the Nameks reacted to the name. 'He sells planets, and wipes out the native inhabitants to do so. He and his forces wiped out...' Suddenly she found she could not say it matter-of-factly. Her voice died on her, and when she tried to force out the words it came choked. 'He wiped out my people. All the people of Earth,' she whispered.

The gathered Namekians gasped in sympathy. Bulma felt warmer to them for it.

'And now there are only the two of you left?' asked Tsuno gravely.

Bulma shook her head. 'He's not even from Earth,' she said, tilting a thumb at Vegeta. 'There are three other survivors, although one of them isn't really from Earth at all.'

'I have sympathy for your situation, as something similar once happened to our people, although there was no person responsible.'

'I know,' replied Bulma. 'I read that it was a cataclysmic climate change.'

Tsuno nodded. 'Our Grand Elder was the sole survivor. A storm nearly tore the planet apart. When the clouds cleared and the wind and seas finally receded he looked up and the two suns in the sky had become three.'

 _Woah._ She imagined that a third sun entering the orbit of a solar system might do some crazy shit to the planets in that solar system. 'Wow, that's some really, cosmically rotten luck. But how are you all here if there was only one survivor? Did he use the dragonballs – wish orbs - to wish you back to life?'

'The wish orbs didn't exist at the time because Guru was too young and not powerful enough to create them, and the creator of the previous orbs died in the cataclysm. Our Grand Elder set about repopulating the planet himself.'

'But how? Did the Guru find a wife that had survived off planet somewhere?'

'A wife?' asked Tsuno. 'No, he merely birthed new children. A Namekian has no need of a partner to bear children. He is male and female both.'

Bulma's eyes went to the front of Tsuno's robes in unsuppressed shock, and then quickly looked away, fearing she was being rude, but all she could see in her mind's eye was a bunch of masculine-looking green people hiding both man- and lady-bits under their robes. Did they put their own thing in their own thing? That would bring added dimension to the phrase  _Go fuck yourself_.

'Oh. I see.'

'You are from a gendered species?' guessed Tsuno.

She nodded.

'I have read and heard of such beings, but never before met one.' He moved to the edge of his seat and looked down at her with interest. 'Which type are you? Male or female?'

'Female,' she said, and the rest of the Nameks crowded a bit closer in curiosity, whispering to one another.

'You know,' she heard one of them say to their neighbour, 'I always thought a male or female creature would look like  _half_ a creature, if you know what I mean?'

Caraco was looking at her in wonder. 'Is it hard, being gendered?' he asked. 'I imagine it's a bother when the time comes to make children.'

Bulma blushed, and seeing her discomfort Tsuno shushed the villagers and bade them sit down again.

'Forgive our interest - it is not every day we meet an outsider. Please continue your tale. You came to Planet Namek; why was that?'

'Oh. Well, our planet had a god; a guardian we called Kami, who created some "wish orbs" I guess, although we call them dragonballs.' The hushed crowd immediately burst into gasps and questions again.

'How can that be?' seemed to be the most common refrain.

'He was a Namekian,' she explained to them all. 'I don't know how he came to be living on Earth, but before he died he told my friend that he was born on Planet Namek and that there were more dragonballs here. He told us to come here and use them to revive the people of Earth from death.'

Tsuno made a deep rumbling noise of disquiet. 'You are a brave child to do so. What of this Prince Doritoni? He is assisting you?'

'Kind of. He and his men brought us here. They are in a similar situation.' She wondered if she should tell Tsuno about Vegeta's cross purpose, but that was a complicated matter that would take some explaining, and she seemed to be making headway with the Namekians right now. She decided not to muddle the pot.

'This is interesting news,' Tsuno said. 'A Namekian on another planet? The Grand Elder will wish to know of this.'

'I could take them there,' volunteered Caraco timidly.

'Perhaps, in time,' said Tsuno. 'That is kind of you to offer though, Caraco, and I'm sure it would be a welcome diversion from your chores.' He grinned at the young Namekian, and one of the other younger ones laughed. Caraco blushed purple - an odd sight on a green face. 'Bulma has come to use the wish orbs, so first he must undergo the trials. Eventually he - sorry -  _she_ will have to go to the Grand Elder anyway.'

'But Elder,' said one of the more menacing looking Namekians. 'They are outsiders. The dragonballs are surely not for use by just anyone?'

Tsuno frowned and considered the question before replying. 'Although this may be the first time an alien has sought the use of our orbs, the Grand Elder has never stated that they were not for use by outsiders. The trials will be test enough of her right to use them, and she may fail yet.'

'What are these trials?' asked Bulma with a sinking heart.

'A contest of wits, a contest of strength and the reason for seeking the orbs,' replied Tsuno.

Bulma looked at Vegeta's peaceful face. A contest of wits should be no problem. A contest of strength was going to be an issue.

'Can we split the tasks between us?' she asked.

'You may,' said Tsuno, 'As long as you are wishing together as well. I myself will not be performing in the contest of strength!' he laughed. 'I'll leave that honour to Shnek.'

One of the intimidating looking Namekians bowed his head.

Bulma shuffled over to Vegeta and prodded his shoulder. Dammit, yet more reason to wish she hadn't sedated him! Hopefully if she could wake him he would still be too inebriated to cause a fuss, or maybe she could convince him to co-operate before he wrecked everything. Or maybe he'd take the ball as soon as she'd gotten it. There  _were_ another three syringes in that capsule, but she was even more reluctant to use more than one on him.

Vegeta groaned and flopped one arm about, unsuccessfully swatting at her hand.

'Buuu-maaa,' he sighed.

'Wake up, buddy!'

Vegeta declined, but rolled over, fetching up against her legs and getting drool on her knee. Bulma gently patted his hair in regret. Once the serum wore off she was not likely to get to touch it ever again.

'We can try to heal your friend of his illness,' offered the Elder.

Bulma didn't like to think what kind of medicine these simple farmers might have, or what plant-man medicine might do to a warm blooded mammal. 'He's okay, he just needs a little time to recover,' she told them.

'There is a little time. The contest of wits comes first.'

Bulma came closer to Tsuno and took a seat, trying to clear her mind of the emotion that was clogging it. 'Okay, then.'

'Bear with me, then,' said Tsuno. 'This could be a bit trickier in Galactic All Speak rather than Ancient Namekian.' He took a deep breath and sat back in his seat, holding it for a long moment before letting it out. 'Let me see. Consider a room with two million, hour hundred and seventy-two thousand, nine hundred and twenty five dust motes on the floor. You open the door, and two fifths of the motes are stirred into the air. Of the motes in the air, the rest settle back to the floor at a rate of one eighteenth of the remaining airborne motes per breath. You count for thirteen breaths, and at the end of that time you observed that fourteen thousand, three hundred and nine motes have settled outside the open door. After thirteen breaths, how many motes of dust are there?'

Bulma cast her eyes into the distance, crunching numbers in her head. After some consideration she replied. 'At the end of thirteen breaths there are four hundred and seventy thousand, five hundred and five dust motes still airborne, which means if you don't count the ones that landed outside the door there are one million, nine hundred and ninety-eight thousand, one hundred and eleven motes on the floor again, give or take a few, depending on where you do the rounding and what method you use. I assume we're dealing with whole numbers here, and not fractions of a mote being on the floor?'

Some of the Namekians were impressed. 'Are they right?' she heard one whisper to another. Tsuno grinned but said nothing, and Bulma narrowed her eyes at him.

'However, your question was ambiguous,' she observed. 'You only asked how many motes there were, not how many motes were back on the floor. In that case I'd say that there were there same number of motes as there had been all along, just scattered in different places.'

Now Tsuno raised his brows and Bulma had one last thought, and she jumped in it in panic.

'Your question was  _so_  ambiguously worded you could have been asking how many dust motes there were in the entire universe, in which case…countless! Could be a googolplex of them for all I know, but I doubt you've counted them all either so, yeah.'

Tsuno snorted. 'Is that you final answer?'

Bulma took a moment. 'Yes.'

Tsuno grinned again. 'Wise child. It pays to listen to the question and not make assumptions about it based on irrelevancies that preceded. The answer is indeed, there are countless motes of dust in existence.'

There was a smattering of conversation around the meeting area as people discussed this answer and their own guesses. Bulma felt a lump of mingled relief and pride in her throat, and her appreciation of her own intelligence was not only for her own sake for once. She was another step closer to saving the world. 'You know, I had a math tutor like you once,' she said, to cover her feelings.

'They taught you well.'

'Thanks,'

'Now, for the contest of strength.' Tsuno raised his hand and the tall one called Shnek came to stand next to him. 'Shnek will be our champion, but you may choose the nature of the contest. You may wrestle – in which the winner is the person who manages to pin both his opponent's shoulders and head to the ground for a count of three. You may choose straight combat, in which the winner is the one who forces his opponent to yield or knocks them down for a count of three. Or you may choose an arm wrestle, in which the winner must pin his opponent's wrist flat to the rock in the best of three matches.'

Bulma hurried back at Vegeta, still dead to the world, and shook his shoulder. 'Vegeta,' she whispered. 'Dammit! I mean, Prince Doritoni! Wake up, Prince Doritoni!'

Vegeta stirred, opening his eyes a crack before shutting them again. 'Mmm,' he said. 'Order breakfast, would you?'

'We're not on Grenouillea,' she told him. 'Look, can you wake up? I need your help!'

'Raditz,' was all Vegeta had to say to that.

This was hopeless. 'Can I have a bit longer?' she asked Tsuno.

'It's tradition that the trials be completed in one hour,' he answered. 'You may begin again from the start tomorrow if you can't complete the tasks today.'

Well that wouldn't do. Bulma opened her kit and sifted through the contents again, looking for ideas. She came upon the medical kit again. There was  _another_  needle she could use – a preloaded syringe of adrenalin for use in case of anaphylactic shock or overdose.

'I only need a couple more minutes,' she said, deciding. Whipping the kit out caused the usual surprise at the capsule opening, but Bulma ignored it all, choosing the syringe, tapping to rid it of any vacuum bubbles and positioning Vegeta so she could prick him on the outside of the thigh with ease.  _How much?_  she wondered. He wasn't overdosed, he wasn't in anaphylaxis…half the dose was cautious but still likely to be effective, she decided.

She pressed the plunger in to halfway and Vegeta's lungs inflated with a whoop. He sat up, gasping, eyes wide open and looking around the group wildly. 'Bulma!' he shouted, almost in her ear, and his hand clamped so hard around her upper arm that she cried out.

'Ow! Doritoni, it's okay! Calm down!'

'Where?' he sputtered. 'Who?' His legs moved in agitation and he struggled to stand, but immediately pitched over onto her, knocking her on her ass. His face hung over hers, eyes round with fear but defocused.

'It's okay, there's no danger' she said, hoping that he wasn't pinning her on purpose because he remembered what she'd done. 'But you're hurting me.'

Vegeta let go of her arm and moved away, swaying on his hands and knees. 'Urgh,' he moaned. He was awake, but obviously still highly impaired by the sedative.

The Namekians were frowning at this weird display of pharmaceutical mash up.

'Prince Doritoni,' she tried again. 'Are you okay?'

Vegeta reared up on his knees and rubbed his hands over his face. 'Yes, I'm Prince Doritoni,' he said. 'I'm not okay.'

'Oh. Well, I hope you're okay enough for this, because you need to do something – for our mission, remember?'

'What?' he asked, looking around again and wobbling. 'Namekians,' he said. 'Do I kill them?'

'No!' she shouted. 'Not that. But there's a test of strength.' She rushed over to him, taking hold of his shoulders to hold him steady so she could look him in the eye and judge his comprehension. 'You need to beat one of them in a test of strength; either wrestle them to the ground and pin their shoulders, fight them till they yield or are knocked out, or arm wrestle, best out of three.  _No killing_. Do you think you can do that? Are you strong enough right now?' Vegeta was trembling under her hands and then he also began giggling.

'Does a Gordorian dog have hairy nipples?' he asked, falling against her.

 _This wasn't good!_  'Can you actually stand up?'

He heaved himself to his feet, gripping her elbows painfully to balance himself. Apparently he wasn't  _too_  weak, but he was too lacking in control not to hurt her. Standing mostly straight he staggered about and hissed laughter through his teeth.

'The ground is moving,' he said, and stamped his foot, sending a shockwave through the dirt. 'Stop it!' he told it.

Shnek was watching with an amused kind of horror.

'Do you know, I think it's best if we go for the arm wrestling option,' Bulma announced. At least Vegeta wouldn't be too hard pressed to keep his balance. 'Where's the rock you mentioned?'

The villagers led the way along the front of one of the houses where a flat-topped, straight sided boulder jutted up from the moss. Shnek leaned over it to put his elbow down, but the table top was chest height on Vegeta. Bulma could see this was a mechanical disadvantage for Vegeta and hurried to the edge of the field to grab a flat edged stone she saw there. Lifting it between her arms with difficulty she staggered back to the boulder. This was apparently amusing for some of the Namekians.

'The way the Earthling struggles with the rock, you could win this fight with your little finger, Shnek.'

'Use your brain, Kuji, she already told us he's not an Earthling,' said another. 'You can already feel he's stronger.'

'He is stronger, but not up to much,' replied Shnek to the other two. 'I will beat him with ease.'

'If you think you will beat me because I am short, I will not only win but twist your arm off,' said Vegeta, sniggering whilst having to hold onto the boulder to keep himself upright.

'Your friend is not so pleasant,' said Shnek as Bulma bent to shove the rock between Vegeta's feet and prodded him to stand on it.

'He's not himself, and he's just kidding,' she assured them. Standing she took a place between the opponents. 'Doritoni, behave yourself!'

Vegeta leered at her. 'Yes, ma'am,' he replied sarcastically, and then his eyes went wide again, his expression turning serious and he reached out a hand for her face. Bulma stepped back from it, not sure what he intended.

'Hey, focus! Arm wrestling match – prepare yourself!'

Tsuno took a place opposite Bulma.

'Are we ready?'

Vegeta and Shnek were staring each other down and now placed their elbows on the stone table top, hands engaging awkwardly due to the fact that Vegeta's forearm was a few inches shorter than Shnek's.

'Best of three, and to win you must touch the back of your opponent's wrist to the stone,' Tsuno repeated. 'At the count of three. One…two…three.'

Instantly the two men tensed and muscles strained on both their arms. For a second they were even, and then Vegeta simply overbalanced, toppling off the rock he stood on and finding himself staggering about the garden.

'Oh jeez!' hissed Bulma in alarm. Vegeta was just in no fit state to compete in anything, and at this rate they would be stuck here until tomorrow in order to get a second chance. And she doubted that Vegeta's patience would last a moment past the sedative wearing off.

'One to Shnek,' announced one of his burly friends.

'It is not!' objected Bulma. 'Shnek didn't get his wrist flat to the table so it doesn't count.'

'If someone abandons play, that is also a loss,' said Tsuno.

'Well, you didn't mention that before we began, so that's not fair!'

'It's true; that rule was never stated, so I'll give you that one,' said Tsuno. 'Step away from the table next time and you'll be one down.'

Vegeta came back to the table, his blurry eyes seeking Bulma's. 'I fell over,' he said, as if this was the most puzzling thing in the world. 'Why did I drink so much?' he asked her.

'I don't know,' she said, glad that he'd made up his own explanation for his impairment. 'But you have got to win at least two of the next three matches and not fall over again, okay?' His feet fumbled around to get back up on the rock and Bulma closed her eyes. They were done for!

'Is it okay if I offer some support to my team mate?' she asked Tsuno.

'Of course,' said the Elder, and Bulma came to stand behind Vegeta, putting her hands in the table either side of his chest and leaned into him. Vegeta raised his arm and looked at her under his armpit.

'Bulma,' he sighed, trying to put the arm around her shoulders and clipping her in the forehead with his elbow instead.

'No!' she said, reaching up to swivel him to face the table again. 'I'm trying to keep you upright! Now try and stay standing while you win this one, okay?'

'I didn't realised you meant actual, physical support,' said Tsuno uneasily.

'Look, at the moment his balance is so bad you're not even getting a chance to test his strength! This is a contest of strength, right, not  _balance_?'

'Correct,' replied Tsuno, looking taken aback at being spoken to so abruptly. 'We'll continue. On three..two...one.'

Vegeta's body went completely rigid under hers, and she pushed him against the rock with every ounce of strength, resisting his sideways movement as he started to pitch in the wrong direction. She could just see the tops of Shnek and Vegeta's joined hands over Vegeta's shoulder as they wavered about before Shnek began to give ground. She could see the alarm on the Namek's face when all of a sudden Vegeta relaxed again, and their wrists see-sawed over the other way until the back of Vegeta's wrist slammed into the rock surface. The Namekian's cheered their fellow and Shnek grinned happily.

'The first match goes to Shnek,' said Tsuno.

'What're you doing?' cried Bulma as Vegeta leant forward and put his head on the table. 'You just gave up!'

'I don't care about the bet, I just want to go back to sleep,' said Vegeta crabbily, his eyes already shut.

Bulma jerked him up from the table again by the shoulders, then came alongside him to glare him in the face.

'You can't give up!' she shouted at his uncomprehending, half-lidded gaze. The adrenalin must already be wearing off too much to counter the sedative. Should she prick him with the needle again? She was reluctant to – what she'd done to him so far was already dangerous enough. She decided to evoke some more adrenalin the old fashioned way and slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

Vegeta roared and wheeled away, then turned back and lunged at her. Bulma was ready for that though and had already backed up.

'You can't give up – you have to win this!' she screamed at him.

'I don't have to do jack!' Vegeta roared back, staggering and clutching at the table again. 'If Raditz loses his money it's his own fault for betting on me like a racehorse!'

'Vegeta!' she protested, forgetting not to use his real name in her passion. 'This isn't money you're playing for –it's a dragonball! Do you want to lose a dragonball?'

Vegeta's bleary, furious scowl froze and he took a second to digest that. 'The dragonball is within my grasp?'

'Yes! Now beat this guy!'

Vegeta swung around to face Shnek and then grabbed the front of his mantle, hauling the bigger man halfway over the table stone.

'No!' Bulma shouted, running forward with a bunch of Namekians with the same thought, and took hold of the fist Vegeta was raising. 'Not that way! In an arm wrestle! Put him down!'

Vegeta let go of the Namek and shook his fist out of Bulma's.

'Well, let's do it then. The sooner I have my wish the better.'

Vegeta and a pissed-off looking Shnek took their ready positions again, and Bulma braced herself behind Vegeta, and this time when Tsuno gave the countdown Vegeta took Shnek over the top, and had him flat to the table in a handful of seconds.

'Yes! Good work, Vegeta,' she said, giving him a squeeze from behind. Vegeta gave a rumbling low chuckle of pleasure and leant back into her, almost causing Bulma to fall over. She pushed him forwards again.

'Keep at it! One more time and we're done!'

Shnek was taking some good-humoured ribbing from his friends for losing a game to someone who couldn't even stand up straight. He put his arm up on the table again and Vegeta clasped his hand sloppily, forcing Shnek to adjust their grips. Tsuno counted them down, but this time when he got to three, Shnek easily swung Vegeta's wrist over, getting within a couple of inches of the table top before Vegeta reacted, his muscles firing a moment too late, but halting things just short of losing.

'Shit, Vegeta!' cried Bulma, holding her tongue on telling him off for being half asleep, because who's fault was that? He was struggling though, at that angle, to keep Shnek from going all the way. 'You can do it!' she told him, and taking a breath Vegeta pushed up, just an inch before losing most of it again. Bulma watched in horror.

'Vegeta, you told me before that you were strong enough to take on all the Namekians at once!' she cried. 'You can beat this guy! Easy! Now  _do it!_ '

Vegeta tensed anew, and with a growl of supreme effort he pushed up on Shnek, and then quickly, over top, crashing the Namek's wrist into the table.

'Oh, thank god!' said Bulma, and Vegeta turned in her arms, chuckling again as he fell into them.

'I got the ball,' he said and he collapsed to his knees, hauling Bulma after him.

'You did! Good boy.' She manhandled him as gently as she could to the ground, but Vegeta kept his arms around her, trapped in a crouch over him. 'You can let me go now.'

'No,' he said, his eyes already closed again. 'You stay with me.'

Bulma felt her heart give a squeeze at this sweet request (or order as it actually was) and an answering qualm of guilt in her stomach. As soon as he was properly awake he would be after her blood.

'I'm not going far; I just need to go do this one thing, okay? So let me go?'

His arms relaxed and she eased herself up, his hands falling to his sides as relaxed as wet noodles. He was already asleep again. She stared down at him, letting herself feel the fondness and the regret for a second before hardening her heart and turning it toward home.

* * *

Tarble was red faced with distress bordering on tears. It had hurt Krillin to have Brolly hold him down while Krillin tied him up with the same cable Brolly had taken off of him, but it had to be done.

'Sorry, mate. But if I could trust you I wouldn't have to tie you up.'

Tarble stared straight ahead, too angry to even speak to Krillin.

After Brolly had caught him there had been a bit of a struggle and a lengthy argument, and now they had finally back to the area Tarble had fled from. Tarble had, at least, agreed that it was best to keep hunting the balls even if Krillin was currently in control of their group, but Krillin knew he couldn't let Tarble loose. He'd considered lashing him to a tree, but he was fairly sure that even if the cable held, none of these trees would. He'd also considered leaving him outside the village with Brolly, but he didn't trust that Brolly wouldn't be talked into swapping sides again. Besides, he didn't really want to go into the village alone if he could help it.

Crouched over low, running between rows of shrubs with chi levels suppressed, they made it to the closest wall and pressed themselves against it. Krillin checked the radar again and pointed around the building.  _Further in still_. The radar showed the ball was another ten metres away, and the chi sources were beyond that, thankfully. Rounding the house, Krillin saw another, larger one ahead, with a door facing them. One last check of the radar showed it was in there for sure. Dammit, why didn't Planet Namek have nights?

He pointed at the door and Tarble and Brolly nodded, then Krillin dashed the rest of the distance as fast as he could without raising his chi, and through the door, Tarble and Brolly following.

It was dim inside the house compared to outside, and Krillin came to such a sudden stop that Tarble slammed into his back.

'Oh shit,' Krillin whispered.

There was a dragonball – a massive one, on a plinth, but more pressingly there was an old-looking Namekian sat cross legged on the floor before it. The alien was rotund and stern, and looked like he knew exactly why they were here. He wore a white robe with a purple mantle, his eyes were pale yellow, and his skin like thick rubber-tree leaves. Krillin took a step back onto Tarble's feet.

'Is that a Namekian, then?' asked Brolly.

'It is,' replied the figure on the floor. 'And so are they.'

From the dimness of the room, four strapping figures of Namekians stepped; two from behind the plinth and two from the wall behind them, and the boys gasped with dismay. These figures were all as grim faced as the older man, and their chi ignited like flames in Krillin's mind.

'I didn't…I didn't sense anyone this close!' Tarble said behind him.

'I guess we're not the only ones who can hide our chi,' said Krillin, feeling like an utter fool because of it.

'They're strong! I don't know if we can fight them off.'

'So you think there is reason to fight, do you?' said the old Namek.

Krillin looked around at the faces of the Namekians. They all stood with their hands away from their bodies and their feet apart – not quite a fighting stance, but ready for anything – and every one of them felt about the equal to Tarble or more. They didn't look too happy either. After regarding their chances he replied, 'No, sir.'

'Hum,' grunted the Namek. 'Then why might you be here?'

Krillin and Tarble exchanged a glance.

'Should we tell them?' asked Brolly, bending down to the two.

'Tell us what?' asked the Namek closest to them.

Krillin chuckled nervously.

'We came to…ask if we could borrow your dragonball over there!' he said, pointing at the plinth.

'That's right,' said Tarble and bowed low to the Namekian.

'You want to  _borrow_  our wish orb? Not steal it?' said the old Namekian, getting to his feet to tower over them. 'Not to murder our children and steal the hope of our people from under us?'

'No! Absolutely not!' said Krillin, crossing his fingers because he knew he was lying about the  _stealing_  thing, but hoped that the degree of his sincerity about the murdering thing would make up for it.

'And a fellow towing a captive is to be taken at his word?' asked the old man, with a pointed look at Tarble's bound wrists. 'Take them out front,' he ordered the tall Namekians.

The four warrior-looking Namekians moved towards them slowly, and the three boys backed up out of the doorway.

'What do we do?' asked Brolly.

'Just what they say, for now,' muttered Krillin.

The warriors surrounded them and motioned them around the building.

'We should tell Vegeta and the others,' said Tarble stiffly.

'No,' said Krillin, before Brolly could have any thought of following through on the suggestion. Whatever was about to happen he didn't want Vegeta, Raditz or Nappa involved unless it was totally necessary, otherwise the advantage he held with this team would be lost. 'But maybe I'll let Bulma and Goku know.'

He double tapped his transponder as they came in sight of a group of grim faced Namekians of all different sizes and ages.

'Hey, Team Earth, the natives are hostile,' he whispered.

There was a pause, and then he heard Bulma reply under her breath. 'No they aren't! Just be nice and they'll be nice back. Do the three tasks and call me if you have problems with the contest of wits.'

Krillin looked around the narrowed eyes and set jaws on the audience and doubted her. 'If you say so.'

'Look, Krillin, I gotta go. I'm in the middle of something.'

* * *

Bulma wondered what the Namekians would make of her speaking to herself as she got Krillin off the line. She stood and faced Tsuno, but the Namekians seemed to be enjoying themselves (except maybe Shnek) too much to notice her muttering over the comms, and were chatting amongst themselves about Vegeta's odd behaviour and the match.

'So, do you give me the orb now?' she asked Tsuno.

'There is the final test of intention,' he replied.

She frowned in puzzlement. 'Didn't I already tell you what I wanted the dragonballs for?'

'Ah! With words,' he replied cryptically. 'But you must be tested with thought.'

Bulma's eyes widened with apprehension. 'You're going to read my  _mind?_ '

'Yes, child. That should be no problem if you were being honest about your intentions.'

Bulma had been honest about her intentions but dishonest about so many other things that she couldn't keep track. Hell, what should she do? She didn't know how to deal with mind readers. Should she just concentrate really hard on only what she wanted to use the wish for?

'How's this work?' she asked. 'Have you already done it?'

'Not yet,' said Tsuno with a smile. 'Come here and let me place my hand on you.'

She went to him, trying to only hold in her mind thoughts of her home and her family and a giant dragon overhead granting them life again. Tsuno's warm, leathery palm covered her forehead.

He chuckled. 'A fair bit of resistance here,' he said. 'Someone is not used to letting anyone into their treasure house.'

Bulma felt an odd sensation then; a gentle drawing, as of liquid into an eyedropper. Her thoughts were softly pulled along without her volition, and then they were still again.

'You tell the truth,' announced Tsuno. 'You truly wish to bring your people back to life. But from your thoughts there are a great many Earthlings. I have sad news for you.'

'What is it?' she asked. She didn't want sad news at this point, oh no, no!

'Our wish orbs can only bring one person back from death per wish.'

Bulma thought her heart would stop.

* * *

Most parts of Goku's body were hurting in some way, and he panted hard, struggling to his feet once more. Raditz was breathing hard too, but he recovered from every attack faster than Goku had, and Goku could tell he hadn't taken nearly as much damage. He was beginning to think that his ambitious plan of taking down his brother so he could look for the dragonballs alone was not going to pan out. Krillin was in control of his team and he'd heard Bulma's panicked message that she's drugged Vegeta, so he guessed she was in control of her radar too. If Goku could beat down Raditz then the Earthlings wouldn't have to fight to get dragonballs from the Saiyans at all. But that wasn't going to happen.

'You've improved a lot, Kakarott; I'm impressed,' said Raditz. 'But that's enough goofing off. Time to get back on task.'

Goku's thighs were shaking with the effort of standing up after the last half an hour of fighting. 'Sure,' he said, going along with the assumption that the fight had only been in play.

Goku hunted around for the radar – he had thrown it free of the fight at an early point – then pointed them in the direction of the ball. Walking now, they skirted some mesas and passed into the fields around the village.

'There doesn't seem to be anyone around,' said Goku, looking about. That was probably a good thing, though it did seem odd that he couldn't even sense any chi close by.

'They're probably all out in a bar or a club or something, because this place is  _boring_ ,' said Raditz, kicking a sapling out of the ground. 'Look!' he said, grabbing another young tree by its tuft and brandishing it in Goku's face. 'This is the same type of tree that is everywhere on this planet. The  _same_  type. Why would you do that? Why would any sane person farm plants that are  _already all around them!_ '

'They really like these tress?' suggested Goku absently. The ball was very close, and Goku hurried to try and keep his brother behind him so he would see it first. They came upon a mound of freshly turned earth among the rows of saplings. Goku glanced between it and the radar and knew the ball was underneath, but he unfortunately slowed down while he did so, which was enough for Raditz to guess what it was.

'Is it under there?' he said, and then didn't wait for Goku's answer before he kicked the top of the mound off with his toe. The shiny surface of something spherical was immediately revealed. 'All right!' Raditz dug his hands around it and wrenched the thing from the soil while Goku inwardly cursed his transparency.

'Hell, it's massive!' said Raditz, holding up the ball with its four twinkling stars inside. It was a little larger than a soccer ball. 'Kinda puts those Earth ones to shame.' He brushed it off and tucked it under his arm, grinning with satisfaction. Goku considered stealing it back right that second, but he was too tired. He'd have to rest before trying to overcome Raditz again. Dispirited, he looked towards the village and wondered why the dragonball had been so purposely buried in the field, and so recently too by the look of it.

'You wanna check out the village?' asked Raditz. 'I'm feeling peckish and there might be something to eat.'

* * *

The old guy walked around Brolly, Tarble and Krillin to stand before them. 'Nail, would you please come forward?'

A boy, several inches shorter than Krillin and Tarble stepped forward. He looked utterly miserable and his robes were covered in dirt and some purple stain that Krillin had a nasty suspicion was Namekian blood. The boy cast his eyes up and down the three, and Krillin shivered at the hatred he saw in the kid's eyes. But that hatred guttered and disappeared into defeat a moment later.

'Are these the people that murdered Moori's village?' the old man asked.

The boy, Nail shook his head and dissolved into sobs for a second before wiping his face and looking up with a steely expression again.

'They were not amongst them,' he said.

'We wouldn't do something like that!' said Krillin

'What about friends of yours?' asked the old man. 'Would they?'

 _Define friends,_  was Krillin's first thought, and beside him Tarble leaned forward with a moan, looking ill.

'Guys, we've got a problem,' Krillin heard Bulma say over the line, and she sounded upset.

Before he could answer her, Raditz spoke over the other line.

'Hey, did any of you guys happen to kill a village of Namekians already?'

'No!' said Bulma. 'What?'

'No,' said Krillin, with a sense of awful dread.

'Nappa?'

'Not for lack of looking,' said Nappa.

'Shit,' said Raditz. 'I'm looking at a Namekian with a hole punched through his chest. Unless there's some vicious turf war going on I think we might just have a huge problem.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So there you have it, until next time! Thanks for all your comments, everyone!
> 
> PS. I tried to work out the math problem so that Bulma could solve it. It's been a long time since high school algebra. Here are my workings. If I got it wrong, feel free to tell me so.
> 
> 2472925 motes, 2/5 go air borne, 17/18 remain air borne every breath, 14309 settle out the door
> 
> a = the number of motes on the floor inside at the end of 13 breaths
> 
> a = 2472925 - (2472925 x (2/5)) x ((17/18) to the power of 13) – 14309
> 
> a = 2472925 - (2472925 x 0.4) x (0.94444recurring, to the power of 13) – 14309
> 
> a = 2472925 – 989170 x 0.47565647336blahblah – 14309
> 
> a = 2472925 – 470505.11375 – 14309
> 
> a = 1988110.88625


	42. The Devil You Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Chapter post fail! I'm not sure what happened, but I posted this on Christmas day, but for some reason when I came back here today the chapter wasn't there. Did I somehow hit cancel instead of post? Anyway, it was meant to be a Christmas present post (like it was on the FanFiction.net site).
> 
> Thanks to Froglady15 for the super fast beta turn around that allowed me to post on Christmas day. Adli was busy moving her new baby across timezones.

'What do you mean?' asked Nappa.

Raditz rolled over the glass-eyed Namekian with his toe, and then looked around at all the other corpses. Goku was standing among them, barely containing his horror. Behind him was a house with its side shattered and smoke still wisping out of it, the interior blackened. As it turned out there were no chimneys in the village after all.

Goku couldn't tear his eyes from one huddled body in particular. It was a very young Namekian, only the size of a human two year old, eyes still wide in fear even in death, and his neck twisted unnaturally far. He felt sick. The evilness of this act was perhaps beyond anything he'd been confronted with so far.

'It means they're all dead, Nappa!' shouted Goku, before remembering that he had to touch his transponder to be heard. 'The entire village has been murdered, even the children!'

'I know,' said Krillin. 'We've been…arrested I guess. There's a kid here who witnessed it.'

'And this is the first we hear of it?' asked Nappa. 'Tarble, you need to report your situation if it changes!'

Silence.

'Ah, I don't think Tarble's transponder is working,' said Krillin after a moment. 'He can hear you, but he's kind of busy dealing with our captors.'

* * *

Half of this statement was true.

'What is happening? To whom do you speak?' the Elder demanded of the three boys.

'Our friends have found the village where your people were killed,' replied Tarble. 'But I swear, neither they nor we had anything to do with it!'

'Friends of his, or friends of _you_?' asked the Namek with a pointed look at Tarble's wrists.

'Friends of both of us!' cried Krillin, dipping into the conversation and back out again, because Nappa was still demanding to talk to Tarble.

'Give your transponder to Tarble then, Baldie. It seems very convenient that his broke and yours didn't.'

'I can't say I've never made a mistake with my inventions,' Bulma broke in. 'It's just bad luck that Tarble's isn't working.'

'Well, Krillin can un-luck it and swap with Tarble.'

Tarble stopped listening to the Elder and looked at Krillin.

'Are you going to give me your transponder?' he asked.

'Are you going to tell him that Brolly and I overthrew you, the moment I do?'

Tarble glared back at him wearing an expression more commonly seen on Vegeta.

'Tarble!' Nappa yelled. 'Why isn't he on the line yet?'

Krillin double tapped his transponder. 'Guys, what do I do? If I give Tarble his transponder he's only going to let everyone know that I'm in charge of this radar!'

'Oh, god, I can't deal with more disaster right now!' Bulma cried.

'Damn, I can't talk either,' whispered Goku.

'Can't you convince him to work for our side?' asked Puar.

'I already tried,' said Krillin. 'He's too scared of Vegeta!'

'It might not even fucking matter anyway!' moaned Bulma.

'What do you mean?' asked Krillin. Whatever was going on with Bulma she wasn't happy at all.

'I…I'll tell you later, when I've figured out if there's a way around it!'

'What?' demanded Krillin. 'Don't keep us in the dark!'

'Sweeten Tarble's deal!' Bulma said, returning abruptly to the previous issue. 'Tell him he'll be one of us. Tell him he'll be an Earthling! He can come live at my house, I'll get my parents to adopt him, he can train with Roshi, anything, just as long as he helps _us_ and not Vegeta get the wish!'

Krillin tuned back into the happenings around him.

'What trouble have you led to our people?' he old man was demanding of Brolly and Tarble.

'The trouble wasn't meant to get here yet,' said Brolly.

'Brolly!' hissed Tarble.

'I am losing my patience,' warned Nappa.

'Look, we need a minute because we're dealing with a situation right now!' hollered Krillin at both Nappa and the Namekians.

* * *

'Cheeky, little brat!' exclaimed Nappa at Krillin's sharp telling off.

Bulma still knelt where she had kind of crumpled in front of Tsuno. The old Namekian was looking down at her with concern as she followed the streams of communication. It seemed like shit was coming in from every direction and she was falling apart on the inside. She couldn't understand why Kami would have sent them all the way to Namek if the balls here could only bring one person back to life. _Are we going to have to decide which single person deserved to come back to life the most?_

'So, do you think it's possible the Namekians are on the war path?' asked Raditz.

'No!' Bulma moaned. 'I _really_ don't think it was them. I've talked to them and I just don't think that they would do something like that.'

'Well, that doesn't leave many other possibilities,' said Raditz. 'Either some other party has randomly dropped in to kill some Nameks, or it's the PTO.'

'How could it be either?' Bulma replied. 'I thought you scanned the planet!'

'Yes! I did!' Raditz defended himself. 'But if they were somehow already here…I mean, the scanner only looks for energy signals from fusion drives. If they'd already landed and turned their engines off…'

'But Vegeta said the PTO wouldn't get here for another four days at least!' _There must be some way around this problem, something I didn't know already…_

'Well…'

There was an odd pause where Vegeta's voice should have chimed in.

'Vegeta?' prompted Nappa. 'What the hell do we do now?'

 _Fuck._ 'I think his transponder must be broken too,' said Bulma.

' _Bullshit_ ,' said Nappa. 'What the hell have you done?'

'Only created some faulty electronics!'

' _One_ faulty transponder I could believe. Right, that does it!' Nappa shouted. 'I am going to wherever you are, and if Vegeta has come to any harm at all it'll be the fucking end of you, Princess!'

* * *

The old Namekian and his people looked outraged by Krillin shouting at him to give them a minute, but Krillin ignored it and the voices still jabbering over the comms, and rounded on Tarble, grabbing him by the shoulders.

'Please, please Tarble, you know what I'm going to ask you!'

Tarble looked stricken. 'You're asking me to risk Vegeta _killing_ me! I'm sorry for Earth, but they're your people not mine!'

'They could be your people though!' said Krillin. 'Brolly too! You could both come and live on Earth as Earthlings! Bulma says you can live with her family – they're super rich, so it'd be amazing! Live in her house, go to school, study with my own martial arts master – you'd be one of us! Mine and Goku's friend, Bulma's brother!'

Tarble looked shocked. 'Really? She would want that?'

'Of course! Bulma really likes you.'

Tarble looked into the distance, his brow furrowed, and then he turned back to Krillin looking even more baleful than before. 'You can promise me anything you like, but I'll never get to be an Earthling if Vegeta kills me for betraying him.'

'Come on!' said Krillin. 'I don't think Vegeta will really go as far as killing you - I mean, he hasn't yet and he's threatened it before, right? And you're his brother, or half-brother or cousin or something, aren't you? Besides, he won't get a chance; Bulma knocked him out cold!'

'What?'

'Yeah! She drugged him. He's out of the game.'

Tarble's jaw sagged open.

'How did she do that?'

'Ah, I dunno, actually,' said Krillin. 'But he's down for the count.'

Tarble looked quickly around at the faces of the angry Namekians and then back to Krillin. 'Okay! I'll be an Earthling,' he said. 'I want to be one of you.'

'All right!' yelled Krillin. 'What about you, Brolly? Are you going to be one of us?'

'Kind of,' said Brolly. 'Bulma said we would rule the Earth together as it's King and Queen.'

Krillin immediately wished he hadn't asked and chuckled like it was a joke. Tarble looked wary again, and Krillin quickly leaned in to whisper in his ear.

'Look, I have no idea what Bulma promised to Brolly, but he has a screw loose – you know that. She might have lied to him, but she's not lying to you, and neither am I. _I_ want you to come back to Earth with us. And I'm pretty sure Bulma doesn't want to be the queen of Earth.'

He stood up and Tarble nodded in understanding, although he didn't look as happy now.

'Are we good?'

'We're good.'

'Brolly, put his transponder back on, please.'

The taller boy produced the band of the transponder from his training suit pocket and closed it clumsily around Tarble's neck.

'Nappa, this is Tarble,' he spoke immediately. 'We're talking to some natives right now about the attack on the other village.'

'Finally,' said Nappa. 'At least I won't have to track down both you and Vegeta.'

'What?' asked Tarble. 'What do you mean?'

'Have you not been listening?' said Nappa. 'Bulma, give Vegeta your transponder.'

'No,' was Bulma's defiant reply.

'And there it is. What _the fuck_ have you done with the prince?'

Krillin felt fear shoot through him on Bulma's account.

'Bulma?' asked Nappa again.

No reply.

'I'm gonna kill her!'

'But how will you even find her?' asked Raditz, sounding shocked.

Nappa growled. 'Fuck, I don't know. She'll have to come back to the ship at some point if she wants to get off the gods-forsaken planet.'

'And in the meantime, what do we do?'

Nappa growled. 'Keep looking for more dragon-sucking-balls of course! And keep your eyes open for whoever killed the Nameks! Tarble, keep your shit together – don't let Krillin so much as fart without asking permission.'

* * *

Goku was cross-eyed from listening to the storm of communications flying around. When Nappa finally shut up he closed his eyes to think. Tarble was on their side now – yes! And Bulma and Puar were winning on their end. All Goku needed was an opportunity to lose Raditz and keep their ball to make it a clean sweep for Team Earth.

When he opened his eyes again, Raditz was turning bodies over and checking their clothes – handling them with all the respect of rotting logs on the forest floor. The fact that Raditz was so casual about the dead bodies reminded him that not so long ago his brother was the one committing such atrocities. He didn't hate Raditz; in fact he kind of liked him at times... It made him wonder if his brother was still evil enough to follow and order to kill babies. He'd like to think not, but...

'Don't,' he told Raditz, barely keeping hold of his anger. 'We should bury them, not rifle their pockets!'

'I'm looking for clues, moron,' replied Raditz, and then bent and scooped up a handful of cracked plastic and wires. 'Oh, fuck me to the Southern Galaxy! Clues like this!' he said, looking at the red, shattered eyepiece. Then he spoke over the line. 'Guys it was definitely the PTO. I just found a broken scouter.'

'Well, that's just brilliant,' groaned Nappa.

 _They were here, looking for a dragonball_ , realised Goku. _Someone hid it from them in the fields._

'If Frieza and his men are on the planet, we've got to abort,' declared Nappa. 'Raditz, Tarble, pull your teams back to the ship. Vegeta, if you can hear me, return to the ship. If he can't hear me, once you lot are back at the ship I'm going out to find him, and if I find either of those chits along the way it's going to end badly for them.'

Goku looked up at Raditz, who, though he looked worried, didn't look convinced. 'Right away though? We could check out the next ball first,' Raditz suggested. 'We've got one ball, who's to say that Frieza has any yet? And we can hide our power levels now.'

'Think about what you're talking of going up against!' admonished Nappa. 'Yes, we're packing it in, that's an order. But good point; everyone, lower your power levels.'

'Coming,' replied Tarble.

'Coming too,' said Raditz.

Raditz lowered his hand from his transponder. 'That's that then,' he said to Goku.

'You know, you don't have to do what Nappa says,' said Goku. His eyes were locked to the giant dragonball as Raditz took it out from under his arm to stare into the frozen red sparkles in its depths.

'Yeah, I do. Plus he's right. There are, like, _hundreds_ of goons on board that big ship of Frieza's. Someone like Vegeta probably only has to worry about a few of them, but someone like me,' he chuckled a little grimly and tossed the ball into the air. 'I'm pretty badass in the scope of things, but I have a bit more to worry about. I'm all up for a fight, but I don't want to fight to the death for someone else's dream of living forever.' He caught the ball and tossed it in the air again.

'Living forever?' repeated Goku, picking up on the one thing in the sentence that he hadn't expected.

Raditz flinched, almost fumbling the catch. 'Well, Vegeta says that's probably what Frieza wants to wish for, and Vegeta knows him pretty well, so he's probably right.'

'That's what Vegeta wants too, isn't it?' asked Goku, correctly divining the true meaning of what Raditz had said.

'That's not what I said.'

'You didn't need to – it's true,' Goku insisted. Frieza wanted Vegeta dead and Vegeta very much didn't want to be dead, so being immortal would prevent that. Plus any battle that Vegeta had with Frieza would only make him stronger – he would have unlimited time to increase his strength and improve his skills through a cycle of battle, pain and healing. It didn't help anyone else out in the short term though. 'It kinda makes sense, but it's also kind of insane,' he said aloud.

'Well, it wouldn't be my first wish, but I can see the appeal,' said Raditz, tucking the ball away again. 'Let's head back to the pod.'

'Maybe you should leave the ball here if we're not collecting them anymore?'

'And leave it behind for Frieza to find? Are you crazy? Although it'd be interesting if Vegeta got _his_ wish, I am _terrified_ by the idea of an immortal Frieza.'

Raditz began walking away in the direction of the pod, forcing Goku to follow. 'Besides,' the older Saiyan called back at him. 'Who knows what Vegeta is going to want when he shows up?'

* * *

Krillin looked at Tarble.

'We're not going back to the ship, right?' he asked the Saiyan, making sure Tarble had been lying, because Tarble looked like he didn't know what he wanted to do.

'If we don't go back to the ship soon, Nappa's going to know pretty fast that's something is up.'

'But if we go back to the ship and give up dragonball hunting, I think we'll be kissing the people of Earth goodbye forever.' Oh, it came off the lips so easily! Krillin didn't think it should be this easy to talk of Earth's fate so lightly. _When this is all over, I think I'm going to lie down and have a nice, long nervous breakdown._

Tarble looked into his eyes, fear and hope warring within him. 'What are Bulma's parents like?' he asked, surprising Krillin.

'They're great,' said Krillin. 'Bulma's mom is really kind, and she's always happy whenever I go round. She cooks amazing food, and she loves making treats and taking people shopping. Her dad is super smart. He's usually really busy, but he never minds when Bulma has friends over either. I think they like having lots of kids in the house because Bulma is an only child. Neither of them are strict. Like, _at all_.'

Tarble smiled, bitter-sweetly. 'They do sound great. Do you think they'd like me?'

'Absolutely!' which was the honest truth.

Tarble's smile became a grin at the same time unshed tears brimmed his eyes. 'Vegeta's never going to accept me anyway,' he said. 'Even if I do everything he wants, he's just going to keep me banished to the fringes… If I want to get out of this… If _we_ want to get out of this, we need to keep going and save the people of Earth.'

Krillin grinned, and then unable to express his relief any better grabbed Tarble into a hug and patted his rigid shoulders.

'Good man.' He stepped back and Tarble raised his bound wrists. 'Oh, of course,' said Krillin, starting to untie him. 'Hey, Brolly, you still game?'

'Sure. I see no reason to stop yet.'

Krillin finished unwinding the messy knots in the cable and spooled it into a neat bundle to go in his pocket. At last he turned his attention back to the Namekians. He had been able to feel their bristling stares while they talked. Now he noticed that most of them, except for their four, hulking captors, were sitting.

'Are you quite done with your little internal drama?' asked the oldest one. He was irritated, but at the same time seemed a little less hostile than earlier.

'Yes, sir.'

'Then sit.'

* * *

Nappa formed a fistful of chi and lobbed it at an islet below, his roar of temper drowned out by the sound of rock exploding and then falling into the sea.

No one fucking listened to him! He was the first mate on a ship of fools, and the Captain was the biggest fool of all. What had that girl done to him? He felt deeply uneasy; a horrible cold feeling on his stomach. She couldn't have killed him, could she? No. Vegeta was the strongest Saiyan there ever was, there was no way…No, she'd probably just given him the slip and disabled his communication devices. Still, he didn't like it. Vegeta was out there, somewhere, and so was Frieza.

This whole exercise had been just another dangerous waste of time, and now that it was slipping away, Nappa couldn't believe he'd started to think it would work out!

He threw another ball of chi into the vortex made by the first and watched the sea belch on it.

So be it!

Why should he have expected anything else? Since when did they catch a break?

 _Nappa_ would be there to pick up the pieces of Vegeta's broken dreams now that the girl and Frieza had smashed them down. The young prince would have learnt his lesson about women the hard way. He was going to make her pay for that, if Vegeta didn't insist on doing the honours first.

As the sound of the explosions continued to reverberate over the sea, Nappa realised that he shouldn't have spiked his power like that. He's just finished telling the rest of them to lower their power. _Damn_. _Too late now._

He turned back the way he'd come and throttled his chi so that it was just high enough to fly at a moderate pace. He wasn't that far from the ship anyway. Within a few minutes it was in sight. He touched down in the space before the ramp way, and only then did he sense something amiss. _Whoopsie._

A couple of stinging blasts hit him in the back and he spun on the spot. Two soldiers stood up from where they'd been lounging near the campfire Nappa had started to build. Nappa didn't hesitate for a moment, and he didn't even need to check his chi sense to know that these guys were PTO minnows; they both wore blasters on their wrists that amplified and actuated their own puny chi. Using the momentum of his spin he launched what was at hand – some dead chicken-lizards - at the both of them, hitting each solidly in the torso and bowling them over. Then he followed with up with a fist to the throat of each, but swiftly, because he could feel another, larger chi still behind him, and the moment he was done he turned to see if it would emerge.

A figure stepped onto the ramp way from inside the ship. Nappa tensed, waiting, but the yellow skinned legs that he saw first were not Dodoria, or Zarbon's like he'd feared, though if he'd trusted his chi sense more he would've known that.

'Mangosteen?' he said, as the fellow's face came into view. The man was covered in very short, yellow fur, except on his head and face where it was long and tawny. He looked fairly ferocious; heavy muscles rippling with every movement under his velvet coat, but Nappa knew this guy well, and though he was pretty impressive compared to the majority of the PTO forces, he wouldn't even give Raditz a run for his money.

'Nappa. So it was you?' replied the soldier. He stepped off the ramp way, arms held up in a sign of truce. 'Long time, no see.'

'Wonder why that is?' said Nappa. 'What've you been doing on our ship?'

'Just looking around, following orders, you know how it is.'

'I know how it is.'

Mangosteen indicated his scouter. 'I didn't think it could be you. Your power level has taken quite a tumble.'

'Don't believe everything you read,' warned Nappa. 'So, what're your orders then? Attack me? Slink away?'

'Oh, I don't know,' said Mangosteen, chuckling like this was no big deal, although the sound was hollow with resignation. 'You know, there was a time that I never would've believed that we'd be facing off on opposite sides of a fight.'

''Cept in training.'

'Or a drinking game,' said Mangosteen, and Nappa grinned.

'Those were good times,' he admitted. He'd spent many evenings with Mangosteen and a few other similarly ranked guys back on Frieza Planet 79 during those early years when Raditz and Vegeta were both too young to provide any satisfying company.

Mangosteen grinned in reply. 'They were. You know, lately I've been thinking a lot about how you ever came to be involved in an assassination attempt on Lord Frieza. I didn't think you were the type to be so rebellious and stupid.'

Nappa folded his arms, put on the defensive. 'Well, you thought wrong.' The truth was, he had counselled Vegeta against such a rash move. Nappa hated what Zarbon had revealed too, but when they'd taken the black hole generator off that ship of rebels he'd thought the risk in deploying it against Frieza was too great. And he'd been right. His prince had asked for his faith and loyalty, and he had given it…at considerable cost to himself.

Mangosteen lowered his arms. 'You know, I think that if it wasn't for that stone-cold kid of yours, you'd never have been involved in something like that.'

'He's the prince of my people, not my _kid_ ,' growled Nappa, slightly offended by the idea.

'Yeah, I know. It's him that Frieza really wants; he doesn't really care about you or Raditz.'

Nappa sighed, letting his chi flow out into his body again, ready for action. 'No doubt he doesn't, but I'm sure he'd gladly rip the two of us to pieces if we came within cooey of the bastard. He's not known for his understanding nature.'

'That's true, he's not,' said Mangosteen. 'But Zarbon did instruct me to tell you that if I saw you or Raditz, that I could extend a deal to you.'

'What?'

Mangosteen smiled. 'Turn Vegeta in, and your surrender will be met with open arms.'

'Ha!' said Nappa, more from disbelief that amusement.

'He's serious.'

'I wouldn't trust that pastel-painted pansy as far as I could fuck him,' said Nappa.

Mangosteen shrugged. 'He said the deal was approved by Frieza. Either turn in Vegeta alive, or provide information that leads directly to his capture and you will be reinstated to the PTO with a promotion and a substantial addition to your pension fund.'

'Unbelievable!'

'I'd urge you to take the deal, Nappa.'

'Course you would. Because you know what's going to happen when I say that I'm sticking by Vegeta no matter what hare-brained decisions he's made.'

Mangosteen tensed. He knew all right. 'You might once have had the firepower to threaten me, but that reading I just got off you says you've fallen off your perch. Take the deal Nappa, or I'm going to have to carry out the rest of my orders.'

Nappa sighed. 'We had some good laughs once, Mango, which makes me feel a small amount of regret for what I do now.'

Mangosteen reacted before Nappa had even finished speaking, leaping into the air to buy time while he gathered his chi, then launched it at Nappa. Nappa watched all this happen in a fraction of a second, but it was not a patch on the speed of attack he was used to facing from Vegeta. He took a low stance, deflecting the chi attack with one of his own, and as Mangosteen fell earthwards again, his face surprised as his own attack careened past him, Nappa swung his other fist, charged with chi, and smashed it into the other soldier's thorax.

He landed, staggering in front of Nappa, looking down, trying to gasp for air, but it wasn't going to happen. His ribs were concaved. He looked up at Nappa again in astonishment, before falling to his knees.

'I did tell you not to believe everything you read,' said Nappa.

Mangosteen toppled over, dead.

Well, if he hadn't already been in a shitty mood that would have done it. Nappa stepped over the body and went to see what, if anything, this corpse had done to the ship. He hadn't gone more than a step before he saw the, still slightly smoking, scorch mark on the top side of the hull above the ramp.

'Gods damn it!' His deflection of Mangosteen's energy attack must've clipped the ship! He floated up for a closer look. It was blackened and the solar panel surface was missing in a streak about as wide and as long as his thumb, but didn't look too bad. 'Better not be too bad,' he said. He'd be fucking livid if he needed to keep the girl alive just to get the ship out of orbit. Then he groaned. They were going to have to do that anyway – he'd forgotten her underhanded insurance policy.

Turning back to Mangosteen he wondered what he should do with his body.

Nothing, he decided.

Except for one thing. He strode over and liberated the man's scouter before clipping it to his own head. May as well keep an ear on the enemy while they were all on the same planet together.

* * *

'Bulma Briefs, are you alright, child?' asked Tsuno, for what was probably the third time, though she hadn't been listening.

Bulma was on her knees before him still, clutching her heart, feeling like she might hurl. She, _they_ , were in such _deep shit_ , and the Namekians needed to know. She was on the verge of opening her mouth to tell them about the dead villagers and the possibility that Frieza was _here_ on Namek, but as she imagined their reactions she stopped herself short. Telling them might cause them to change their minds about the dragonball, which she still needed… She couldn't risk telling them yet! She looked into Tsuno's eyes and felt her soul shrink away from the thought of just letting his village sit in ignorance of the danger. _One village is not worth one planet's worth of people_ , she told herself, _I can't be swayed. I will tell them later if I can._ She clenched her fists in her lap and replied to Tsuno's question.

'Not really. My friends are kind of in a bit of trouble.'

'You can talk with them over long distances?'

'Yes,' she said, vaguely indicting her ear and neck. 'But it's technology, not any kind of hudu mind reading like you can do.'

'Hudu?' repeated Tsuno, and then he narrowed his eyes a little. 'It seems as if you haven't been entirely honest with us.'

Bulma looked up and then looked around. In the midst of her upset, the mood amongst the villagers had shifted from happiness to quiet suspicion. 'The full story would've been a long one,' she tried.

'Here on Planet Namek, we like full and long stories. Tell me, how many friends do you have here?'

'Nine,' she said. 'Though, to be accurate, not all of them are "friends".'

'Like this Doritoni, here?' he said with a nod at the prone form.

'He's _kind of_ a friend.' _Until he wakes up._

'You also called him Vegeta, and Vegeta was the name of the person who you _don't_ think should get his wish. He wishes for something other than you do. Have you been treacherous to your friend?'

 _Yes_. 'No, it's not really like that! But I really need to get my wish more than he needs his! You said yourself that my wish was a true and noble one.'

'What is his wish?'

Bulma looked over at him. 'To be honest, I don't know. All I know is that he really wants to defeat Lord Frieza, the one who killed both my people and his.'

'That sounds like a fairly worthy reason too. What is wrong with you using one wish and he using one of the others?'

'What others?' said Bulma, turning back in surprise.

'The other two wishes. The great Porunga grants three wishes when he is summoned.'

' _Three_ wishes?' she cried. This changed things!

'You weren't expecting that?'

'Shenron, the dragon of Earth's dragonballs, only grants _one_ wish!'

'Hmm!' grunted Tsuno is surprise. 'Well, each dragon is the reflection of the creator's powers. The limitations of each reflect the limitations of the creator.'

'What are the limitations of your dragonballs?' she demanded, feeling breathless with the desperation to know.

'The dragon must sleep for at least a year between summonings. Each wish can only be used to bring one soul back from death, and that the power of the wish cannot not exceed the power of the creator.'

Bulma leapt to her feet, startling some of the Namekians. 'Is that all?' she cried.

'Yes,' said Tsuno, leaning away from her.

'Nothing about having only a year to revive a person from death? Or you can't make the same wish twice?'

'No.'

'I've been sitting here wondering why Kami would've sent us all the way out here to make a wish on a set of balls that couldn't deliver, but now I realise he just didn't know!' she said in horror. 'It must've been that the Earth balls could revive everyone at once, but these ones can't.'

'Then I'd say that while your Earth wish orbs are limited in many ways, they are powerful in others. Perhaps it is those orbs you should be using to revive your people?'

'I can't!' she wailed. 'Kami is de-' _Oh, wait a second_. 'Oh, yes!' she screamed, leaping to her feet in sudden joy. 'Of course! I can just wish Kami back to life using your wish orbs, and Kami's dragonballs will come back too! That is perfect!'

The Namekians regarded her with nervous, second-hand happiness. Bulma quickly double tapped her transponder to reveal the news to the other Earthlings.

'Change of plan, guys! The dragonballs here give _three_ wishes! We can only wish one person back to life though, so we're going to wish Kami back to life. Then he can use the Earth's dragonballs to bring everyone else back! Yes!'

She got no reply at that moment, but that was not unexpected, although, Puar was being suspiciously silent again. Tsuno was regarding her with a very supressed happiness.

'What of your friend Vegeta?' he asked her.

'That's fine. He can have a wish too,' she said. 'And then maybe I can use the last wish to get us home again.' She grinned, then laughed. This was going to be so much easier than she had been dreading! Oh, except for Frieza. And Nappa. _Your chickens are a long way from hatched_ , she reminded herself. She sobered herself and faced Tsuno again.

'Is it okay, sir, if I take the dragonball now?' she asked meekly.

He gave her a long look. 'You are far from pure-hearted,' he said, and Bulma withered under the accusation. Yes, she kind of knew that, but she really needed the dragonball… 'But it seems like you are the vehicle of your people's salvation, so I will grant you the orb for their sake.'

Bulma breathed out in relief. 'Thank you, Tsuno! Thank you! Where is it?'

Tsuno stood up from his chair. 'Follow me to the resting house.'

Bulma followed him back into the small cluster of buildings. Some of the Namekians trailed them and Caraco was right behind her, obviously curious as to what the stranger would do or say next.

Tsuno pushed open the door of the central house and then stopped.

'What?' he said loudly, then stepped into the room, walking around the perimeter quickly. There was nothing in the room besides an empty plinth. 'The orb! Where is it?'

'It's gone?' cried Bulma.

Tsuno rushed past her and out the door again to face his fellow villagers. 'Has someone moved the wish orb?'

The villagers replied in the negative and Bulma thought she would scream.

'It was here earlier today!' said Tsuno, aghast.

'I'll find it,' said Bulma, already hauling the radar out of the front pocket of her capsule kitbag and turning it on.

 _Seven star dragonball…scanning_ , it said.

Impatiently she waited.

_Scanning…_

_Scanning…_

_Scanning…_

_Seven star dragonball not in range._

'But that's not possible!' she shouted. 'The range on this thing should be more than the circumference of the whole planet!' Therefore it was either in space, or it was now in a seriously shielded container. Either way, how was she supposed to find it now?

That's when she heard Raditz's announcement.

'Guys it was definitely the PTO. I just found a broken scouter.'

_Did the PTO have it already?_

'Well, that's just brilliant,' she heard Nappa reply.

_Who else could it have been?_

'If Frieza and his men are on the planet, we've got to abort. Raditz, Tarble, pull your teams back to the ship. Vegeta, if you can hear me, return to the ship. If he can't hear me, once you lot are back at the ship I'm going out to find him, and if I find either of those chits along the way it's going to end badly for them.'

_And Nappa was going to kill her too._

'Oh crap, oh crap,' she whispered to herself.

'Bulma, what's wrong?' asked Caraco, pressing closer to her so he could be heard over the sound of Tsuno and the other villagers discussion the possible meaning of the missing orb. She decided that there was now nothing to lose if the ball was gone.

'Frieza, the one who killed all the Earthlings is here on this planet,' she said, and Caraco leapt backwards as if she'd just offered him a scorpion.

'Elder Tsuno!' he cried. 'Bulma says the evil one called Freiza is here on our planet!'

'I just heard' she said, as all the Nameks turned on her, silenced instantly by shock. 'My friends have come across a village whose inhabitants have all been killed, and they found equipment that Frieza and his men use.'

'Ah!' uttered Tsuno, along with most of the village. 'Who? Who's village?'

Bulma shook her head. 'I don't know.'

'Why has he come?'

'Because he knows about the dragonballs too!'

The panic on all their faces just made Bulma's peak that much more. For a moment her knees threatened to buckle.

'We must fight him!' said Shnek. 'I will take Halazun and Limax to find this evil person while you take the others and hide.'

'You won't be able to defeat him,' Bulma warned. 'That guy with me, Vegeta, he said he would be able to easily beat your whole village at once if it came to that – he's a lot stronger than you – and even he is powerless against Frieza.'

'Then you have lead death itself to our people!' said Tsuno with the passion of despair.

'I'm sorry, but he would have come anyway,' said Bulma, sharing the anguish of the Nameks. 'He heard about the dragon balls on Earth, and after that it was inevitable.' She wondered if it was possible that someone from the PTO had snuck the ball away while they'd been talking. That didn't seem their style, but maybe. Maybe Frieza had at least one ball in his clutches already!

'Look, I've got to go!' she said over the top of the Namekian's collective despair. 'If they're here, finding the draongballs is even more essential! We can't let him get _his_ wish!'

'And what would he wish for?' asked Tsuno.

'Immortality, so that he can rule the Galaxy forever.'

She pushed her way back between the villagers to the yard and went to check Vegeta. She patted his cheek, but he didn't stir at all. For a minute she just knelt there at his side, weighing up the options. She was utterly powerless against any of the PTO soldiers. Vegeta's power would be useful to have, but she didn't have time for him to wait to come around. She could sling him over her hoverbike saddle maybe, then store him in the pod until he woke up, but when he did… She wanted to be nowhere near him when he woke up. She might be able to deflect his temper with the more pressing threat of Frieza and the revelation that they could both get their wishes _if_ they worked together and managed to gather the balls, but unless she had some time and distance to explain that, she might not get the chance.

'Is it okay if I leave him here for now?' she asked Caraco, who had joined her again.

'I'm sure it's fine,' he said.

She started rooting out her hoverbike capsule. 'When he wakes up, can you tell him about Frieza? Tell him that we can both have our wishes if we can just stop Frieza!'

She popped the capsule on the ground next to them, then flung herself onto the saddle.

'I almost forgot!' she said, looking back over her shoulder at Caraco. 'Frieza's men have a way of finding high power levels! They'll probably be able to find your village that way, so warn the others!'

Caraco let loose a yelp at this news, but Bulma didn't wait for any further questions. She turned the key and yanked on the accelerator, making the engine roar before she let go of the brake. The hoverbike lurched into the air, causing another round of exclamations behind her. Oh, bless her second-fastest hoverbike!

_Don't let me down baby, and I'll trick you out to be the fastest ever hoverbike as soon as I get the chance!_

She turned back to the valley, then retraced their steps at top speed, ten metres above the tree tops. When she got to the river that marked the end of the valley she struck out across the range they had come over, looking for the hilltop where Vegeta had landed the pod. She looked, and kept looking, and flew a lot further than she thought she needed to go before turning the bike around. Had she missed it somehow? She did a second sweep, slower, and this time she recognised landmarks from their way in. About here… No, exactly here! This hilltop was where the pod should be but wasn't.

Heart racing, she set the hoverbike down. There was still a dent in the moss where the pod had sat.

There were two possibilities, and one of them made her very angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yeah, I know I can't fool all of you, so a lot will already have guessed which possibility is pissing Bulma off right now. And many of you correctly guessed it was Frieza/the PTO after the last chapter. Well, of course!
> 
> Hey, here's a question for those of you following on Archive of Our Own - is there a way to have alerts sent to you on this site when a story is updated? I bookmarked a couple stories on here, but they've not been updated yet. I don't really follow stories on this site. I'm just wondering if people get alerted at all when their bookmarked stories are updated.


	43. Surprise!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi guys! It's been a little while - 45 days to be exact. It seems some of you were getting a little anxious. I thought I had left an author's note on the last chapter explaining how it might be quite a while between chapters for now, but I hadn't. I've been thrown on a really intensive project at work - not much time for anything fun - and I'll be on it until March. Even then, I'm not sure how March will go. I'll be on holiday all of March, alternating between chilling out and high adventure, so maybe I'll get to it a lot, and maybe I'll be too exhausted. I'm also trying to knock the rest of this section out before posting again so that I don't stitch myself up by posting an event in a chapter and then realising it won't work with later events.
> 
> Thanks for all your reviews and comments and PMs!  I swear I appreciate them, and I'm sorry if I ever don't reply to one.  I do try.
> 
> Also, this marks the return of Adli from fan-fiction beta-reading maternity leave! I can't believe she's still holding my hand on this story after all this time. Writer loves Beta!
> 
> Now back to the story. Last time on Never Ever Land Raditz and Goku were kicking about a village of dead Namekians discovering that Frieza's crew are already on Namek; Nappa had his loyalty tested; Bulma found the dragonball she was after was gone and that she was stranded; and Krillin, Tarble and Brolly are being detained by some really upset Namekians.

Tarble, Krillin and Brolly sat cross legged before the village Elder, having just told him the short version of who they were, how they came to be there, and how Frieza was bad news for everyone. Krillin had also shared Bulma's news about the Namekian dragonballs giving three wishes instead of just one, which the Elder had confirmed. He'd lightened up on them a little more when Krillin told him that Bulma had passed the three trials to receive the wish orb. This Elder's name was Woniu, and this was his village. Nail was the only survivor from Moori's village, and he had fled here after he'd escaped the carnage there.

The little Namek boy bowed his head as he recounted his tale.

'I think this Frieza was the one who was giving the orders when he came into our village. He was small and ugly, part pink and part white and part purple, and his chi was overwhelming. It made me feel sick just to be near it. He had a handful of others with him too. Moori sent me back to the resting house to guard the wish orb when they got nearer because he thought they seemed dangerous, but I watched from the doorway. When Frieza asked about the wish orbs, Moori told him that the wish orbs are not just handed over, and that he must submit to the three trials. Frieza said he would humour him. He got the right answer to the test of intelligence in moments. Then when it came to the test of strength he…he killed Goongah, just like that!'

Nail demonstrated, flinging a fist out straight before him. 'Goongah didn't even have a chance to raise his guard and this guy…put his fist…through-' The boy was having trouble talking through the pain of recollection.

'That sounds like Frieza all right,' said Krillin unhappily.

'That's when I went into the house and took the orb. I didn't care if I would get in trouble, but I knew that these men would not be wishing for anything good. They wouldn't have passed the test of intention, but I'm sure they would have taken it anyway. I took the orb out the window and into the field of the tallest Ajisa saplings to hide my going. After I'd gone a distance from the village, I buried the orb, but that's when I heard the shouting. I turned back, and my entire village was fighting those men, and falling! I started back, but it was over in a few seconds and Frieza and his men were flying away. I was going to go after them – I was in a mad rage at what they had done to my village! But a hand on my foot stopped me. It was Moori.'

Here the boy broke down completely for a minute. Tarble was biting his lip not to cry in sympathy. His own feelings were far too raw and close to the surface to suffer this testimony untouched. He couldn't believe he was betraying Vegeta. He'd heard the expression "to be beside oneself" before, but now he knew what it really meant – from the moment before he'd told Krillin he would be an Earthling until a couple of minutes ago he felt like he was outside and above his body, looking down, watching it do things while he controlled it remotely. He'd only just managed to find himself back inside his body as he listened to the story of the boy whose life was currently going even worse than his own. He looked left to Krillin and saw the human was struggling with vicarious grief even more than he was. Then he looked right and saw Brolly's quizzical, interested but completely unfazed expression.

'Moori wasn't dead, or not yet, anyway,' Nail finally choked out. 'He said, "Don't waste yourself. Tell the others," I could barely tell what he said because of all the...blood. But I went. I left him!'

'You did the right thing, Nail,' said Woniu. 'Moori was right, it would have been a waste of your life to go after those evil beings, and there was nothing more you could do for our Brother.' Woniu looked down at the ground then, also struggling with grief over his brother's death. Tarble felt partly to blame that yet again the Saiyans had flown in to a planet bringing doom on their wings. The deep unease he still felt started to grow.

'What is left now is the question of what to do next?' Woniu said, beginning to pace inside the circle of gathered Namekians. 'Scouters! These things will track us. Frieza and his men are obviously too much for us to take on.'

'Perhaps we should take the wish orb to Guru?' suggested one of the tall Namekians. 'We may need to use the wishes to protect ourselves, and this is where the other villages will send their balls. And Ngata is there.'

'You are right,' said Woniu. 'And Ngata would be able to defend the balls from Frieza, if anyone could.'

Tarble looked at Krillin who gave him an identical look of anxiety in return. If the Namekians used all the wishes to defend themselves, then they might not get a wish.

Woniu approached the Namekian who had spoken. 'Would you be willing, Melk, to warn the other villages?'

'Of course, Elder Woniu!' said the warrior.

'Then you shall go. Who will take our wish orb to the Grand Elder?' he asked, looking around.

'I will!' said Nail, surprising everyone.

Tarble turned back and the boy was on his feet, standing strong even though there were still wet tears on his face.

'But you've already faced far too much for a poor, young sprout!' exclaimed Woniu.

'I don't care!' said Nail. 'It was my village they killed! I want to do everything I can. Besides, no one else knows where I buried our wish orb. You'll need that too, to make any wish.'

'Do you even know the way to Guru's?' asked another of the tall Namekians.

'I bet I know it better than you,' said Nail. 'I've been going there for training under Master Ngata for years. He says I am to be his successor.'

This raised some eyebrows. Tarble deducted that this Ngata was a very respected warrior.

Woniu looked Nail up and down. 'Interesting. But it's still too dangerous for a small child, no matter how skilled you are at this early age. I will send Kresoon to fetch your village's wish orb and continue onto Guru's. You hid it in the field of tall saplings close to the houses, yes? I'm sure he will find it.'

Nail's face showed he was aghast, but replied meekly. 'As you see fit, Elder.'

'Erm,' said Krillin.

'Yes?'

'We're kind of on a timeframe here, with wishing Earth's people back to life. We've only got one year from when they died to do it.'

'I'm sorry, but the wish orbs can only bring back one person at a time anyway,' said Woniu gravely. 'I'm not sure what a year has to do with it.'

'We only need one wish – to bring the Namek called Kami back to life,' said Krillin. 'Then he can use the dragonballs he created to wish all of Earth back to life. But Earth's dragonballs can only be used to bring back people who have been dead less than a year.'

'Then I can see your concern,' said Woniu. 'Perhaps you should also go with Kresoon to Grand Elder Guru's. He will know how best to spend the wishes and if one can be spared for the Earthlings.'

Tarble felt like he was coming apart at the seams with anxiety. He didn't want to turn his coat for just a _spare chance_ that there'd be an Earth to go to! Things were looking bad enough as it was!

Just then one of the big Namekians stepped forward, interrupting.

'Do you feel that?' he said loudly.

Tarble looked around, wondering what he was talking about, and then he felt it, this uneasiness that had been growing was not distress, but black, oily chi, like he'd only ever felt once before - when Frieza's ship had come close to theirs over Earth.

'That's him!' he said. 'That's Frieza – he's on his way!'

The entire village was immediately on its toes.

'Do not panic!' said Woniu. 'But we must act fast. Melk, away with you to warn Tsuno. Kresoon, take the outsiders to fetch Nail's village's orb and take it to Guru. The rest of you, we will hide in the rocks along the bay. Remember, keep your life force as hidden as possible!'

The Namekians scattered, but one of the bulkier, tough looking ones, Kresoon, presumably, reappeared with the dragonball under one arm and rushed towards them. Nail had stayed where he was too, looking at a loss for what to do.

'Can you keep up? I'll be going fast,' Kresoon said.

'We've got a space pod,' replied Tarble. 'I'm sure it's even faster than you are.' That said he dug for the remote in his pocket and pressed the homing button.

'We'll see,' said Kresoon and pointed across the nearby fields and the bay. 'Moori's village is that direction, about five hours hard flying. Catch me up, all right?'

'All right,' replied Tarble.

The big Namek ran in the direction he had pointed and then jumped into the air, taking off with a brutal burst of speed. In the next moment the space pod cleared the houses and settled obediently before Tarble and the others. The last couple of Namekians still gathering things from the houses yelped and ran, all except for Nail.

'This is your space pod?' he asked, his eyes round with stress.

'Yep,' replied Krillin as Brolly opened the door and piled in. Krillin followed, and as Tarble went to jimmy himself in he felt a small hand grasp him by the arm.

'Wait!' said Nail. 'Can you take me?'

'What?' said Tarble. 'No, we don't really have the room.'

'Please!' said Nail.

'Why would you want to, little buddy?' asked Krillin. 'Even I don't really want to go!'

'I want vengeance for my village! And I want to make sure that no one else is killed like they were!'

'But your Elder told you to stay here,' pointed out Tarble.

'He's not _my_ Elder! I need to go to Ngata and Guru if Moori is dead. Even if you don't take me with you, I'm going anyway.' Without warning he burst into tears again. 'Please!'

'There could be fighting,' said Tarble.

'I can fight, don't worry about that!' said Nail.

Tarble eyed the space that was already mostly full of Brolly and Krillin.

'He could probably fit on my knees,' said Brolly.

Tarble ran a hand though his hair in agitation – time was wasting! 'Okay, you can come if you can fit.'

At once, Nail leapt up onto Brolly's knee and wriggled himself into a secure position against Brolly's chest. Brolly laughed, and the out-of-place sound grated at Tarble's overwrought nerves, making him clench his teeth as he pulled the door closed, then surrendered his dignity by taking a place on Krillin's knee.

'Everyone brace yourselves, this is going to be a less than pleasant ride,' he told them and then ordered the pod airborne.

'Hey, how many stars does your village's dragonball have?' asked Krillin.

'The wish orb?' said Nail. 'Four.'

'Why's that, Krillin?' Tarble asked.

'Because we can just use the radar to find our way there. We don't even need to follow that other guy.'

'Of course!' And then Tarble tried to struggle to his feet in surprise. 'Hey, what're you doing?'

'You're sitting on the radar!' said Krillin.

'This little guy is funny,' said Brolly. 'Look at these things!' He flicked one of Nail's short antennae back and forth. 'They're kind of rubbery!'

Nail shook his head and ducked it to avoid Brolly's fingers.

'Hey now, Brolly, cut that out,' said Krillin gently. 'I think you're upsetting the little guy.'

Brolly pouted but desisted. 'Okay, then.'

With Krillin guiding them, they overtook Kresoon within a minute. Tarble controlled the flight, doing his best to ignore the gangly oaf next to him who didn't have enough sense to be properly scared, although ignoring him was quite a feat considering Brolly's knee was shoved into the side of his ribs.

'Should we get the dragonball off that Kresoon guy?' asked Krillin as they sailed over him.

'We could ask, but I don't know if he'd be that willing to part with it,' said Tarble, envisioning some messy skirmish in the sky.

'We should,' said Nail. 'If this pod is so fast, it would be much better for me to transport the wish orb to the Guru's than to wait for Kresson to fly five hours to my village and then another ten to Guru's.'

'I agree,' said Tarble. 'But I just don't think he'll trust us to do it.'

'He'll trust me,' said Nail.

'He doesn't even know you're with us,' Krillin pointed out. 'We'll have to do some fast talking, or he might just think we kidnapped you. You weren't supposed to be making the trip, remember?'

'I'll talk to him,' Nail insisted. 'Stop the craft and I'll meet him alone. I think it will go better that way.'

Tarble coasted the pod to a stop and it hung in the air in that disconcerting motionless way it had. As soon as the door was open Nail slipped out and doubled back the way they'd come. Brolly, Krillin and Tarble used the time to better arrange themselves, but it wasn't much use. Having this many bodies in a pod was never going to be comfortable.

'How long do you think he'll be?' asked Brolly, which was exactly Tarble's thought, because each second felt like it counted right now.

'Pod, rotate us a hundred and eighty degrees in local Y, please,' said Tarble, and the pod spun to face the way they had come. Kresoon was nowhere to be seen, and Nail was almost back to them, carrying the giant three star ball.

'That was fast,' said Krillin when they opened the door for him. 'Did Kresoon take much convincing?'

Nail started. 'A-a little.' Tarble happened to glance down as he leant out to grab the door and saw the tiny form of a Namek lying on the ground far below.

'What's Kresoon doing all the way down there?' he asked.

'He's taking a rest before going on to Mathi's village,' said Nail. He climbed on board with the ball, but whether it was the added bulk of the ball or their attempted rearrangement earlier, Tarble found he couldn't get the door shut.

'Unbelievable!' he hissed. 'Defeated by logistics!'

'Wait up, I have a solution,' Krillin told them. 'Everyone, get out for a second!' They all piled back out of the pod and Krillin got a small capsule from his pocket, pressed its button and chucked it on the seat of the pod. Then he put the ball in and closed it again. Nail was rather concerned when the dragonball disappeared into a tube the size of a pinkie though.

'What happened? The ball is gone!'

'It's fine, it's fine!' Krillin reassured him, picking up the capsule again. 'It's just in here!'

'How can I trust your magic?' said Nail.

'Bulma stores all manner of things in capsules like these,' Brolly said. 'The magic has never failed yet.'

'Yeah, _magic_ ,' said Krillin, rolling his eyes at Tarble behind Brolly and Nail's backs. Then suddenly he jerked like he'd been shocked. Already on edge, Tarble jumped to full alert too.

'What is it?' he demanded.

'Bulma and Puar,' said Krillin. 'Just a minute - I think I'd better listen in.'

* * *

'Puar, where the _hell_ are you?'

Bulma's voice blasted into Puar's earpiece, making her jump and fumble the controls of the pod again. The thing stopped suddenly and sent Puar tumbling forward into the door. She had transformed herself into Vegeta just so that she could use the controls, the radar, and see out of the window at the same time. He'd made controlling the pod look easy. It's wasn't easy at all – she'd been crawling along, making the pod jerk about and stall in the air. It had taken her ten minutes just to work out how to open the door from outside! Every minute that passed she was less sure that this rash course of action was the best one, and she considered turning back, especially since Raditz had confirmed that the PTO were here. However, the sound of Bulma's furious voice got Puar's back right up.

She pushed herself back into the seat.

'Doing what you should've been doing all along!' she replied.

'Did you steal the pod? Puar!'

'Well, you guys weren't using it! You were too busy –' Puar made a revolting slurping noise and Bulma squealed in fury.

'God damn it, Puar! Bring that pod back right now!' she screamed. 'You've stranded me!'

'I'm nearly at the next ball already!'

'I don't care! When Vegeta wakes up he's going to _murder_ me, now get back here!'

'Guys,' Krillin cut in, 'What the heck is going on?'

'Puar stole our pod! Did you take the dragonball, too?'

Puar hissed. 'Of course I did! _You_ weren't doing much about it!'

'I SO WAS!' Bulma shrieked. 'I drugged Vegeta, befriended aliens and performed three tests of worthiness – just so that I could find you'd already stolen the ball! A complete waste of our very precious time!'

'And what part of that involved making out with Vegeta?'

'WHAT?' cried Krillin.

'It was a ruse!' screamed Bulma. 'Just a RUSE to divert his attention, don't you get it?'

'That's – that's quite a _ruse_ , Bulma!' said Krillin.

'So you're saying you kissed someone without meaning it?' asked Puar. 'That's revolting!'

'Oh, gross,' said Krillin. 'I'm not sure what's worse – doing that with Vegeta for pleasure or profit.'

'See!' crowed Puar. 'Krillin thinks you're disgusting too!'

'You can talk, Puar!' Bulma retorted. 'I've seen you curl up on Vegeta's lap, purring your head off! You don't seem too disgusted to pass up a good petting from Vegeta yourself!'

'That is NOT the same!'

'Puar, Bulma! Please, take it down a notch! We're on the same side, remember?' said Krillin.

'Which is the only reason I let Vegeta make the moves on me!' said Bulma, sounding almost in tears.

'Okay, I get it,' said Krillin. 'I shouldn't have said what I did. But I also think you'd both better take a chill pill and think about what the best thing to do right _now_ is.'

'I already thought about it, and I think that Puar should come back and let me in the pod,' said Bulma.

'And I think that I should get to the next ball in a minute or so, so I may as well pick that one up first,' said Puar, doing a pretty good impression of Bulma's snippy tone.

'Oh, boy,' sighed Krillin. 'Well, Puar, I think you probably shouldn't have taken the pod, but now that you have you may as well check the next ball out.'

'No one asked you to play moderator, Krillin!' growled Bulma.

'Well don't listen to me, then! But I think that's the best course of action. Don't you?'

'I do!' said Puar.

There was no answer from Bulma. She was obviously sulking at being voted down.

'Just wait there,' said Puar. 'Taking dragonballs from the Namekians is easy. I'll be back soon.'

She glanced at the radar again – she was very close. When she looked out of the window again she saw the roof span of a large domed building appearing over a rise. It was much larger than the buildings in the village. Maybe this was a town hall or something?

Puar kept nudging the pod closer, jolting it about in the air. The building was white, and as more of it was revealed she saw it had dozens of fish-eye windows; some smaller domes growing out from the top of its shallow vault; strange, golden, flying buttresses emerging from all around its sides, and a big, circular hole in the roof. While Puar watched, a few tiny figures flew up out of the hole. She stopped the pod. She should probably go no further.

'Pod, erm, land us, please.'

'Voice command not understood,' replied the pod again. Oh, no, not this again! Puar had had enough problems finding the right words to get it to take off.

'Pod, go down to ground level.'

'Voice command not understood.'

The figures that had flown out the top of the building were streaking straight towards her. They must have seen the pod!

'Pod, go down! Now!'

'Voice command not understood.'

And now Puar noticed two things. The buttresses were actually legs, like on their own space ship but much larger, and that those weren't Namekians coming towards her.

'Oh, no! OH, NO!'

* * *

Again Goku could only listen to the voices on the Earthling line and not respond. Puar had struck out on her own, and Goku wasn't sure if that was bold or stupid, but leaving Bulma behind was stupid, especially when they couldn't stop her voice ranting about how furious she was about it over the comms. _Bad move, Puar._

He trailed Raditz on their way back to the pod, feeling even more disheartened that everyone else was out and about while he was still under his brother's thumb. Raditz had his power down low. Goku supposed that he could power up really fast and attack Raditz from behind while he was unprepared, but that didn't sit right with him. That was underhanded behaviour. Maybe he could get Raditz to turn around first, and give him a second's notice? But if he gave him enough warning to prepare himself to be attacked Raditz would surely beat him.

Surely?

Well, at least _probably_ , Raditz would beat him, but what else could he do? He supposed he could dash away and hope Raditz didn't follow. Maybe Raditz would take the dragonball back to Nappa where it would be safe-ish until they could figure out a way to get it back off them? Or if he did follow him, would that be bad? They'd just end up fighting again. So the choices were, fight now, fight soon or leave things to hope at a later time.

As they walked around the last mesa and the pod was in sight, Goku decided there was nothing to lose in trying all three strategies, one after the other. He took a deep breath.

'Raditz!'

His brother turned around. 'What?' And then he looked over Goku's shoulder at something else. 'What's that?'

Goku spun too, feeling as he did, some very familiar chi. A space pod cruised overhead and then circled above them.

'What are they doing here?' Raditz wondered aloud.

The pod spiralled and then dropped to the ground, bouncing a bit next to theirs before the door popped open and boys literally spilled out onto the blue moss with a collective groan. Goku laughed.

'Hey, guys!'

'This isn't the village!' said the smallest one, who was a Namekian.

'I know, but the dragonball is here,' said Krillin, getting to his feet. 'Look!' he pointed at Raditz.

'What're you lot doing here?' Raditz said pointedly to Tarble. 'You should be on your way back to the ship like we are. _And_ you've picked up a stray!'

Tarble looked at Raditz and then at Krillin. Krillin frowned at looked at Goku. Goku glanced at the ball under Raditz's arm and then back at Krillin, who nodded solemnly. Krillin glanced at Tarble and then up at Brolly before facing Raditz again.

'We've decided not to stop hunting for the dragonballs yet.'

' _You_ don't decide anything, Krillin,' said Raditz. 'Get back in your pod and turn around! Why've you been untied anyway? Don't tell me you busted out of the cable too?'

'Brolly, Tarble...' Krillin gave them both a quick look before squaring up to Raditz. 'Get him!'

Krillin and Tarble both leapt at Raditz, kicking high and aiming for Raditz's face. Tarble could be heard yelling, 'Oh, shit!' over the top of Krillin's, 'Heyaaa!' Raditz had just enough time to gasp before he was batting them off, fist flying at his smaller assailants. Brolly looked surprised and more inclined to step back from the fight than join in. Goku hesitated for a moment – three against one wasn't a fair fight. Krillin and Tarble against Raditz was more even, but then Krillin took Raditz's boot in the stomach and went crashing back into the rock of the mesa. If Goku didn't join in, Krillin and Tarble weren't going to win by themselves. He threw himself into the fray.

Krillin got up and went back in, and Raditz cried out, staggering back against the triple headed assault, and he dropped the dragonball.

'You fucking little shits!' he shouted, laying on with both hands, but Krillin socked him in the nose at the same time as Tarble landed a devastating kick in the thigh. It took only one more hit from Goku to his chest for Raditz to topple to the ground. Krillin ripped the transponder from his throat on the way down.

'Leave him!' ordered Goku, seeing Krillin, still on his chest, preparing to hit him again while he was down.

'He's not going to stay down!' said Krillin, leaping clear, and no, Raditz didn't. He was on his feet again in a second, snorting with rage.

'Traitorous fucks!' he snarled, wiping the blood pouring from his nose away. His eyes locked on Tarble. 'You piece of shit-stained rag! What the fuck are you doing? What the fuck is Earth to _you?_ '

Tarble said nothing, his lips tight, ready for another assault. Krillin spoke for him.

'A better place to be than wherever you are, that's what!'

Raditz laughed, a mocking sound. 'So, that's how it is? You've traded us in for a cushy life with some soft-hearted nobodies?'

'Leave him alone,' said Goku, putting himself between Raditz and the pod. He looked around for the dragonball and saw that the Namekian boy was holding it. 'We're leaving this place. You can either join us hunting the dragonballs for Earth, or go back to Nappa.'

'Are you fucking kidding me, Kakarott? Why would I do that? There's absolutely no reason for me to want you to get your precious Earthlings back.'

'You can come live on Earth too,' said Goku.

'Pfft! As if!'

'Then fly back to Nappa!'

'You think you're taking the pod?' asked Raditz. 'Here's what's actually going to happen – I get in the pod and you lot may or may not follow on the way back to the ship. And by the way, Nappa is going to fucking _eat_ you all when he finds out what you've done! Or, you assholes get in the pods and I blow them to fucking ashes as soon as you take off!'

'What're we going to do?' Krillin asked Goku.

'Tie him up?' suggested Goku.

'That won't stop me flying or from shooting chi balls out of my fucking mouth!' said Raditz.

'You can't do that!' said Tarble.

'Wanna bet, little traitor?' Raditz opened his jaw into an open mouthed snarl, and the inside of his mouth started to glow. Goku pulled his hands back, gathering his own energy to counter.

'Kame-ha-'

A green streak shot over Krillin and Tarble's heads and connected with Raditz's forehead with a crack. The tall Saiyan's head snapped back and he fell bonelessly to the ground. Where his head had been, a small Namekian boy hovered, grim faced, his short leg still outstretched from the kick he'd just landed.

'Nail!' said Krillin, gawping in astonishment.

Goku looked at the boy with almost as much surprise. He'd felt the Namekian's chi go from nothing to devastating with the swiftness of a rubber band snapping, and now it was stilling again, nearly as swiftly.

'Holy crap,' Krillin squeaked.

'The little guy is really fast!' said Brolly.

'Sorry,' said Nail, turning in the air. 'Maybe I shouldn't have intruded, but he seemed to be likely to keep us from getting to Guru's. I assume he is no friend of yours?'

'He's my brother,' admitted Goku. And then he rushed to Raditz's side, feeling guilty that he hadn't checked if he was alive before trying to fathom the little boy's power.

'Oh! Really? Then…I really am sorry, but he _was_ threatening to kill us all.'

'I wouldn't worry about it,' said Krillin. 'Their family isn't close.'

'Is that how you "convinced" Kresoon to give you the dragonball?' asked Tarble darkly.

Nail looked guilty, but then straightened his spine. 'I didn't knock hurt him, but I did take the ball by force when he wouldn't listen to reason. Kresoon is no match for me, let alone those who destroyed my village, so it only makes sense that I take the ball to guard. I'm the apprentice to the Grand Elder's bodyguard, and I take my duty seriously; more seriously than Kresoon did. He only judged me as a young sprout, but I am not _just_ a sprout.'

Nail was unusual for sure. The only outward sign of his attack on Raditz was the red impression of a small, pointy-toed boot on Raditz's forehead. His brother's chi still glowed, though it was dimmed, and he breathed steadily too. It had been a very calculated blow.

'He's out cold, but alive,' Goku told the others.

'Good, let's get out of here,' said Krillin.

'Are we just going to leave Raditz lying here?' Tarble asked.

'I don't see why not,' said Krillin.

'No, Tarble's right,' said Goku, standing up. He looked at Tarble's face and saw that he felt some burden of responsibility towards Raditz too. 'If we leave him here and Frieza's men come along, he'll be taken.'

Krillin froze, his mouth open, but not saying what he was about to. Goku imagined it was going to be, 'So what?'

'Raditz was just being loyal to Vegeta and Nappa,' Goku explained to his friend. 'I don't want him to die just because he was in the way of us getting the wish.'

Krillin looked contrite. 'I suppose. He's not that bad that I'd want him dead.'

'See?'

'Well, what are we going to do, then?'

* * *

In the wake of Bulma's abrupt departure the tiny village continued to be in an uproar.

'We need to do something!' insisted Shnek.

'Yes, like warn Grand Elder Guru and the other villages,' replied Ulitker, the second eldest of the village.

'And we shall,' said Tsuno, 'But we also must figure out how to protect our village.'

'Bulma said that Frieza's men have a way of locating high power sources,' volunteered Caraco.

'Well, there it is, then,' said Tsuno. 'We shall hide, and we shall _not_ fight a battle we can't win, but lower our life force to that of the small animals and trees. Who will go to warn the next village and Guru?'

'I will,' said Shnek.

Tsuno nodded. 'Thank you, brother.'

'Perhaps Caraco should go too?' suggested Ulitker.

'Me?' squeaked Caraco. 'Why?'

'You're Tsuno's apprentice,' said Ulitker. 'If there are survivors of the attack you can help them.'

Caraco trembled, his eyes wide as he envisioned himself as a first aid healer. Tsuno uttered an unhappy groan.

'No,' said Shnek. 'A young sapling like Caraco is too vulnerable to be flying about when powerful aliens are abroad.'

Tsuno considered young Caraco. 'He is vulnerable, but we are all vulnerable, and he would be with you, Shnek. His apprenticeship is almost complete, and I have faith in him. It's up to you, Caraco. I won't ask you to if you don't want to.'

Caraco breathed hard, his chest swelling to hear Tsuno's endorsement, and it battled with the fear he felt that told him to run and hide with the rest of his village. Could he say no and not immediately let Tsuno down?

Caraco nodded. 'I'll go with Shnek!'

'Thank you, my boy,' said Tsuno, grasping his shoulder. 'Be careful. The rest of us will head to the Red Caves to wait this out. Everyone – gather anything you need, and quickly.'

The rest of the villagers scattered, revealing the unconscious form of the alien on the ground.

'What do we do with _him_?' asked Ulitker. 'Bring him with us?'

Tsuno walked over and squatted beside the small figure. 'I will heal him. I think Bulma was under the impression that our healing would be slow or unsuitable, but I'm sure this won't take long at all.'

'I would counsel against it,' said Shnek. 'That boy is a warrior and an unknown quantity. He beat me in an arm wrestling match while _unwell_.'

'Maybe there was a good reason why Bulma didn't want him healed,' said Ulitker.

'Let us judge for ourselves,' said Tsuno. 'Although Bulma put her own wish above his, she did seem to care for him.'

He spread his hands over the alien's back, and though it looked like he was almost doing nothing, the careful observer would have seen the shimmering waves of chi emanating from his hands, like pulses of heated air as they spread out over the patient's body.

'Hmm, feels like poison,' said Tsuno.

Ulitker tutted. 'There are not so many people around to poison him either. Who do you think did that?'

Tsuno rumbled in disquiet.

It took less them a minute.

Vegeta took a deep breath, and then another one. And then he leapt straight from prone to the air, bowling Tsuno and a curious Caraco over.

'What is happening? Who are you? Where is Bulma?' he shouted, and the Namekians scrambled away and to their feet, seeing the alien had already gathered handfuls of chi, ready to deploy.

'Calm down, child,' said Ulitker, in placating tones. 'You were sick and we healed you. We are the Nameks of the village of Elder Tsuno, and your friend is not long gone.'

Vegeta blinked the confusion away, trying to pick up his memories where they left off. The seedy bar at the trading post must've been only a dream because here he was, still on Planet Namek.

That's right - the village, the ball, the kiss…

And then…

And then…

The blood drained from Vegeta's face. What had she done? She had literally stabbed him in the back for a dragonball! Humiliation struck him with such force he felt upended and awash; he felt sick with it, and he lost his grip on his chi for a moment, almost falling back to the ground before recovering somewhat, breathing deeply to get through the nausea. So _that_ was her true feeling! He had been an utter fool! After all the warnings, and walking in with his eyes wide open, she had betrayed him with ease! Had she even meant him to live?

'Which way did she go?' he shouted, and the terrified Namekians pointed towards the valley they had arrived by. She had gone back to the pod.

_No!_

He took off without another word.

'I didn't get to tell him any of the things Bulma told me to,' noted Caraco.

'I have never before questioned whether healing someone was the right thing to do,' muttered Tsuno. 'But I fear this may turn out to be the first.'

* * *

 

Vegeta flew so fast that his eyes watered, his jaw clenched and a pain in his throat from the choked up rage.

 _Such a liar! Such an actor! Such a viper!_ He hated her!

Remembering the remote for the pod, he dug it out of the tight pocket of the training suit and pressed the button to activate the homing feature. She'd have a shock when the pod turned around! And what would he do when he tore her out of it? He didn't know, but he was angry enough for just about anything.

Approaching the hill where he'd left the pod he stopped looked around, waiting expectantly for the pod to turn up. The sound of screeching caught his attention though, and looking down he saw a little blue haired figure sitting astride a parked hoverbike. She was still here! But where was the pod? He dropped silently through the air, aiming to come down behind her, and when he did he caught the last of her angry words.

'No one asked you to play moderator, Krillin!'

She was pressing her hand to her throat and speaking to Krillin, but he couldn't hear her through his earpiece. He should have known that she would put a private line on the comms system! It was obvious now that he thought about it!

'Where is my POD?' he yelled as his feet touched the ground.

Bulma jumped, spun, already screaming, and fell off the hoverbike onto the ground on the other side from him.

'Oh my god! Vegeta! You're better already!' she said as she scrambled back to her feet. Vegeta bounded over the hoverbike and she turned tail and ran, screaming again and heading for the slope that dropped away from the ridge. Vegeta jumped, flicking himself over in the air so that he came down facing her, just in time for her to slam right into him, hands on his chest. She pushed herself away again, about to turn to flee the way she'd come, but Vegeta grabbed her by the arms. The terror on her face somehow made him even angrier and he shook her, then shoved her to the ground so that she sprawled at his feet.

'Wait, Vegeta!' she was crying. 'Didn't Caraco tell you? Oh god, please don't hurt me!'

Vegeta pulled his hand back to strike her, and then remembered that that would kill her for sure. _And she'd fucking earned it!_ he thought to himself bitterly, but as he clenched his fist, the little voice in the back of his head telling him not to lose control, and he chose to roar his fury at her instead. She cowered, covering her head in despair, only crying while she waited for the killing blow.

'I didn't want to!' she said. 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'

'Sorry for trying to kill me? You poisonous bitch!'

'I didn't try to kill you!' she wailed. 'Oh god, you've got to believe me, Vegeta - I'd never want to kill you!'

She reminded him of many, many times when he'd had others begging for life at his feet, and he felt disgusted. The sight of her so demeaned made him feel faintly ill.

'Get up!' he shouted, and quivering, she did, rolling onto her hands and knees and dashing back up the hill again. He followed her close behind - after all, he'd underestimated her before!

'Caraco was supposed to tell you that we can both have our wishes!' she said, diving behind a small boulder as if that would protect her.

'Who the fuck is Caraco?' he shouted, still so angry that he barely listened to the answer when it came.

'One of the Namekians! Please, Vegeta! It was all just part of the game...' She broke down into tears again, her eyes locked to his as he circled the boulder and she moved around it, keeping it between them. He was getting tired of seeing her weeping today.

'I wouldn't want to hurt you! If we move fast and together we can still both have our wishes today!'

Finally her words started to make a little impact. 'What do you mean both? What do you mean _fast?_ '

Bulma stopped moving, and stopped crying long enough to say, 'The Namekian dragonballs can grant three wishes. But Frieza and his men are already here on this planet.'

All the muscles in Vegeta's body locked up for a moment. He didn't even breathe for a moment, but when he did he panted little shallow breaths of panic.

'What! How?'

'Raditz said that when we landed they must've have already been here first, so our scan didn't pick up their fusion drive.' Her face crumpled again, but she held back on the tears.

_No, no! This couldn't be happening!_

'You're lying!' he accused her. 'This is another trick!'

'I'm not!' she said. 'Check with Raditz and Nappa. It was Raditz who discovered that they're here.'

Vegeta touched his transponder. 'Is it true that Frieza is on the planet?'

There was a pause, and then, Nappa's gravelly baritone answered. 'Vegeta! So you _are_ alive!'

'I am, but answer the question, Nappa!'

'Yeah, he's here. Already killed three PTO who were sneaking around our ship.'

Weakness shot down the back of his legs and he caught the rock with his free hand to hold himself up. Oh gods, had he been insane the day he'd decided to turn against Frieza? It seemed the lizard would never be more than half a step behind him, waiting for him to slip up. And he was - he was slipping up right now.

'What about the three wishes?' he asked. 'Is that true too?'

' _Three_ wishes?' repeated Nappa.

'I haven't told him yet,' said Bulma. She pressed her own responder. 'Tarble, tell him about the Namekian dragonballs granting three wishes.'

'They grant three wishes,' replied Tarble obediently.

'He just repeated what you said!' said Vegeta.

'No, we talked to a Namekian elder, and he said it was true,' said Tarble.

'I'm not lying!' said Bulma, talking to him alone. 'See, we can both get our wishes, but we-'

'What makes you think you're getting a _single_ wish after what you just did to me?' said Vegeta, his anger getting the better of him again. He let go of his transponder and grabbed her by a fistful of T-shirt and training suit and jerked her around the rock so that she lost her footing for a moment, and her pulled her low so he could snarl down into her face.

'Where the fuck is my pod, Earthling?'

Bulma blinked, stunned with fear for a moment before she stammered, 'Puar...'

'Puar, what?'

'She...'

'Puar has the pod?' said Vegeta, incredulous, but before Bulma could confirm it the pod reappeared, sweeping down to the grass and stopping near them. Vegeta dragged her over to it while she tried to pull her shirt from his grip in vain.

'You're ripping my T-shirt, you asshole!'

Vegeta almost laughed to hear that defiant streak of anger flare up over something so trivial when her very life was in question. He raised his hand to open the door and then stopped. Something was very wrong with this - now that he was paying attention to something more than just his anger, he could feel it. Too late, the door opened of its own accord, and like an eviscerated bladder still full of piss, out rolled Dodoria.

'Hey, Vegeta,' he drawled. 'Surprise!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Duhhhh duh dum dum! Durh, duh dum dum DURHH! (Cliffhanger music)
> 
> By the way, I recommend no one try to phonetically write a piece of cliche trumpet music out. I'm sure you all have no idea what I was trying to evoke with that nonsense.


	44. Hostile Territory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Only 30 days and I'm back! Okay, I'm kind of breaking my own stated intentions here, as I haven't even finished the next chapter, but I judged that this one was not going to change any more, so I thought I'd throw it to the sharks. This chapter is pretty thick and meaty - so I expect you to chew it before swallowing. I could have broken it in two and fed it to you in chunks to buy myself more time, but I like the chapter as is.
> 
> I'm on holiday, and basically done no writing because I'm too busy learning to paraglide. When not flying of walking up hills lugging harness and wing, I've been either too exhausted or studying paragliding. I'm a girly swat, what can I say? You should see the bruises on my arms!
> 
> Back to the story - Vegeta had been expecting a Puar, but got a Dodoria.

'Oh, shit! Oh, _shit!_ '

The screams weren't Vegeta's, but they matched his sentiments quite well. He was frozen; shock overcoming all decision making capacity as Dodoria hefted his grotesque girth upright.

'Haven't been in an attack ball for years,' he said. 'Horrible things.'

Vegeta took a deep breath. He should flee - last time he'd encountered Dodoria he'd almost spilled his guts onto Kami's Lookout. But as the breath left him again he made a realisation; he was stronger than he had been back then, and Dodoria had taken him by surprise. Now he could feel Dodoria's swollen, stagnant chi; something he'd never been able to do before. It felt large, but then again, he wasn't sure how large it was in comparison to his own. It could very well be the equal. And was equality essential anyway? The sense of chi gave him other advantages too, such as a small awareness of an opponent's intentions before their muscles even began to move - that gave him a fraction of a second's warning that was almost prescience. He'd felt as much when he'd pounded Nappa into the dust on that windswept planet. No, Dodoria should be fleeing. He was not the Vegeta that the pink turd expected.

He smiled at Dodoria, straightening.

'They're not designed for puss-filled walking stomachs such as yourself, Dodoria.'

Dodoria's smug smile tightened.

'Well, I was going to offer you the chance to surrender, but not any more,' he said. 'You've even less grace than you used to have.'

'I have grace, Dodoria,' said Vegeta. 'Which is why I will allow _you_ to surrender to _me!_ '

Dodoria burst out laughing. The thing that Vegeta grasped in his hand writhed and struggled, and screeched, 'At least let me go before you go getting yourself killed!' Vegeta looked down at Bulma, having forgotten about her for the moment, her eyes round in fear.

'Your little blue-haired Earthling accomplice is right,' observed Dodoria. 'You're going to lose. But don't worry - I'm not going to kill him, Bulma. I'll leave that for Lord Frieza.'

Both Vegeta and Bulma's heads swivelled around at that.

'How do you know my name?' demanded Bulma, despite being down on one knee and bent over backwards before Vegeta with the front of her suit in his fist.

Dodoria grinned wider. 'We know a lot about you and your intimate acquaintance with Vegeta, pet. The Grenouilleans were very forthcoming with security footage, eye witness reports and the like, when we pressed them.'

The words "intimate acquaintance" struck Vegeta in the chest and he gawped for a second. The violation of being observed, disclosed and discussed made his cheeks flame with embarrassment and anger. What had they seen? What did they think they knew? The idea of Frieza being privy to Vegeta's being halfway to seduced by Bulma on Grenouillea Two was bad enough, but the fact that Frieza might have seen him falling for an act he now knew wasn't even genuine was even worse! Gods, he was such a fool! But a fool no more.

'She is nothing to me!' Vegeta said, and to prove his point he shoved her away, hard. Her feet left the ground and with a scream she tumbled head over heels off the top of the steep hill and disappeared down the slope. Vegeta stared after her, instantly regretting being so reckless with her. What was wrong with him? After everything she'd done to him, some pathetic part of him was upset that he might have hurt her! He'd put her out of the way of being blown up and at a safe distance to deal with later, though if he was only going to strangle her to death anyway, what was the point of either saving her or worrying about hurting her?

The only answer he got was another lurching of the heaviness inside himself.

 _I don't have time for this!_ Vegeta realised, and trained his eyes on his opponent again.

Dodoria was laughing again. 'Looks like the rumours of your tender love affair are greatly exaggerated! I did think it sounded rather far-fetched for the self-interested, little monkey to be playing the lover. Now where was I? Oh, yes.'

Dodoria's mouth opened and a thick bolt of energy rushed out at Vegeta. Even with the warning his chi sense gave him, he barely dodged it, and he felt its heat before it crashed into a distant peak along the ridge. Vegeta leapt sideways and then went high, moving fast enough that he hoped Dodria wouldn't see him. Dodoria was turning his head to the left where he'd been, so Vegeta came down on the right.

'Huh-' began the corpulent General, but Vegeta's foot cut him off, slamming into the fleshy jowl and sending Dodoria spinning away. Vegeta smiled at taking Dodoria by surprise, anticipating victory, but he was disappointed when Dodoria failed to even lose his feet. Dodoria halted his momentum and his head whipped up to where Vegeta hung in the air.

'So, I see you've improved somewhat,' snarled Dodoria. 'That'll teach me not to put my guard up for you.'

Vegeta's smile faltered just as Dodoria's reappeared, and then a blur of pink was shooting straight at him. Vegeta threw himself to the side, landing on his hands and toes, and then sprang upwards to come at Dodoria while he was still correcting his course. Instead he crashed into Dodoria's overhand fist and plummeted, hitting the dirt face first.

_Now that was fast!_

He didn't panic though - he wasn't going all out yet. He could feel Dodoria coming at him slower this time, even with his face in the moss and broken claystone, so he stayed down, pretending to roll onto his back in agony. Through his squinting eyes he saw Dodoria's foot coming down to stomp him in the head. In that instant Vegeta straightened his body like a lance - shoulders braced against the ground and two feet smashing into Dodoria's crotch. Dodoria's leg was stopped short and he fell back with a loud grunt. Vegeta levitated upright, expecting Dodoria to go down, but again he didn't. What the hell? Did he not keep his genitals between his legs? Were they made of rubber?

'Ha!' said Dodoria. 'You should see your face right now!'

Vegeta backed up, marshalling his face and his chi, and spoke, trying to buy time while he attempted Krillin and Kakarott's "powering up" technique. What had they said? To call on the chi all at once, to keep the gates open wide instead of the narrow channels they were usually, by force of effort. But how?

Dodoria was squaring up to him again.

'I just didn't realise you were a woman,' Vegeta said. 'I'd have checked my language around you if I'd known.'

Dodoria chuckled in amusement and reached between his legs, hauling his junk forward in an obscene gesture so the bulge could be seen through his battle suit. The sight made Vegeta lose his concentration for a moment before reaching back inside to feel his chi in his body. It was like electric strings and fine webs; thick chords running up his centre that already felt as full as they could be. How did he force them open? Kakarott had done a lot of grimacing and straining during his aborted demonstration, as if he'd been trying to lift a weight that was far too heavy. Vegeta clenched his muscles tight.

'Haven't had any sensation in these for a good thirty years,' said Dodoria.

Vegeta tried not to hear that, struggling with the pathways of his own body. 'Old war injury?' he gasped.

Dodoria grinned nastily. 'Not exactly. But it rid me of one distraction it turned out I didn't need.'

Vegeta took a breath, his body taut. He could feel the streams swell a miniscule amount. Was he doing it right? He bit down, straining with the effort, feeling something start to stir the currents of his chi. He growled, not meaning to, but he was forgetting to breathe and the effort forced it out.

'Did you take offence?' asked Dodoria, looking like he hoped he had, and coming toward Vegeta slowly. 'You look like you're having a stroke. Too bad.'

Vegeta felt the chi travelling to Dodoria's fist and he shot away from it; upwards into the sky. Dodoria followed, his energy wave preceding him, following Vegeta like a heat seeking missile. Vegeta halted himself so suddenly he felt the blood rush to his feet and he shot past the blast, skimming it and using it for cover as he came back at Dodoria. He knew he'd taken the General by surprise when Dodoria grunted just before he fed him his fist. Vegeta felt the slide of Dodoria's wet lips and the crack of his chi-hardened knuckles against the man's teeth, and Dodoria went down, roaring.

He followed him, enjoying the sight of Dodoria in pain because of _him_. The power-up seemed to have yielded some results after all. He alighted on the moss, grinning as Dodoria spat bright pink blood and rolled to his feet. He snarled at Vegeta.

'Don't get cocky yet, boy!'

Suddenly he shot forward so fast that Vegeta had no sense of time having passed before Dodoria was in his face, his fist coming up to try and catch him in the stomach. Vegeta narrowly slipped past Dodoria on the opposite side of his swing, teeth clenched, feeling himself of the edge of the speed he was able. He grabbed the shoulder of Dodoria's armour on the way past, using it to alter his momentum and pull Dodoria off balance in the follow-through of his swing, and the General pirouetted on one foot before going down – Vegeta's knee slamming onto the back of his head.

In the moment that Dodoria was on the ground, Vegeta mustered a crackling hot ball of chi in his hands and then fired it double-handed straight into the back of Dodoria's neck. The force of his own blast blew him backwards, and he retreated to the air again, catching his breath, waiting to see if Dodoria would get back up. There was dust and smoke in the pit Vegeta had made, and as it settled Vegeta frowned because couldn't sense-

His left side exploded into pain, and he lost all sense of up and down as the world streaked past his eyes. His right side joined in as he slammed into the rock of the hillside. He lay, confused, stunned by pain. He breathed and more pain shot through his ribs, and he coughed out agony and blood.

He was in a crater, and when he moved, rocks and dust avalanched on top of him, getting in his eyes and making him cough more. He tried to roll to his hands and knees, yelping as he put weight on his left wrist. He couldn't see, but he knew the pain of broken bones when he felt it, and a fresh wave of adrenalin dumped itself into his system. He had to get away from here – he wasn't going to win like this!

He sprang into the air drunkenly, forgetting in his distress all about his chi sensing. Dodoria waited on the other side of the curtain of dust, his lips stretched into a grin like a gaping wound as Vegeta flew almost straight into his waiting arms.

'You're not the only one who can be fast when they want to,' Dodoria said, and this time his under hand to Vegeta's stomach connected with full force.

* * *

Bulma had been stunned too after hitting the ground and rolling a decent way down the hill before sliding to a stop on her back, head pointing downhill. At first she thought she couldn't move, and in her panic she feared that her neck was broken. Then pain followed and she whimpered with more panic as she feared other broken bones. Her butt, her neck and the back of her head all felt clobbered. An explosion and the sound of other concussive noises came from above, and she realised Vegeta was fighting Dodoria. She had to get away while she had the chance, so she wriggled her fingers and toes, then lifted her arms and legs. Everything worked. She gingerly tried to move her neck and it turned and she didn't die or lose sensation, so it couldn't be that bad. Then she rolled onto her stomach, starting to cry from the pain and shock. Even though she thought she'd expected Vegeta to do something bad to her for knocking him out, she couldn't believe he'd practically thrown her off a cliff!

Getting to her hands and knees she shuffled forward a little and decided she wasn't as hurt as she thought she might have been. Many places hurt quite a lot, but nothing was excruciating like she expected a broken bone might be. But where should she go? And how? Her hoverbike was on top of the hill still, from where a flash of light and the sound of another explosion came from. She'd have to walk, or use her campervan off-road, which didn't seem wise or practical when the distances she had to travel were in the thousands of kilometres. Maybe she should just get away and ask Krillin to come and get her? But what about Vegeta? He was fighting for his life against Dodoria. She knew it was best for her to be away from him for now, but she didn't want to abandon him. She wanted to at least stick around to see the outcome of the fight, but if Vegeta won she'd be as good as caught again. But if Vegeta lost…?

The decision was taken away from her in the next moment as a streak of orange training suit and black hair crashed into the hill below her. Bulma scrambled back in horror, and then saw Dodoria hovering over his handy work.

Vegeta!

She looked around, looking for cover to hide behind, but there was nothing except the brow of the hill above, which would take a good minute to reach. She pressed herself flat to the hill instead, hoping stillness would disguise her as part of the landscape, but goddamn it, she was wearing an orange outfit on an aqua terrain!

Vegeta appeared out of the dust and flew straight into Dodoria, who taunted him, and then suddenly he was doubled up over the alien's fist.

Bulma flinched, holding in a cry of distress with a hand over her mouth, but Vegeta didn't spring back from that. Instead he slowly toppled from Dodoria's fist and fell limply to the ground.

The shout she had been holding behind her hand became a scream.

'I'll give you credit, Vegeta. This wasn't as easy as I had expected,' she heard Dodoria's voice carrying on the wind, and then he looked up and the very next thing he clapped eyes on was Bulma.

She turned, all her injuries forgotten as she scrambled full speed back up the hill to her bike, but she hadn't made it even halfway before Dodoria's shadow fell over her and he caught her by the back of her training suit and lifted her up, turning her to face him. She struggled, kicking and hitting at him, but he may as well have been made of wood for all the effect it had on him.

'What a strangely pathetic little thing you are,' he said, peering at her. 'Though you must have _some_ desirable qualities. You're coming with me too; I think Lord Frieza will be curious about Vegeta's little helpmeet. I know I am.'

Then her tucked her under his thick arm, head down and half crushed, and her struggles had to cease. Dodoria took off, and she saw her hoverbike and the pod being left far below. His armpit smelt like thick musk and corned beef and she gagged, almost vomiting from a combination of fear, pain and revulsion. From under Dodoria's other arm dangled Vegeta, his arms loose and his head lolling in the wind of Dodoria's flight.

'Vegeta!' she cried, afraid that he might be dead. She reached across under Dodoria's chest, straining to reach him. Her fingers caught a hank of his hair and she pulled his head up enough for her to see him. His eyes were rolled back in his head and blood trails marked his face, running every which way from his mouth.

She dropped his head again, took a few deep breaths but barfed anyway.

And then blessedly, darkness followed.

* * *

Puar listened intently for any sound from the room and when she heard none she pushed against the door again, rattling it in her desperation.

'No!'

She had been quietly hidden in a locker, under a bunk, somewhere deep inside Frieza's ship. The lock didn't sound strong and the metal of the door was thin, but it was enough and more to defeat Puar. She felt like a huge dummy for flying straight into the enemy's lair in a pod she couldn't control properly. When a couple of weird looking aliens - one snouty and green and the other red and scaly - had opened the door to the pod, Puar had panicked and transformed into the first thing she could think of that would be innocuous and still hide the radar and the capsule containing the dragonball. She had turned into a pink leather handbag.

'What's this?' Mr Snouty had asked. 'There's no one in here!'

'Maybe it's on remote?' Mr Scaly had suggested. 'Maybe it's spying.'

'You're probably right. What's that there?' Snouty had plucked Puar out by her stiff little handles and yanked her open. 'A bag with nothing in it.'

'Let me see,' and Scaly had up-ended her, shaking her vigorously. Puar had clutched the capsule and radar desperately between her lining and her outer, and it all made her feel rather like puking. 'Nothing. Nice bag though.' Scaly had hooked her over his forearm, and Puar grimaced as much as a bag with no face can.

'You're keeping it?'

'Yeah. It's all right. Might be worth something to someone - who knows?'

Suddenly the two soldiers had stiffened, and Puar found herself yanked up into a salute.

'Nice accessorising, private,' said another voice. Puar had risked cracking one eye open a bit and saw a great, fat, spikey alien she recalled from watching him fight Vegeta on Earth. She had rammed her eye shut again, trying not to tremble, as handbags don't usually.

'Er, thank you, General. It was on board the pod, but it was empty.'

'And where did this pod appear from? I take it it's not one of ours?'

'No, Sir. We think it might be an unmanned pod sent on a spying mission by the fugitive, Sir,' Snouty had said.

'Is that so?'

Then the hateful voice of the pod computer had spoken with its horrible, perky, tinny voice. 'Please close the pod door. Homing function activated.'

The general had laughed. 'I have an idea. Vegeta is going to love this!'

Puar had opened an eye again to see him get into the pod and close the door, and then the pod zipped away. After that Snouty and Scaly had retired to the ship to report to their commanding officer and for Scaly to stash her in his locker.

_I shouldn't have tried to play the hero! I'm no hero! I'm locked in a drawer!_

She was going to have to call for help. She was going to have to let Bulma know had badly she'd stuffed up – if Bulma was even okay. She'd heard Vegeta's demands of Nappa and Tarble, and it sounded like Bulma was in a heap of trouble. Bulma hadn't replied when Krillin had asked if she was okay on their private Earthling channel. Puar didn't like to think that Vegeta would hurt Bulma, but it was a hope based on nothing other than wishful thinking, and alone in the dark, she acknowledged that for a second. Bulma had gone way out on a limb and Puar had cut it off. She'd been so furious over Bulma's betrayal that she'd let her own spitefulness cloud her judgement. She shouldn't have done something so rash. Bulma had gotten back on mission, just as Krillin had said she would...and she was much better with machines and vehicles that Puar was. If only she'd waited for Bulma instead of ditching her they would both be much better off!

She cried a little in the dark before submitting to her need to talk to her double tapped her transponder and made her whispered cry for help.

'Hello? Guys? I'm stuck in a drawer on Frieza's ship and I can't get out.'

She waited, even hoped for Bulma's gloating reply, but it never came, making her feel even worse.

Instead Goku spoke. 'Shucks, Puar! How did you manage that?'

Puar was so relieved to hear the voice of one of her friends. 'My pod was captured!'

'Did they take the dragonball off you?'

'No. They think I'm a handbag. That's how I'm locked in a drawer.'

'Oh, no! That's terrible! Are you in any danger?'

'Not right now,' Puar admitted. She was just really scared.

'Well maybe you should hang in there until we can come and get you. We're off to some guy's house. He's called Great Guru or something, and he's like the Namekian Kami, so we're hoping he can help us. He made these dragonballs so he knows all about them.'

'Okay,' she replied, reassured now that Goku was stepping in.

'But how are we going to get her out of there?' asked Krillin.

'We'll find a way,' replied Goku.

'It's Frieza's ship, though!' said Krillin, and Puar's insides went all soupy with fear again. At this rate she would be going to the toilet very suddenly in Scaly's socks.

'Are you sure there's no way you could transform your way out?' asked Krillin.

'I can transform, but it doesn't make me any stronger,' she replied.

'Well, keep trying, and keep your eyes peeled. Let us know if anything changes, though I don't know what we'd do about it if it does.'

'Ah!' moaned Puar.

'I'd go straight to you if we weren't already so close to Guru's already,' said Goku. 'Don't worry, Puar, we'll be there soon.'

Their voices went silent and Puar was alone in the dark again, nothing but a paper thin strip of light that barely illuminated the spare boots, clothing and grooming items tumbled haphazardly in the locker.

_Paper thin?_

Could she transform herself as thin as paper? No, she couldn't, or at least not her entire body - she still needed somewhere to keep her brain, so she couldn't just slide out of the gap. The mouse transformation was about as small as Puar could safely go. But maybe something freeform...

She pressed her face against the gap along the top of the draw, and then she made her eyes smaller and smaller until they were the size of a centipede's. Then she grew them out on stalks, pushing them uncomfortably through the gap.

In the room the view was blurry and hard to take in very fast; eyes this small didn't work so well. Puar immediately began to feel ill as her eye stalks meandered in different directions, so she closed one eye. Her brain wasn't set up to deal with two non-converged images.

She was in a bunkroom of about eight bunks lining each side of a narrow room. There was a door at one end, which was closed. At first she thought the room was unoccupied, but there was someone asleep, or at least lying quietly in one of the top bunks. Puar looked around, extending her eye stalk up like a periscope to look around the bunk above her. What were the chances that the key for this thing was lying around close by?

None apparently. The bunk was made with military precision and not a wrinkle or lump anywhere to hide a key. Examining the lock she even wondered if it was locked or just closed with a latch mechanism. She tried spooling more of her body out of the slot, but with a spindly arm connected to her body by a wafer thin piece of tissue, she couldn't even raise her paw, let alone budge the clasp. She reeled herself back in, feeling panic start to rise again.

 _What would Yamcha do?_ she asked herself. _Yamcha wouldn't be stuck in a drawer!_ she answered her own question. _And if he was, he'd either punch or Kamehameha wave his way out. I'm a goner!_

She cried a bit longer. She should have stuck with Bulma and co-ordinated their efforts together. If Bulma was stuck here she might have an idea of how to get out. Well, Bulma wouldn't fit in the drawer, but if she could…she'd think her way out.

 _What would Bulma do?_ she asked herself then, and almost gave up on the spot. Bulma was far clever than she! But what would she do? Probably…consider her assets and examine the problem. Well, Puar could consider her assets at least. She had a radar that was pretty much useless for getting out of a drawer, but she got it out anyway and turned it on. The screen lit up the inside of the drawer and she had a proper look around. As well as the boots, socks, underwear and folded battlesuits, there were other bits and pieces. A medallion thing on a chain, an electronic device with a screen, a spare scouter, something that looked like a metal cocktail pick, a tub of polish and some polishing brushes. Well, nothing that immediately sprang to mind as useful. What else did she have? A capsule with a massive dragonball in it. If she opened the capsule maybe it would bust the drawer open? Or maybe it would shatter the ball. That would be bad. The soldier sleeping in the bunk on the other side of the room would surely wake up too. Whatever she did, she would have to be quiet or else he might wake up. She could just imagine him rushing over and yanking the drawer open to catch her in the act of escaping.

Wait a minute!

She stuck an eye out again and looked the man over. She could just see the side of one of his blue arms. She stuck an ear out too, and she couldn't hear him snoring. Then the arm flexed a bit and Puar heard the unmistakable sound of a page turning. He was reading.

She brought all her organs back inside the drawer again and sat there in the dark thinking over the plan that was forming in her head. It was risky, and every instinct in her was against it, but how else might she get out? Even if Goku and Krillin fought or sneaked their way onto the ship, how were they going to find her? Open every locker on the ship? How were they going to manage that before being killed? The ship was massive and Puar would be no use in guiding them as she'd had her eyes screwed shut most of the time that Scaly had been winding through the corridors to this bunkroom.

She readied herself, putting the radar back in her pouch with the capsule and took a deep breath. _Okay, do it!_ she told herself. She opened her mouth and no sound came out. Instead she started hyperventilating, and rubbed her face with her paws.

_Do it! Do it! You have to - for Yamcha and Master Roshi and yes, even Oolong!_

She tried again, trying to inflate her lungs against the tightness of her fear and yell out, 'Hey, you!'

It came out as a squeak, tiny even for Puar. Drat!

'You! Blue guy! You big b-blue m-meanie!'

She had her face pressed to the gap, but saw no movement outside, nor heard any either. The soldier hadn't heard her! Reaching about in the darkness she picked up the cocktail pick. It smelled funny and had bits of crusty skin on it, and Puar had the distinct impression that the owner used it to clean between their scales, but ickiness was a small price to pay for freedom. She swung the thing against the metal of the drawer front with a crash that made her cringe. It was certainly loud enough inside the drawer.

Still, there was no movement outside. Puar hit the drawer front again and again, harder and harder. Surely something would get this guy's attention? Was he reading the most absorbing book in the world?

'Hey, you!' she shouted again, able to find her voice better this time. _Crash, crash, crash!_ 'Hey ugly!' _Crash, crash_ -

At last she heard the thump of a body jumping to the floor.

'What the hell?' asked a croaking voice. 'Where's that coming from?'

'Down here!' shouted Puar.

Legs walked past the drawer and back again.

'Must be outside,' sighed the soldier, heading back to his bunk and panicking Puar shouted again.

'You're a big, ugly, blue maggot!' she yelled.

'What?' said the soldier. She couldn't see him, but she got the impression he stopped and turned again. 'Are you talking to me?'

'Are you as dumb as you are ugly?' shouted Puar. 'Yes, you!'

'Who the fuck is that? Billbry, if you're pranking me again I am so going to make you eat your front teeth!'

'It's not Billbry!'

'Right! That does it! Where the hell are you?'

'I'm in the drawer!'

The legs returned and Puar fell back from the gap a little, heart pounding. In the nick of time she transformed back into the handbag just as the drawer opened. Puar closed her eyes as she felt the draw being rummaged.

'Ah, ha!' the soldier cried, and stood up again. Puar peeked a little and saw he was holding the scouter. 'Nice try. Now I'm going to report you for improper use of a scouter.' He started to close the drawer again.

'Where do you think you're going?' said Puar through the handbag zipper.

'Huh?'

The soldier stopped and then tossed the scouter onto the bunk, kneeling at the drawer again.

'Where is that voice coming from?'

'Your conscience.'

'Well now I know that it's you, Billbry, because that's just fucking lame. I haven't had a conscience since I was eight!'

'It's not Billbry.'

'Who, then?'

Puar hesitated. What should she say?

'Your mother.'

The soldier sprang back from the drawer, and Puar thought maybe she'd picked the exact wrong thing to say, but the next second his hands were reaching back into the drawer, rummaging with a vengeance, picking things up and discarding them on the floor. She held her breath as she felt herself being gripped painfully, shaken and then thrown aside. She landed painfully, eyes scrunched closed and it took a great effort not to cry out as she hit the polished floor.

'When I find out who this is I am going to murder you, you asshole!' the soldier yelled. 'You don't impersonate someone's dead mother for a joke!'

Puar opened her eyes. The soldier's attention was still on the inside of the drawer and she was on the floor behind him. Still holding her breath, she transformed back into her usual form and floated up onto the bunk next to the door, and backed up until she was out of eyeline and then gasped for breath as silently as she could while listening to the soldier dismantling the locker and its contents. Step one of her escape was complete – now what?

* * *

'Raditz? Tarble?'

Nappa's voice rang out over the comms and was greeted with silence.

'Report, you two! I would have thought you'd both be back by now. Can you hear me?'

Goku held his breath as if Nappa might somehow hear it.

'Mother _fucker_ ,' muttered Nappa. 'You'd better have not gotten yourself captured by Frieza, because I am _not_ rescuing your useless asses.'

Goku was in the pod, sitting between the unconscious Raditz's knees, trying to balance his brother's heavy chin on top of his head. Krillin had produced the cable that both he and Tarble had been tied up with, and they'd bound Raditz's hands to his ankles, but Goku doubted that this would control him for long if he woke up. Goku was leading the other pod, the idea being that from behind the others could watch his pod and respond if Radtiz did wake. He steered the pod with difficulty from this position; sometimes Raditz would slump one way or another and knock Goku's grip on the fiddly joystick about. They had crossed some large land masses and an ocean, and now out of a large lagoon an improbable finger of rock stuck straight up into the sky like a tower. The sky seemed oppressive here – only a single sun brightened it, dim and cool, and the grey clouds veiling it were absent any warming gold linings.

Goku checked the radar where he was tracking the one-star dragonball. Nail, the Namekian boy, had told them that Grand Elder Guru kept the one star ball above his throne, so Goku was able to lead the way without instruction.

He double tapped his transponder. 'Is this it?'

'Nail says so,' Krillin replied.

Goku was not surprised. Not only was it an unnatural landform, but he could feel a life force from here that was solid and somehow rooted through the pillar of rock into the landscape around it. He was wondering idly if there was some significance of elevation to holy places, as they all seemed to be way up in the sky, when suddenly a thought - no! A _vision_ struck him of a Namekian; immensely powerful and foreboding, and baring his way closer. It was so vivid that for a second Goku ceased to see the world around him, and his fingers slipped from the controls.

'Krillin,' he said over the Earthling channel.

'I felt it too,' said Krillin, sounding as rattled as Goku felt. 'Nail says we should leave the pods and come by ourselves so that he can introduce us. He's going to go ahead.'

'Okay.'

They landed the pods on the edge of the lagoon, and Goku carefully closed Raditz inside theirs.

'Wish we had some of that sedative of Bulma's,' said Krillin, watching him. 'That would've been useful about now. How do you suppose she got Vegeta to take some?'

'I don't know,' replied Goku, turning his back to the pod and watching Nail float away onwards and upwards to the top of the spire holding the four star ball. 'Put it in his food?' Goku's stomach gurgled. He was starving already.

'I don't think _that's_ how,' said Krillin knowingly, but Goku didn't take the bait Krillin was dangling. Bulma would tell them later, or not. It didn't particularly matter. Goku was far more focused on what he felt up ahead. Two powers, both incredibly strong, but in different ways. One was warm and slow and deep, and the other like stone – hard and formidable. Goku could tell instinctually that the hard aura belonged to a warrior, and an exceptional one.

Tarble shuffled closer to them, looking at Goku. He held the six star ball from Woniu's village under his arm, and he looked ill with nervousness.

'Should we follow him now?' he asked.

'No,' said Goku. 'Let's wait until he gets there and has a chance to talk, first.'

'What if whoever is there decides not to help us?'

'Then they'll have to come here to get the ball from you,' Goku pointed out.

'And then what?' said Tarble more harshly. 'Because whoever is up there is far stronger than Vegeta. We're not going to stop them taking the ball if they want it.'

Goku smiled, then tried to hide that he was smiling. He remembered the telling off Kami had given him about being happy at the prospect of fighting enemies far stronger than himself, but he just couldn't seem to stop himself.

'Then we'll fight, and at least we'll get the chance to see a Namekian master fight before we lose.'

'Or we could run away,' suggested Krillin. 'I don't know about you, but I'm getting kinda sick of having my ass handed to me.'

Goku smiled with grim humour. 'We've just got to keep trying,' he said, watching Nail disappear over the edge of the pinnacle. 'Running away isn't the way to get good at something, except running of course.'

Krillin pressed a hand to his face and said, 'You know, I'd be ashamed, except that being the galaxy's fastest runner doesn't seem like a bad goal to aim for, right now.'

Goku smiled. 'But by trying you've already gotten so much better at fighting! You're much stronger and a better fighter than when we left Earth.'

'I am?'

'For sure!'

Tarble nodded in reluctant agreement. 'You've both improved. I doubt there is much gap between us now.' He turned his gaze to the ground.

'We should have a little tournament when this is all over to see who's the strongest,' said Goku. 'It'd be fun!'

'Sure,' said Tarble. 'If we're all _alive_ after this.'

Goku frowned at Tarble. His mood seemed to have dropped since they'd set out for Grand elder Guru's. He wondered if Vegeta's questions had something to do with it, or if he was worried about Bulma and Puar. Goku was worried about them too, especially Bulma, as she had never replied to them over comms, but there was nothing he could do about either of them right that moment.

'You okay?' he asked Tarble.

'No!' huffed Tarble. 'Vegeta is awake again, and now Raditz knows that I've betrayed them.'

'It doesn't matter.'

'Doesn't it?' Tarble asked. 'I know Bulma cut some deal for you and Krillin that Vegeta wouldn't kill you, but the deal doesn't cover me! We _have_ to save the Earthlings now, and we _have_ to avoid Vegeta and the PTO, or I'm dead meat! And no – I don't think that Vegeta probably being my brother makes any difference,' Tarble's face flushed red, 'He won't even admit the possibility we're related – so in fact I think it makes it worse!'

Krillin reached out to pat him on the shoulder, hesitated and then dropped his hand.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I know the stakes are higher for you.'

'They're high for us _all_ , Krillin,' said Goku. 'We're going to get that wish for Earth's people or die trying, so it's no different for us than Tarble.'

Krillin didn't have a particularly perky complexion at that moment, but he paled further, and Tarble looked up at Goku, still looking ill, but there was a touch of gratitude in his eyes.

'We're in this together,' Goku iterated. 'And we're going all out.'

Krillin gulped, and he and Tarble both nodded understanding.

All their attention then was stolen by the sudden softening of that fortress-like chi force on top of the spire. It was like a wall they'd been unconsciously leaning against melted, and they all took a step forward. Apparently they were no longer forbidden.

'I think Nail told them,' hazarded Krillin.

'Let's go,' said Goku. 'Come on, Brolly!'

Brolly turned from where he was catching and releasing frogs at the edge of the lagoon, fascinated with the slimy wildlife despite the far more pressing matters, and he took to the air to meet them as they flew over.

They made the short trip to the pinnacle. At the top crouched another of the domed, spiked buildings with fish-eye windows, bigger than others they had seen and looking like an alien creature itself. Barring their way was a tall figure of a Namek with Nail by his side. Goku recognised him as the warrior. He was old – maybe almost as old as Kami had looked, and he looked a lot like Kami too, with the same deep lines either side of his mouth, and the deeply creased brow. He looked stern, and Goku decided he should be on his best behaviour for this guy.

'Hello, Mr Namek, sir,' he said, but the frown just got deeper.

'Nail here tells me that you off-worlders seek an audience with our Grand Elder Guru,' he stated. The boys waited for him to say more, but he didn't, and the moment of silence stretched on, uncomfortably long. Tarble glanced at Goku who was still considering the most polite way to address a grumpy Namekian, and then spoke for the group.

'Ah, yes we do.'

'Nail has vouched for you, but I am Ngata, the bodyguard for the Grand Elder, and as trusted as young Nail is, it is me you must impress with your worthiness to meet with the Grand Elder.'

'Are you…impressed then?' asked Goku.

Ngata narrowed his eyes. 'You came here seeking the wish orbs for what purpose?'

'To wish the people of Earth back to life!' answered Goku. That was an easy one.

'Our wish orbs can only wish one person back to life at a time, so unless you didn't have many people on Earth, or you have rather a lot of time, your task is a fool's errand.'

'We only need to wish one person back to life, sir,' said Krillin. 'A Namekian we called Kami, who was the guardian of our planet.'

'And how will that aid you?'

'Kami has his own set of wish orbs. He will wish the people back with the orbs he created himself.'

'Did you kill the people of Moori's village, or aid or assist those who did?'

'No!' said Goku indignantly. 'That was Frieza and his men, the ones who killed _our_ people!'

'And why have you led such evil to our planet?'

'We didn't!' said Krillin, but Tarble contradicted him at the same moment.

'We didn't mean to! Believe me, we've done everything we could think of to shake him, but I think he was coming here anyway.'

'Yeah, apparently there was _another_ Namekian on Earth,' said Goku. 'He told Frieza and his men about the dragonballs, just like he told the Saiyans.'

'And who are the Saiyans?'

'I'm a Saiyan,' said Brolly.

'I'm technically a Saiyan, though not by choice,' admitted Tarble.

'I'm a Saiyan too,' Goku finished.

'I thought you were an Earthling?' Ngata cut in.

'I'm a Saiyan _and_ an Earthling!'

'I'm just an Earthling,' Krillin added.

'So, Saiyans and Earthlings have joined forces to save the people of Earth?'

The boys looked amongst themselves.

'Well, _some_ of us have,' concluded Tarble.

Ngata's face softened minutely, and he spoke to Nail beside him. 'It is as you said.' He turned back to the boys.

'I will allow you to enter, as you are children, and I sense you speak the truth, or at least the truth as you know it. Treat our elder with respect or you'll answer to me.'

Without a hint of a smile he turned to the building. Nail nodded to them behind his back. A section of the wall floated out and made a door, hanging unsupported in the air, which made Goku stare as the boys followed him single file into the building. Then he found he had something else to stare at – Grand Elder Guru! He was simply massive! If he'd stood he'd have been at least twelve feet tall, but he was so hugely fat that Goku doubted he _could_ stand. His bulk was collapsed into an immense throne, yet he still towered over them while sitting. His face was drooping, his eyes seeming closed by the folds of skin that hung from his face, but it was a kindly face that even now had a small smile for them.

'Welcome, children of the tribes of Huma and Saiya,' he said. His voice was deep and slow and as rich as the energy Goku felt around him. Goku didn't understand what he said about the tribes of Huma and Saiya, but he supposed that if someone from Saiya was a Saiyan then someone from Huma was a Human. He didn't know if the Elder had made a mistake or if he knew something that Goku didn't, but Goku was used to that feeling, and judged that the question was irrelevant for now. At any rate, this Namekian was something special; something similar to Kami, but even more so, though in what way, Goku couldn't put his finger on.

'Thank you,' mumbled Goku. Tarble bowed and Krillin just blinked.

'Wow, you're really _big_ ,' said Brolly, and for once it wasn't Goku displaying the complete lack of appropriate respect. 'Really, a lot bigger than I expected.' Ngata humph-ed in disapproval beside them, but Guru didn't seem to mind, and he chuckled.

'I am terribly, terribly old, even by Namekian standards,' he told them. 'We tend to become more sedentary as we grow old - to take root, if you will.'

'I could feel it,' said Goku, and the Guru lifted his chin, almost opening his eyes.

'You could?'

'Yeah, your life energies are kind of spread out, like roots.'

'Interesting,' said Guru. 'So you are not blind to the unseen? I sense you are all young warriors, except maybe this one,' he motioned surprisingly towards Brolly. 'But those other-world warriors I encountered in my youth tended to be missing the most essential of the senses.'

'I think that may still be the case, Grand Elder, sir,' said Tarble.

'Hmm,' said Guru, and his chin fell forward again. 'Let us talk of what brings us together. I have heard from young Nail why you come to be here. I know of the death of Moori and the rest of the village – I felt them fall, one by one, and I know that there is evil abroad here on Planet Namek.' His voice pitched lower. 'My children are in danger.'

A shiver went up Goku's spine.

'Come closer, children,' he commanded. 'I must know the full story, and I must know it quickly, and words will not do.'

He reached out his hands blindly, draping them over the front of his throne. The boys looked amongst themselves, not sure if stepping closer was wise.

'Don't keep the Grand Elder waiting!' said Ngata.

'I will not harm you,' said the Elder. 'Clear you minds so that I may read your pasts.'

As one, the four boys shuffled forward. Guru's hands lifted again, wavered a little and then came down, one on Goku's head and one on Tarble's. At once, Goku felt a peculiar sensation of movement inside his head, as if he were spinning and falling, and then rushing through memories. He gasped, seeing his recent life flash past, all emotions intact, but fleeting, like a movie on fast forward. He knew at once, of course, that Guru was reading his mind, which was amazing. He'd had no idea such a thing was possible, and he wondered if he could learn to do it too.

The sensations stopped, and then Tarble gasped in turn. Goku looked over and saw the Saiyan's unfocused eyes staring at the arm of the throne in an expression not far from horror. When Guru released his hand, Tarble stepped back, breathing hard.

'I've seen enough,' Guru announced. 'So Frieza has come to Planet Namek after all this time?'

'You've heard of him?' asked Tarble.

'Yes,' Guru replied. 'In my youth he was making a name for himself as a war lord on the outer extremities of the Galaxy. He was a dangerous threat to the peace, but not the Galactic power he seems to be now.' He let out a long rumble of disquiet. 'So Frieza has nearly been the end of Saiyans, Humans, Earthlings, and now threatens the Namekians.'

'It looks that way,' said Goku. 'But not if we use the dragonballs. At least, not for Earthlings and Namekians.'

'Yes, I sensed your plan,' said Guru. 'You are right – we can use the balls to wish Frieza and his men away from here, another to wish that they cannot find their way back, and we can use the third wish to bring Kami back to life.'

The boys sighed with relief, Tarble almost melting to the floor in thankfulness.

'Thank you, Elder Guru!' he said, and Goku and Krillin echoed him.

'We can help, even in our own hour of need, and so we shall,' said Guru. 'I am curious though, how two Namekians came to be on Planet Earth. My first thought was that Kami was the child of Katas – a powerful scion of the Dragon Clan. He had such potential that when the cataclysm began destroying our cities and space ships the Elders put him on the last remaining vessel to be taken to safety. I never knew what happened to him. But there were two…and both claimed to be linked to the wish orbs of Earth?' Guru sat in silence for a long moment – long enough for Goku to start wondering if he'd fallen asleep. It was hard to tell with those eyes.

'Ah! I know what must have happened,' he said eventually. 'Kato's child split himself in two. It is a sad thing for a Namek to be so at war with himself, but occasionally it happens. His potential would have been greatly reduced. Maybe he could have even fought Frieza away from Earth himself.' Then he sighed. 'It is good to know he lived and made something of his life, though.'

'The fifth one has awoken,' announced Ngata, interrupting.

'Who?' asked Goku.

'I think he means your brother, young Goku,' said Guru.

' _Shit_ ,' hissed Tarble.

'He's going to be angry,' Krillin warned Ngata. 'And he's pretty strong!'

'He's no threat to me,' replied Ngata.

Everyone waited, watching the door, and then it exploded – Raditz making an entrance in the most destructive of ways. Guru coughed on the dust of it, but Ngata deflected all the larger fragments out of his master's way, his shield of chi seeming to do it as if by magic. Raditz's eyes were wide open with fury, but he looked a little worse for wear.

'You!' he said, his eyes finding Goku's immediately.

'Calm down before I put you down,' said Ngata, suddenly appearing by Raditz's side. The Saiyan flinched, finding the Namek's hands on his neck and arm.

'Who the fuck are you?' He tried to shake the hands off, but then his face turned panicked as his legs buckled beneath him. He crashed to his knees. 'What're you doing?'

'I am someone you should listen to when I talk,' said Ngata. 'You are in the house of the Grand Elder Guru, and any further aggressive behaviour will see you removed not just from the house, but perhaps from existence. Do you understand?'

He squeezed his hands on Raditz's neck a little harder and the Saiyan crumbled to the floor, moaning as his face smacked into the tile.

'Do you understand?' Ngata repeated.

Raditz nodded.

The tall Namekian stood again, and wiped his hands on his robes. Raditz put his hands flat on the floor and very slowly raised his head.

'What the _fuck_ is this?' he asked, quietly, but fear and fury were both apparent in his voice. Nail flinched.

'The aggressive language is not called for either,' said Ngata.

Goku was awed by this Ngata guy. He'd apparently trained Nail, and though he seemed very stern, Goku suddenly wondered if he would be willing to train him too if he stayed on the planet long enough. He was quite certain that if Vegeta happened to show up that he would be almost as defenceless against Ngata as Raditz had been.

'Just be nice, Raditz,' Goku warned his brother. 'That way Ngata doesn't have to hurt you.'

'Kakarott,' whispered Raditz. 'I will kill you.'

With a huff of disgust, Ngata leaned over and grabbed the giant Saiyan by the scruff of his neck and the seat of his pants. Raditz yelped but couldn't seem to effectively struggle against Ngata's grip while the Namekian's hand was around his neck. Ngata prepared to throw him from the building.

'Wait,' said Goku. 'He was just kidding. He just doesn't know how to be nice.'

Krillin hissed through his teeth. 'That is no lie!'

Ngata hesitated and Guru spoke up. 'Leave him be, Ngata. It's true he poses no threat to us, and his brother doesn't wish him to be ejected.'

Ngata plonked Raditz unceremoniously on the ground again, and the Saiyan sprawled on his backside.

'Stay seated,' Ngata ordered, and Raditz stilled, tucking his arms around his knees, and glared blue murder at everyone in the room.

'Don't be angry, Raditz,' Goku said, trying to calm him. 'These people are good and won't hurt you unless you give them reason.'

Raditz gave him a look of withering contempt, but Goku could see his brother was quite shaken.

'Ah, just ignore him,' said Krillin, turning his back on Raditz and facing Guru again. 'So what's the plan, Grand Elder Guru, sir?' he asked. 'Are we going to gather the rest of the dragonballs now? Should we take that one with us?' He pointed at the one above Guru's head. The Namekian surely couldn't see the gesture, but he shook his head.

'Perhaps it would be better to leave the ones you have here,' he replied. 'Should the villages realise the danger they are in they will send their balls here to be used, just as Woniu did with the three-star orb.'

'But your place is out in the open!' Goku objected. 'Surely it would be easy for Frieza or his men to find them here?'

'I have Ngata to protect them,' said Guru.

'Maybe we should hide them nearby?' suggested Tarble. 'Like Nail did with the dragonball from his village! If they had any way of tracking the dragonballs like we do, they would have found that ball, but I think they only have their scouters. They can find people, but not the balls themselves.'

'Good idea, young man,' said Guru. 'I fear that is how Frieza is finding the orbs. Moori's was not the only village to have perished today. Mathi's village is also gone.'

Nail let out a sharp cry of distress at this news. 'This is too many!' he said.

'Even one is too many,' replied Guru. 'But when it comes to repairing the damage, we have time on our side.'

Krillin rubbed a hand over his face. 'Oh, no! So, they've got at least one dragonball. We've got…three between us, plus Puar has one, but she's stuck on Frieza's ship, so that's a huge pile of trouble. But that's five accounted for.'

'We should split up,' said Nail. 'I can go warn Samuka's village and get their ball. Someone else can go to Puz's. The rest of us can go to get your friend and the other two orbs off Frieza's ship.'

'Oh, boy. Any volunteers for that last mission?' muttered Krillin.

'Me,' replied Goku. Someone needed to, after all.

'I should've known-'

Just then, Nappa's voice erupted over the comms and the Saiyans and Earthlings all stilled.

'Well, that's it,' Nappa said gravely. 'Frieza's got Vegeta and the girl – the news is all over the scouter traffic.'

Krillin grabbed Goku's arm hard, looking into his eyes with shock. _Bulma!_

'Vegeta can't be captured!' Tarble insisted.

Raditz roared and then shouted from the floor behind them. 'We've got to get out of here! We've lost! We've lost _everything!_ '

Nappa couldn't hear him of course – Radit's transponder was still in Krillin's pocket.

'Raditz? Tarble? _Anyone?_ ' A long silence stretched out after Nappa's call.

'What has just happened?' asked Ngata suspiciously.

'A radio communication from one of the others,' said Tarble, his voice shaking. 'Do we say anything?' he asked Goku.

Goku didn't respond. He had no idea what the best thing to do was.

'Frieza has probably killed them already!' warned Raditz. 'And then he's going to find the rest of us and kill us _all_ , one by one!'

'Guess there's nothing more for me to do but sit back and wait for them to come for me,' said Nappa. 'Raditz, I found your stash of grog from Grenouillea. Guess you won't mind me drinking it now that you're dead.'

'Son of a bitch! He's going to drink my alcohol if we don't get back soon!'

'We can't leave without Bulma anyway,' said Tarble.

'FUCK!' shouted Raditz. 'Oh, that takes the little, baby fucking ice lizard! Now we all really _will_ die! That idiot has doomed us!'

'It's not her fault,' said Krillin. 'She thought that _Vegeta_ was going to be the most dangerous thing on this trip.'

'We don't even know if she's dead yet,' said Goku. Bulma couldn't be dead! Surely he would feel it? Know it somehow?'

Krillin pressed his transponder. 'Nappa, do you know if Bulma is alive?'

'Krillin?' croaked Nappa, and proceeded to cough like he was choking on something. 'How the fuck are _you_ alive?'

'Never mind that, Nappa, just tell me if Bulma is alive!'

'What does that matter?'

'You want to get off this planet, right?'

'Of course. But she and Vegeta are on _Frieza's_ _ship_. They may as well be dead.'

'So they _are_ alive?' asked Krillin, and everyone stood straighter, nerves coming awake, bodies tensing with the flaring of terrible hope.

'Well, I don't know that they're dead! What are you going to do if they _are_ alive, anyway?'

'Rescue them, of course!' said Goku.

'Kakarott!' Then he laughed, a sound that trailed off into humourless hacking. 'Go on then, go and fucking try! I wish you all the best and see you in Hell soon.'

* * *

Bulma awoke to warmth and comfort and then the panic that was now getting familiar – she was in the tank! Great – what calamity had befallen her this time? It was seriously hazardous to one's health to hang out with Saiyans. She looked out the window, trying to make sense of the brightly lit but blurry scene outside. Did they have the lights turned way up on the ship? The tank began to drain, and as the water lowered past her face and she blinked it away and then began sucking in deep, panicky breaths through the mask. She wasn't on their ship! She was somewhere else entirely, and after recalling the events before she'd passed out, she realised she must be on Frieza's ship.

'Oh! No! Oh, god, no!'

An ugly alien in a medical robe stood outside the tank, a shock of orange hair over a drab green face with a long snout, sharp teeth barred as he leered at her. Bulma ripped the mask and electrodes off, found she was naked and fell back to the floor of the tank, crouching to try and hide herself from him as the door swung open.

'Where are my clothes?' she shouted as the door swung open. 'Pervert!

He stepped forward and she shrieked and pressed herself as close to the back of the tank as she could go. The alien laughed.

'Your clothes are out here on the examination table. You may dress any time you wish.'

He threw her the thing he'd been about to offer her – a towel – and she grabbed it and wrapped herself in it hurriedly, stepping out into something that she guessed might be a medical ward. It held four regeneration tanks in the centre of the room, a larger and more substantial looking design than the one the Saiyans had stolen for their ship. She stepped closer to the table with her clothes folded neatly on it, but the alien lounged against it, still staring at her, daring her to come close enough to take the clothes. Despite the awfulness, suddenly her situation became worse. The doors at one end of the oddly shaped room slid open, and a tall, green-skinned man strode in.

For a second Bulma was confused, because he was obviously a Grenouillean – he was gorgeous, golden eyed, covered in beautifully sculpted muscle, and his hair was long and braided and clasped with gold, and for a crazy moment she wondered if she was somehow back in Spawn City, but then she covered her mouth with her towel to stifle her scream as she realised it could only be Zarbon. He wore a scouter and PTO armour, and bizarrely, silky stockings pulled most of the way up his powerfully muscled thighs. His eyes slid over her and left her feeling oily in their wake, and he snapped at the other green, and far uglier man.

'She's awake already!'

The leering one cringed. 'I thought there would be no harm in allowing her to wake while you were on your way here, given her miniscule power level.'

'We don't know that,' said Zarbon. 'The orders were to keep both the girl and Vegeta sedated until either I or Dodoria or Lord Frieza himself came to collect them.'

 _Vegeta was alive!_ She was relieved, and glad, but only for a second before she remembered that this was not likely to be the case for long. Still, alive for now was better than dead already.

The medic replied. 'Sorry, Sir. I thought the order was only meant for Vegeta. Of course, I wouldn't make the same mistake with him.'

'You won't,' confirmed Zarbon, 'because if you did, he'd kill you, and if he didn't, _I'd_ kill you.'

The medic's mouth sagged open, but he only saluted and turned away to a station of monitoring equipment.

Zarbon switched his attention back to Bulma. 'Hurry up and dress! Lord Frieza is waiting.'

Panic shot through Bulma. Her hands began to tremble violently as she grasped the towel around her and reached out to her clothes with the other. She felt faint again, and she didn't feel that far off either retching or shitting herself on the floor of the treatment room. Foregoing any serious attempt to dry herself, she tried to yank her panties on one-handed, and only succeeded to getting them twisted and dropping the corner of her towel to reveal herself. She hurried to try and cover herself, but rather than leer like the medic had, Zarbon's lip curled and he lifted his nose in the air as if he'd been forced to smell something foul.

'Just hurry,' he said, turning aside to look at the other tanks.

Bulma took the opportunity to shove her clothes back on, and thanked the plant-gods that her bag of capsules was still with them. With relief she found her transponder necklace underneath it and was reminded of the earpiece in her ear; she checked and found it in place. It must surely be waterlogged, but she hoped it would still work once it was dry again. She took a glance at Zarbon, but he was still engrossed with the tanks behind her, so she quickly pocketed the earpiece. Hopefully it would dry out there. Following Zarbon's gaze she saw that next to the tank she had been in was another one still occupied. Vegeta floated naked and unconscious inside.

Bulma caught her breath. She was in no state to appreciate the sight - it only made her feel more scared and ashamed to see Vegeta exposed and vulnerable before Zarbon. Vegeta was surely condemned.

Seeing she was dressed, Zarbon simply said, 'Come,' and walked towards the door he had come by. Bulma took one step and her strength failed her, her knees giving way at the sudden recollection of Chichi's death; her bright blood splashing over her precocious bosom.

'No!' she moaned, grasping the edge of the examination table to stop herself hitting the floor completely.

'Do I have to drag you?' asked Zarbon.

Bulma didn't answer, a feeling of unreality stealing over her, and she sincerely hoped that this _wasn't_ really happening. Zarbon moved, and suddenly his hands grasped her shoulders cruelly, pushing her forwards, and she stumbled to keep her feet under her. Out into the corridors they went, and when Bulma's feet failed to do their job he really did drag her, like a particularly rancid bag of trash out to the curb.

Corners were turned and more doors slid open, but Bulma took none of it in. She needed a way out, but her brain wasn't working. It was overloaded with that fear of Frieza and what was surely her impending death. Her way out might lay in her capsule kit, but at that second she couldn't recall the contents of a single capsule.

_I don't want to die! I don't want to die!_

Another door opened, and the room beyond was bright. A massive circular window filled most of one wall of this high vaulted chamber. It was pastel pink, and the golden light streaming in the purple tinted window stained the floor a rosy salmon and left violet shadows in the corners. The single occupant was almost camouflaged within it; Frieza sat in a levitating tub chair, staring out at the serene landscape outside. The five star dragonball rested on the floor near the chair, giant and conspicuous. Somehow Bulma's despair managed to deepen.

He turned, raising a brow at the pair, and then smoothly floated from his chair and down to the floor, his toe-talons clicking on the tiles. Bulma thought she might pass out again, but Zarbon shook her as she slumped and his fingers dug in deep enough to make her scream. The resulting adrenalin kick was enough to rouse her again and she tried to pull away. Surprisingly, Zarbon let her go, and she tumbled forward a couple of steps, closer to Frieza.

She took a knee, too wobbly to stand and stared up at the creature in terror. Frieza was just like the hologram she'd seen in the lobby of the People's Palace; short, horned, wide featured with beautifully bowed and gleaming lips, as if he'd just freshly applied some dark cherry lip gloss. The big eyes and button nose suggested something childlike, as if he were just a mischievous demon, too cute to be seriously dangerous, but one look into those red eyes knocked that notion down. They were cold, pitiless and knowing.

He smiled, a lopsided, cruel thing that didn't do anything to help Bulma's sense of unreality. Even more so than when she'd seen the hologram, she recognised that smile from seeing it on Vegeta's face way too many times. The door behind her opened again, but Bulma wouldn't take her eyes off Frieza to see who it was.

'Ah, an _amuse bouche_ , while I wait for the main course to arrive? This is… _Bulma_ , I believe?' His voice was rasping and androgynous. Bulma wondered if she was supposed to reply, but the sound she made when she tried was just a weak warble.

'Yes, my Lord,' replied Zarbon.

'And you are an Earthling?'

Bulma nodded.

'Well, this is interesting,' said Frieza. 'Vegeta has never taken on a co-conspirator that wasn't a Saiyan before. Whatever can he mean by it?'

Bulma shrugged, her shoulders shaking.

'Do you not talk?' asked Frieza sharply.

'I-I do.' Her voice shook too.

'Then humour me; tell me why you are assisting Vegeta. What is his interest in you?'

'I'm only a hostage.'

Frieza gave a short chuckle. 'Don't sell yourself short, dear. You are close with my former protégé. I've seen some of the footage from Grenouillea Two, and it appeared you were a willing accomplice and that the two of you were seen to share some…' Frieza's face hardened, '… _intimacies_.'

Bulma's mind was blank.

'Intimacies? I don't recall…'

'Shall I jog your memory? I believe there was some gala event that the former president had thrown,' Frieza tossed back.

Her memory was indeed jogged, and when it was she couldn't stop her eyes widening. Frieza was talking about the kiss she'd given Vegeta in front of the President! All at once, she felt foolish for not realising that word of her existence wouldn't get back to Frieza. She'd been so set on convincing the Grenouilleans that she and Vegeta were really together that it had never occurred to her that succeeding might put a target on her own back.

'That was just an act!' she said. 'Vegeta told me I had to play along!'

'Even in private?'

' _What?_ '

'You weren't unobserved, even when you thought you weren't. Those who trade in secrets make sure to have cameras in places where such secrets collect.'

Bulma began to pant, unable to get enough breath anymore. What had he seen? When she kissed Vegeta's cheeks? When they'd almost kissed in the apartment? Oh god, had there been cameras and microphones in the apartment? If he'd seen her kiss Vegeta's cheeks she knew damn well that she would have looked like she'd enjoyed it – because she had! If anyone had been coerced it had been Vegeta.

'I believe that you are more than a mere hostage, and that you are willingly helping him.'

'I – no!' she said. She felt another pang as she realised that she was betraying Vegeta for the second time that day, but Vegeta was still in the tank and she needed to somehow save her skin _right now_. 'He captured me on Earth – I never wanted to come along.'

'Except now of course your race has been _euthanized_ ,' Frieza pointed out. 'Your motive is obvious. The only question is, in what way are you assisting Vegeta?'

'As little as possible,' she lied.

'It's possible she's telling the truth, my Lord,' came Dodoria's voice from behind her. 'They were in the middle of some argument when I turned up, and then Vegeta pushed her off a precipice.'

'Oh?' said Frieza, and then smiled, giving a satisfied, 'Hmm!'

That attitude rubbed Bulma the wrong way, and her fear partly subsided into ire.

'What?' she asked.

Frieza smiled a bit wider. 'Nothing. Just that I knew Vegeta was not the sort for attachment. My training of him holds despite what we saw on the video footage.'

Bulma glowered back at him. So perhaps Frieza was part of the reason Vegeta was so hard to get close to? That made her angry. And why was Frieza displaying some sort of fucked up pride in the actions of the one he was trying to kill?

'I ask you again. He has some use for you, and I want to know exactly what it is.'

Zarbon spoke up. 'Are you sure you want to know, my Lord? It could be nothing more than Vegeta wishing to keep a female around to entertain him.'

'Entertain him?' echoed Frieza with a disgusted sneer. 'Vegeta was never inclined to indulge any sexual appetite.'

'Forgive me, my Lord, but last time you saw Vegeta was two years ago before the monkey was mature, sexually speaking. You don't know what habits he's picked up.'

'Nappa has probably taught him a few,' said Dodoria unhelpfully. 'Some of the stories I've heard…'

Bulma didn't have enough blood pressure to blush, but she was horrified for both her and Vegeta to be talked about like this.

Frieza looked at her again, leaning closer, running a disapproving eye up and down her.

'Do you really think that could be it?' he asked.

Suddenly Zarbon gripped her chin from behind and wrenched her head up and around so he could see her face. He loomed over her, looking at her as if she were an inanimate object rather than a person.

'Yes. She's not to my taste, but who knows what those monkeys find attractive.'

Zarbon let go of her, and Bulma locked eyes with Frieza again. 'Is that it?' he asked. 'Are you Vegeta's whore?'

'No!' she shouted, before she'd even thought through the pros and cons of saying yes. 'I'm not anyone's _whore!_ And don't use that word – it's awful!'

Frieza chuckled in surprise. 'Well, look whose giving me orders! A trifle spirited, aren't you? No wonder Vegeta threw you off a cliff. So, if you're not a whore…sorry, what word should I use?'

'Bed-mate?' suggested Zarbon. 'Concubine?'

'Sausage smuggler?' Dodoria chimed in.

Frieza gave Dodoria a flat look over her shoulder before starting over. 'If you're not Vegeta's bed-mate, nor that of his fellow monkeys, then you must be something else to him. What is it? And tell me now before my patience runs out, because if you're nothing to Vegeta, you are definitely nothing to me!'

Bulma froze again. Evading Frieza's questions wasn't going to buy her life after all.

'I-I-I'm the ship's mechanic,' she got out.

'Ah,' said Zarbon behind her.

'Is that all?' said Frieza coldly.

'And his…technologist,' she said. 'I make stuff.'

'What kind of "stuff"?'

'Communication devices. Training aides.' She'd never made a training aide, but she was sure she could if she had to. She wasn't going to say dragon radars – no way!

Frieza stood straighter.

'So it was true what the report said,' he spoke to Zarbon and Dodoria. 'She wasn't covering for Vegeta; she really was the one driving the purchases on Grenouillea.'

'Huh,' said Dodoria, in a barely interested way.

'And is that all you do for Vegeta?' Frieza pressed again.

'Yes.'

'Well, that's a pity for you, because I don't need any more mechanics or low-grade technologists. Dodoria, take her outside the ship and execute her.'

'No!' Bulma screamed, looking around wildly as Dodoria moved towards her. 'Wait!'

'Wait, _what?_ ' said Frieza with some annoyance. 'This had better be good, as I don't have time to waste on mechanics. I have dragonballs to collect, you know.'

Bulma found her feet and skittered away from Dodoria and Zarbon, pressing herself against the side wall of the large chamber. She knees were shaking something terrible.

'I…I…I'm not just a ship's mechanic,' she said. 'You realize I've n-never _seen_ a space ship until a few weeks ago, and I already repaired the ship about three times!'

Frieza looked unimpressed.

'My father is- _was_ the most technical genius on Earth! And I'm very nearly as brilliant as he was already!'

'Meaningless,' said Zarbon. 'For all we know your race is comprised of mouth-breathers. You hadn't even invented space travel.'

Bulma decided that arguing that the moon expeditions were space travel wouldn't win her many points.

'If you asked Vegeta he'd tell you I'm a genius!' she cried. 'I saved those goddamn Saiyan's lives more than once already! Vegeta wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me! He'd have died from that hole Dodoria put in him on Earth!'

Frieza's eyes narrowed a fraction.

'Do tell,' he prompted.

'I stitched him back together enough that he could survive the regen tank. I got us off Grenouillea Two by hacking the computer system at the control tower – in a language, let alone programming language, that I learnt only a week before! If you give me a little time I can fix, hack, or invent almost _anything!_ I'm useful!'

Frieza cocked his head, pressing a finger to his lips in consideration. 'That might be, but you are also loyal to Vegeta.'

'I'm not,' she replied, feeling the stab of guilt as she said it. 'He made me promise loyalty, but I lied.'

'Then why are you here?'

'I was using him to get to _Planet Namek_ ,' she said, her voice becoming hushed - the truth sounded just as bad as the lies.

Frieza cracked a smile, then chuckled in amusement. 'Now this is more like it,' he said. 'You put one over Vegeta? It's hard to believe.'

'He can't even leave the planet without me!' she cried. 'I locked him and the other Saiyans out of the ship's computer. And then I knocked him out earlier with a huge dose of sedative!'

Frieza, Zarbon and Dodoria all burst out laughing.

'Oh my word! Can this be true?' asked Frieza. 'Vegeta has never been so outsmarted as far as I know.'

'Ask him yourself, if you don't believe me,' she replied. 'He was only awake when Dodoria caught up to us because the Namekians healed him somehow.'

'Now things make a bit more sense,' said Dodoria.

'I must admit, I am somewhat impressed,' said Frieza, biting back his smile again. 'But I do wonder what your motivation is for riding the Monkey Prince's coattails to Planet Namek. I suppose you want to make some wish to undo what was done on Earth, am I right?'

It would have been natural to say yes, but Bulma caught the reply before it could leave her lips, and thought all through the possible reactions to that answer.

'No,' she replied.

'Then _why?_ '

She thought fast. 'So that I could…make a wish granting me all the scientific knowledge of the Galaxy.'

Frieza raised a brow. 'Really? You are not set of some sort of mercy mission for your people? Or revenge against myself?'

Bulma gulped in air and tensed, hoping that she wasn't giving away every tell in the book as she lied big. 'I don't care about the people of the Earth as much as I care about knowledge and technology. I've seen some of the technology in the Galaxy already and I want to know it all. I want to be building the next big thing. I want to _invent_. It's the only thing I care about.' She still felt breathless after she said it, and full of fear because surely no one would buy that load of bullshit.

Well, maybe Frieza. He laughed again.

'Aren't you a cold customer? A self-serving urchin after my own heart - maybe there's room for you in my collection after all, but I can't have someone who is nursing a grudge against me on my ship. Well, if I keep you on, I'm afraid to say you shalln't be getting your wish, because as soon as I have gained my immortality I will be destroying these dragonballs and all the creatures who make them. You will have to expand your knowledge in the usual way.'

Bulma's shock made her jump. He'd destroy the dragonballs? Not that she needed any extra motivation, but the thought of no Earthlings ever, an immortal Frieza and no way to end his reign was far too much.

'Shall I make arrangements to keep her?' asked Zarbon, his brow raised faintly in surprise.

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' said Frieza lightly. 'It is sometimes unwise to keep someone with a demonstrated penchant for deviousness, so there will have to be the usual barrage of psychological profiles done,' Frieza told him. 'If she's lying about her intentions it will surely be found out. And she has yet to show if she will be worth our while. To that purpose, let us first perform a test.'

A test?

'Now, what could it be?' Frieza mused. Bulma hoped for some sort of written or multichoice.

'Repair a broken scouter?' said Zarbon.

Frieza scowled. 'Too easy.'

'We could force her to balance the climate control on the lower deck,' suggested Dodoria.

Frieza turned and gave him a look of incredulity. 'I'm trying to think of a difficult test, Dodoria, not outstanding maintenance jobs!'

'Sorry, my Lord, but it must be fairly difficult if our own crew have been unable to do it properly for the last year.'

Frieza said nothing, and after a second Dodoria flinched and took a step away from his master.

'Sorry, Lord Frieza. It was a joke, and not a very good one. In all seriousness, we could lock her in the brig and see if she can escape.'

'That's more like it,' replied Frieza.

'Or put her in an airlock with the timer set to purge to space.'

Zarbon scoffed. 'We're on a _planet_ , Dodoria. There's an atmosphere outside.'

Bulma had almost forgotten this detail in her panic at the thought, but her small relief was over quickly.

'No, I like that idea,' announced Frieza. 'We shall put her in an airlock and instead set a timer to suck the air out.' He turned to watch Bulma as he outlined his plan. 'If you somehow manage to open the airlock door from inside before you suffocate we will begin the screening process for your possible employment as soon as we land on one of my planets of operation.'

_Shit._

'How long shall we give her, Dodoria?'

'Five minutes?'

_Oh, shit, shit!_

Frieza grinned at her. 'Let's make it two.'

And it was about then that Bulma realised she was not expected to pass this test at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Am I mean? I did it to you again!


	45. Up Shit Creek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Has it been so long? Has it been TOO long? No, I didn't perish whilst learning to paraglide, and I did pass my tests. I'm afraid I've just been doing some video editing (of our paragliding adventures) and reading in my spare time. You can blame MayMayB over at We're Just Saiyan for getting me hooked on reading out-and-out romance with her VB book club.
> 
> Has it been so long that you need a refresher? Krillin, Goku, Tarble and co are at Guru's discussing their next move. Bulma, Puar and Vegeta are all stuck on Frieza's ship, separately, and Bulma's about to be put in an airlock and the air siphoned out for shits and giggles. Nappa is hanging out at the ship with a trio of dead bodies still.

'You were talking to a friend?' asked Nail after they gave up trying to get more information from Nappa.

' _Not_ a friend, actually,' replied Krillin. He was starting to tremble, through fear, anxiety or just plain hunger, he wasn't sure. Breakfast had been a long time ago. 'So, what now? Are we hiding dragonballs?'

'Your plan has merit,' said Ngata. 'We shall hide the orbs close by. I will stay to guard them and our Grand Elder.'

'I'll go to Samuka's,' said Nail. 'But who will go to Puz's village? I could go to both, but it would take longer.'

Tarble, Krillin and Goku looked amongst themselves. Krillin felt he should volunteer to rescue Bulma and Puar – after all, they were his friends - but he was terrified at the thought.

'I…' he croaked, beginning to crumble. 'Maybe I-'

'I will do it,' said Brolly.

Krillin looked up at Brolly in surprise. The thought of Brolly acting independently hadn't occurred to him.

'Are you sure?'

Brolly looked confused. 'Yeah. Why not? Everybody is doing something.'

Krillin frowned, looking left and right at Tarble and Goku. Their expressions displayed the same concern Krillin felt.

'How will you find the way, Brolly?' he asked.

Brolly smiled and pointed at his temple. 'I'll go in a pod and find it with my chi sense!'

'Yeah. Maybe one of us should go with you.'

'That's a point though,' said Tarble. 'Maybe one of us should go with Nail to the villages in a pod. It would be far faster. The rest of us can go get Bulma and the others.'

'Yes!' said Nail.

'Do I go with Nail?' asked Brolly.

'Uh...' Krillin wasn't sure if it was best to send Brolly off with Nail or risk bringing the dull-spark along to Frieza's ship. Then again, Nail certainly seemed to be able to handle things. 'Sure. Well, I guess that just leaves planning the impossible raid on Frieza's ship, then.'

'What about Raditz?' asked Goku.

'Leave him here with Ngata?' suggested Krillin.

'But he could help.'

Raditz barked with laughter behind them. 'Yeah, I'd help _you_ little fuckers.'

Goku spun on the spot to face his brother, who still sat hunched, hugging his knees.

'You would?'

'No! I won't, you moron!'

Goku's heart sank again at Raditz's harsh tone, but he didn't give up on the notion just yet. He was sure he could make Raditz see things his way. He knelt down beside his brother to talk.

'Raditz, we're going to get the dragonballs to save Planet Namek and Earth. I know you've been helping Vegeta, but I really think you should help us now, instead.'

'I'm not going to " _help"_ you, Kakarott!' Raditz hissed.

'It's not just me - the Namekian people need our help, and the people of Earth need our help! Vegeta's wish only helps him; you could be helping a lot of people instead.'

Raditz scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Goku was not fooled. He saw the deeply unhappy twist to Raditz's mouth and the thickness of his voice when he spoke.

'You're an idiot! I already told you that Earth means nothing to me and I won't betray Vegeta for it! I-' Suddenly Raditz choked himself off.

'Well, what _does_ mean something to you?' Goku asked.

'Being a Saiyan!'

'But you _are_ a Saiyan, no matter what,' said Goku in confusion. 'What does that even mean?'

'It means Vegeta and Nappa!' Raditz shouted back. 'It means being loyal to Vegeta and Nappa! You don't know what it means to be one of them! They're what means something to me! And you!' Raditz's face screwed up again and for a moment Goku thought he was about to cry, but instead he roared, spit flying. 'I thought _you_ would mean something to me! What a waste you are - you _turned on us!_ '

Goku rocked back on his heels, feeling something inside of himself shrinking away from Raditz's anger; it couldn't be helped, but he'd let Raditz down. He never liked to let people down, but Raditz wanted him to be something he was never going to be, and would never _want_ to be.

'What about me?' asked Tarble, pushing his way forward to stand by Goku. 'I'm a Saiyan too!'

'What about _you?_ ' said Raditz. 'You're even less of a Saiyan than _"Goku"_.' He spat the name out like it made him sick.

Tarble flinched at that, but he replied, 'And you wonder why I betrayed you when you guys treat me like that? You never treated me like I was really one of you!'

'And now you never will be.'

Tarble made a pathetic sound that was half snarl, half sob; teeth barred and tears starting to brim his eyes as he stared at Raditz. Goku scowled. Raditz seemed to know just how to hit home with Tarble.

'Raditz,' he said, calling his brother's attention back to him. 'I'm sorry things had to be this way, but they did. If you join us now though, no one will have to turn on anyone. We want pretty much the same things now.'

'I'll never trust you again,' said Raditz.

'Help us anyway.'

Raditz simmered, not saying anything.

'Hey, Raditz,' said Krillin from over Goku's shoulder. 'Just maybe chill a minute to think about this. I'm not sure you're seeing things clearly.'

'I'm seeing things clearly enough!'

'I know. But you said that Vegeta matters to you. Well, we're going to _save_ Vegeta, and the most important thing right now is that Frieza doesn't get _his_ wish.'

'Krillin is right,' said Goku. He hadn't realised until then just how much it was also in Raditz's interests to help them.

'Kakarott, if we go to Frieza's ship we're gonna die!'

'If we don't we're going to die anyway!' cried Tarble. 'We need Bulma to get off the planet!'

' _I_ don't,' said Raditz. 'I'll take a pod and get the hell out of the firing line!'

Goku growled. His brother was gutless when it got down to it.

'Okay, then, run away!'

'I will!'

'But just remember that Vegeta and Nappa might die. And you'll be all alone.'

Raditz froze, his face going slack, and then curling up again into another vicious snarl. 'At least I'll be alive!'

Tarble lost his rag at that, and pushed past Goku to give Raditz a piece of his mind.

'How can you say that Vegeta and Nappa are important to you one minute, and then say you'll abandon them in the next?'

'And what good will dying for them do?' retorted Raditz. 'Vegeta is already as good as dead! Nappa can take the other pod if he can find it before they find and kill him too!'

'You have no honour, Raditz!' Tarble shouted. 'How can I be less of a Saiyan that you, when you're the one that's running away, and I'm the one that's going to at least try and save the others?'

'Shut up! said Raditz, lurching to his knees. 'You don't care about the others either! You only want to become an Earthling and live a soft life.'

'I want to live a life worth living!' roared Tarble. 'And what will you be doing? Without Vegeta and Nappa telling you what to do and where to go? What kind of life will _you_ be living?'

Raditz shot forward at Tarble, but Ngata was faster, and Raditz crumpled to the ground, growling and snorting like a mad thing before he stopped and stilled under Ngata's hands.

'Okay! Okay, old man! Get off me!'

'So you can attack the youngster who I suspect only speaks the truth?' Ngata asked.

'No,' replied Raditz. 'I won't. I promise.'

Ngata backed off and Raditz got slowly to his knees again, letting his hair hide most of his face. He shoved his fingers into it, grabbing handfuls either side of his face and pulled on it.

'Damn it! Damn it!' he muttered.

Goku decided to give it one last shot. 'Bulma is on that ship too. Even Puar is stuck on the ship. She's scared, and I told her we'd be there soon. You _know_ Frieza's ship, don't you? You'd be able to help us find our way around. Maybe you wouldn't even have to go in – just stay a safe distance back and speak us through it on our comms, and if things gets hairy you can still leave-'

'Oh, just shut up, okay! You win!' cried Raditz, lifting his face to glower at Goku.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean you've made your point! I'm in! I suppose I may as well die along with the rest of you cretins as there's nothing better to do! But seriously, _fuck you, guys!_ '

Goku didn't feel much satisfaction at this capitulation. He wished his brother was truly on his side.

'By the way, we're not going to die,' he told him. 'Or at least, we're going to try really hard not to.'

Raditz huffed. 'You have _no_ _clue_ what you're up against!'

'You're going to trust this man?' asked Ngata in disbelief, standing back from Raditz.

'There's no reason not to,' assured Goku.

'If we survive, you little bastards are still going to pay for this,' Raditz said.

'Let's get going,' said Goku. 'We can figure out what we're going to go on the way there.'

'Before you do,' came Guru's massive voice. 'I have a gift for you - something that will aid you in your task.'

The boys and Raditz all turned back to the huge figure on the throne.

'What is it, Grand Elder, sir?' asked Goku.

'I will unlock the hidden potential inside all of you.'

'Huh? What does that mean?'

'It means he's going to make you stronger,' said Nail, grinning at Goku.

 _Stronger?_ Excitement zipped through Goku.

'Come closer; you first, Goku,' said Guru, reaching out his hand again.

Goku did, but then ducked Guru's hand before it could settle on his head. 'Wait a second! Are you going to give me some of your own strength?'

'No, Goku. I will just be freeing what is inside you already.'

'Oh.' Goku let the giant hand brush his hair before he pulled away again. 'Does that mean that once you unlock me, I won't ever get any stronger?'

Guru laughed. 'No! Of course not! At different times a person's potential is different. Should you train, your potential will increase, and should you take an easy life, it will decrease. All I will do now is give you access to every last bit of potential you _currently_ have.'

'Oh, good!' said Goku. 'I had to check.'

The hand came down, and Goku waited, wondering if it would feel like the mind reading.

'Hmm,' Guru rumbled. 'Some of your limits are due to a misconception, Goku. You are not a human – it is safe to adjust your expectations.'

Goku had just a second to absorb that, and then…

It was as if Guru was a blast of hurricane wind, smashing through the front door and blowing open every door and window in the house of Goku's mind. He gasped, and then cried out because he couldn't see, and could only feel the rush; no up, no down, chaos everywhere inside him. And then just as suddenly it settled down again, leaving him panting in the calm, everything back in its place, the furniture restored, only not quite…No, there was certainly something different!

'There,' said Guru, lifting his hand, and Goku felt like he was about to float off the floor.

'Oh, my gosh!' He flexed his toes, and found himself balancing on the tips of them with no effort at all. He _breathed_ and it felt easier; fuller, deeper, more _satisfying_. 'Guru, this is incredible!' He swung his arms and they felt like precision instruments compared to the crude tools they had been a moment ago. Deciding he must test himself immediately, he took off, running to the end of the room and then up the wall, doing a lap across the ceiling before shooting back to where he started. He did it so fast that Krillin had only had time to blink before he was back, Ngata's robes set swaying by the movement.

'Wha…?' exclaimed Krillin. Tarble and Radtiz were staring at him too, looking unnerved.

'Krillin, you have _got_ to try this!'

'Yeah, sure!' said Krillin, rushing forward. 'I'm not a Saiyan, though,' he warned Guru as the hand came down. 'It might not work on me.'

'I think that is part of your problem,' said Guru. 'You think you are only human, not realising how much more you can get out of your only-human form.'

Then Krillin's face went rigid and he squealed through his bared teeth. From the outside Goku could see the rushing movement of translucent chi over his friend, but it looked rather unremarkable otherwise. However, as Guru's hand came away, Krillin's chi _sprang_. Goku couldn't believe it. It was like ten Krillins in the room!

'Holy CRAP!' shouted Krillin. 'Oh, sorry, beg your pardon, Grand Elder.'

'That is quite all right. Tarble, come.'

Tarble stepped forward, a look of desperate hope on his face.

He put his hand on Tarble's spiked hair and hesitated, lifting it again and patting him gently. 'Poor child.'

Tarble looked up, although he couldn't see over the arm of the chair to Guru's face. Goku could see the panic on Tarble's though.

'Don't tell me I don't have any potential?' he cried.

'Do not fret about that. You mustn't let other's expectations rule you. You may have started further behind the starting line, but life is a very long race. Or at least, we hope it is.'

Suddenly the rush of energy washed through Tarble, and the boy grunted, breathed hard, and then as Guru took his hand away, his chi billowed just like Krillin's had; probably even stronger than Krillin's had. Tarble took a step back, and then stayed there, trembling.

'Oh, gods…' He lifted his head, shot into the air and levitated before Guru's face. 'Thank you, Grand Elder! Thank you!' He bowed, then bowed again. 'I don't know how to thank you enough!'

'If you save my children from the scourge of Frieza, it will be more than enough,' said Guru.

'Of course,' said Tarble. He landed next to Goku again, and Goku politely ignored that Tarble was wiping his eyes on the shoulder of his T-shirt. Radtiz stepped around him though. Ngata shadowed him, still wearing that look of disapproval on his face.

'Do me next!' he demanded.

This time Guru's face settled into more solemn lines.

'I sense evil in you,' he said bluntly.

'So?'

'I only unlock the potential of those who will use the gift for good.'

'I thought saving your sorry species _was_ good!' objected Raditz. Ngata growled and even Nail looked like he'd taken offence.

'Raditz, you are such a tool,' muttered Krillin. Raditz snarled over his shoulder at him, but for once Goku estimated that Krillin was safe from any backlash Raditz could mete out – Krillin was probably stronger at this moment. But if Raditz could increase his power by that degree they'd have all the more firepower to take to Frieza's ship…

He stepped forward. 'Please, Grand Elder; unlock Raditz's potential. We need all the advantage we can get.

'But surely you must know he is not a good man,' said Guru.

'You can tell that just by looking at him?' asked Krillin in surprise.

'I can sense it.' He stretched out his hand towards Raditz and sighed. 'I can feel one who does not seek to do evil, but turns away from good. Someone who pretends he has little choice when he always has some. He has a coward's heart.'

Raditz flushed red.

'What? I am not a fucking COWARD!'

'There are many types of cowardice, young man,' said Guru, his voice sterner than it had been till that point. 'You would rather follow a dangerous order than make a decision of your own to disobey it, even when you know it to be wrong.'

'Aren't I about to head into almost-certain death for my comrades?' said Raditz.

'Motivated again, by fear.'

Raditz shook his head and turned away. 'This is bullshit!'

'No, wait!' said Goku, getting in front of Raditz before he could get far. 'Raditz, Guru, please! If we fail he'll probably be killed anyway. If we succeed…'

Ngata picked up Goku's thought. 'If they succeed, then you and I will still be alive to worry about a super-charged, dark-hearted Saiyan.'

Goku looked up at the tall Namek who stood next to him. He hadn't expected assistance from that quarter.

'So what you're saying is, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?' Guru asked.

'It is a precarious time for ideals, Grand Elder,' said Ngata. 'I would certainly not be in favour of it normally, but perhaps a more pragmatic approach is needed today.'

'You are right, of course.' The old Namek sighed heavily. 'At least the boy is not totally black-hearted. There is hope for him yet, and even the process itself may have some effect. Come, Raditz!'

Sulking, Raditz stalked back to the throne, grabbed Gur's hand disrespectfully and slapped it on his head.

'Do your voodoo, Old Man.'

The blast of chi flared up, and Raditz yelped.

'Do not fight it!' Guru warned him.

But Raditz let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees, gasping deeply at air.

'You must let these gates open, as much as you wish them to remain closed.' Now Guru gasped, as if he was struggling too. 'You're only making it harder.'

'Stop! Stop!' shouted Raditz and then he wrenched away, falling to his haunches. His chi _did_ swell, but it was not as dramatic an increase as Krillin and Tarble's had been.

'That is _not_ your full potential,' Guru said as Raditz sprang to his feet. Raditz gave himself a quick pat down to make sure he was still intact and then examined his own hands in surprise, flexing his forearms, opening and closing his fists. Goku knew just what he was experiencing.

'Feels pretty good to me!' said Raditz.

'You stubbornly refused to be altered enough for your full potential to come forward. I should have expected as much.'

'Then give me the rest!'

'Then submit fully.'

Guru and Raditz stared hard at each other for a long moment, but then Raditz turned away, shrugging.

'Whatever. This is enough for me. Come on, Kakarott; let's get out of here before Frieza ends up coming to _us_.'

'Do I get a turn?' asked Brolly.

The tall, gangly boy had been forgotten again at the back of the room. Krillin and Tarble swapped looks of consternation.

'Of course,' said Guru.

'Is this a good idea?' Goku asked Raditz as Brolly bounded forward. Raditz's face clearly showed that he didn't think so, but Brolly heard.

'Why wouldn't it be?' he asked, just a hint of indignation to his tone.

Goku hated that Brolly's own condition was a secret to him, and it also seemed cruel to leave him out without an explanation, but what could he say?

'You're just a bit different to the rest of us.'

'How?'

'You just are.'

'He is strong, but I already sensed that this boy is not a warrior like the rest of you,' said Guru. 'A person's full potential is not all about fighting strength. Brolly may have other skills.'

'Oh,' said Brolly, nonplussed, but then he shrugged. 'Okay, then.'

He stepped under Guru's waiting hand, and Krillin piped up.

'Just a second, Grand Elder, sir! Hypothetically speaking, if a person was not all there in the head and you unleashed their potential, would that be bad?'

'Well, it would not harm them,' said Guru. 'It may even help them.'

Krillin looked down at his nervously fidgeting fingers.

'Not really what I was asking,' he mumbled.

Guru's hand descended.

For a moment nothing happened, and then Guru groaned. 'There is something unusual here.'

'What is it?' asked Brolly.

'A constriction,' said Guru and took a deep breath.

'Hold up!' said Raditz. 'I think we should stop-'

But Guru sighed and the diadem around Brolly's face fell to the floor, its clasp busted open.

Raditz, Tarble, Krillin and Goku all jumped in shock.

'Oh fuck, oh fuck!' hissed Raditz, pulling at his hair again.

'Now I have it!' boomed Guru, and Brolly growled. 'What do we have here? I have been deceived about you.' The Elder sat straighter in his seat, adjusting his grip on Brolly, and then he let out a moan of dismay.

Raditz, Krillin and Tarble were all backing up towards the broken door. Goku didn't think it was quite time to panic yet.

'What is it?' demanded Ngata, seeing them making for the exit. 'What do you know?'

'Brolly is a nutcase,' replied Raditz, 'and that headgear was the only thing keeping him under control.'

'But why are you all so obviously frightened by that fact?'

'Because he's a really, really strong nutcase!'

Right then Brolly screamed, and they all jumped in fright. He fell down to his knees like Raditz had, and Guru slumped forward to keep hold of him. The old Namek was grunting with effort, sweat starting to stand out on his dull green skin.

'So much…damage!' he gasped.

'What's happening to Grand Elder Guru?' cried Nail.

'He's healing him, I think,' said Ngata. 'And it looks difficult.'

Brolly and Guru were locked together for a minute and then another that felt like forever as they gasped, screamed and moaned as if they were engaged in motionless combat.

'What if he can't do it?' Krillin asked Ngata.

'I've never seen him fail,' he replied, but his face showed his worry.

Raditz shook his head. 'If the Grenouilleans couldn't cure him I don't think this witch-doctor will. Krillin, Tarble, Kakarott, let's go before Brolly gets free of this green lard-ball!'

Just then Guru and Brolly fell apart. Guru sagged back into his chair, panting heavily, while Brolly fell on his back doing the same.

'There,' said Guru. 'There was a lot of you broken; a lot closed off in self-defence, but maybe now your true self can start to find its way out.'

Everyone stared as Brolly righted himself. His eyes swept around the group, staring and wide, and then stopped on Ngata. He whimpered and scuttled backwards along the floor till he hit the wall behind Guru's throne. Goku gaped, as did the other boys. He could tell that Brolly was different already. The fear. The _fear_. He'd never seen Brolly afraid – not even for a moment.

'Did you just heal his _madness_?' Raditz asked the question everyone was thinking.

'I'm mad?' asked Brolly, sounding terrified by the thought.

'Madness is a crude term,' said Guru. 'I have restored some pathways that have been closed off for most of his life, by the feel of it. He is not fully healed. Brolly, you must learn who you are and how to live with your full being.'

Brolly was hyperventilating. 'But I feel mad _now!_ What have you done? Undo it!'

Guru held out his big hand again. 'Hush, child. Come here.'

Brolly leapt to his feet and ran to Guru's outstretched hand and clung to it like a frightened toddler to his mother.

'I can feel something _horrible!_ ' he said. 'Make it go away!'

'It is fear, Brolly. I feel it, your friends feel it, and now you can too.'

Brolly looked over at them and then his face turned desperate again. 'When I look at them I can feel their _feelings_ inside me! How is that possible?'

Goku wondered how that was possible too, but Guru seemed to have an answer.

'That is empathy. Now when you can guess someone's emotion, instead of just giving the emotion a name, you feel an echo of it inside yourself, just as I do, just as they do.'

'Why?' cried Brolly. 'Why would anyone want that?'

'To make us whole and better people.'

Brolly looked over at them again and then squeezed him eyes shut, tears leaking from them. 'Please, undo what you did! I don't want this!'

Guru pulled his hand free and placed it on the back of Brolly's head where Brolly caught it again, hanging on in desperation.

'What has been mended can't be broken again,' he said gently. 'But you will grow used to it and see benefit from it. For now, I can offer you calm. It won't last for long, but it will ease the transition a little.'

For a few moments everyone in the house was still, and then Brolly let go of Guru's hand. Guru lifted it away with a sigh.

'It is poor timing for you to come to me now, but I have no doubt, Brolly, that you will be better off in the long run, and your friends too. Now they must do their part to look after you. Can you do that?' he asked of their group.

Goku automatically nodded yes, although he had no idea how. Tarble and Krillin nodded too, but Raditz just swore under his breath. Brolly took a few hesitant steps toward them and then stopped when Krillin took a step back. He dropped his gaze, unable to meet their eyes.

'So, what do we do now?' he asked.

'Now we get on with things,' said Ngata. 'Enough time has wasted.'

'First things first,' said Goku. His stomach gave a massive gurgle. 'Do you have anything to eat?'

* * *

Bulma was marched swiftly to a large loading bay with several airlocks off the side. She breathed fast, feeling faint again.

_At least I have my capsules! At least I have my capsules!_

A technician took Frieza's instructions and opened an airlock. A small crowd gathered to watch.

'Two minutes, remember,' Frieza said with a smile, and she was shoved through the door. It slammed behind her.

_Out! Out! Get out, Bulma!_

Oddly, in the quiet of the airlock it was easier to think. There was only a small window in the door, and she ignored any movement outside it, spilling the contents of her capsule kit on the airlock floor. She turned immediately to the control panel by the door she had just come through. She pressed "Open inner door" just in case, but nothing happened. Okay, the control panel was held on by rivets.

_Tools! Electronics!_

She opened her toolbox capsule and whipped out the crowbar, attacking the panel with such desperation that she tore the metal and had to slow down. Plastic buttons popped off the front side and went flying. Behind was a mess of wires.

_Oh, god._

It wasn't that she couldn't figure it out, it was that she didn't have time! She randomly pressed switches, pulled wires out and contacted them, and nothing happened.

'I'm going to die!' she screamed at herself. 'Do something!'

Ditching the panel she ran to the exterior door, pressed buttons and attempted to jam the crow bar between the blades of the iris door, but she didn't have the strength of a Saiyan. Going back to her capsules she looked around the rest of the airlock. Safety messages and icons were painted along the walls. "Ensure no debris straddles the airlock doors before closing." "No open flames." "Press emergency button for immediate technical assistance." There were some strange fixtures on the ceiling – Camera? Warning light? Air vent?

_Scuba!_

She rushed back to capsules scattered on the floor, sorting through them for the one that held scuba gear and a dingy. The vacuum would still kill her eventually, but the breathing apparatus might buy her some time. Maybe she could just open the cylinder to refill the airlock, assuming they didn't continually bleed the airlock?

_Good idea, Bulma, but you've still got to get out of this thing!_

The capsule popped open and she was thrown into the wall by the inflatable dingy inside unfolding. She ignored the bruised elbows and head though, climbed into the dingy and hauled the breathing apparatus onto her back, respirator at the ready for when the airlock was emptied. There was still air right now, though.

Jumping back out of the dingy she flipped it over to find her tools and other capsules underneath it again. It got stuck on the things protruding from the ceiling. She gave it a mighty shove, and it popped past. What _was_ that next to the warning light? A sprinkler?

_No open flames._

The air lock on their own ship had a safety feature that she had read about - if fire or smoke was detected, foam would spray the interior for twenty seconds. If the fire persisted beyond that, the airlock would purge to space. Was this airlock similar?

She hauled her blow torch out of her toolbag and fired it up, reaching up to hold it near the sprinkler. That moment her two minutes also ran out.

An alarm sounded and the orange light flashed, spinning a few times before her ears popped. Immediately she was breathless. She put the blow torch back down to bung the respirator in her mouth and open the valve. Picking up the blowtorch again, it only took another couple of seconds before the sprinkler started shooting water in all directions. She was instantly soaked and half-blinded by the water, but that was the least of her worries. A pre-recorded voice spoke, sounding quiet to Bulma's ears. Her ears were already killing her and her eyes felt like they were bulging. She narrowed her eyes to slits

'Combustion source detected. Brace for emergency venting in twenty seconds or extinguish source.'

The blowtorch was dying faster than she was, its flame tapering down to almost nothing as the air disappeared.

_Fuck!_

She dropped the apparatus from her back, and undid the nut holding the hose to the cylinder as fast as she could. The blowtorch went out.

Like a distant whisper she heard, 'Combustion source extinguished,' and the water shut off.

She took one last breath and the nut came free; a white rush of oxygen rich air exploding into the airlock again. Firing up the torch as fast as she could, she held it towards the sprinkler again, which burst back to life, as well as the alarm. Water wasn't about to put out a blow torch though, especially with a fat stream of air right under it. Bulma's ears popped again and again as the pressure fluctuated, and she counted down one of the longest twenty seconds of her life.

'Emergency venting in ten seconds.'

'Emergency venting in three, two, one.'

The exterior airlock door opened with an anticlimactic pop, letting the sweet Namekian breeze in.

She sat on the floor of the airlock for a few seconds, panting in the air and shaking all over. Outside was the peaceful looking blue fields and green sky.

_I'm alive!_

Then she remembered the monsters behind door number one.

_But I've got to get out of here!_

Looking back, her view through the inner airlock window was blocked by the rubber dingy, so perhaps they didn't know yet she was free. She peered over the edge of the open airlock and was dismayed to see that she was about ten metres in the air. Her hoverbike was abandoned on a ridgeline somewhere.

'Climbing equipment! Rope!'

She tore back to the scattering of capsules, checking them hurriedly and shoving the irrelevant ones back in her bag. Finding the one she thought held the rockclimbing equipment, she capsulated her tool and electronics kits again and cast around for something to tie the rope too. The sprinkler? No. The dingy? No!

She grabbed the end of the raft and shoved it out of her way, out of the airlock. To her surprise she saw it halt in mid air and she stared, not understanding. Then it was slung aside, revealing Zarbon hanging in the air, waiting for her.

'No!'

'Yes!' he said, alighting in the airlock mouth. The door behind her opened and she sobbed, turning slowly, dripping wet.

Frieza stood behind her, looking far more serious than he had so far.

'Girl,' he said, pointing at the capsule in her hand. 'What is _that_?'

'A Hoi-Poi capsule.'

'Show me!' Frieza barked.

For a few seconds she couldn't do anything more than pant while the feeling of utter defeat stole over her. Then she saw Frieza's lips twitch as they hardened further and she hurriedly pressed the button and threw the capsule on the ground. With a puff of smoke and a pop, coiled ropes, harnesses, hooks and anchors appeared on the floor between them.

The technicians that had clustered around to watch her suffocate jumped in shock, but Frieza's eyes just widened a fraction.

'And does it also work in reverse?'

Bulma knelt down and pressed the button on the almost invisible film that the gear was stacked on. The pile turned back into a capsule and Frieza bent and picked it up.

'Is this one of your inventions?'

'My father's,' she admitted.

'Tell me you can replicate it,' he invited her, his voice hardening to steel.

She nodded, her heart sinking. She could already guess what he was about to say, and though she might have saved her life, she was now staring at the cost of doing so.

'Well, that is very fortunate. I have decided that I _shall_ keep you alive - whether you co-operate or not. I'd suggest co-operating though; it will be a lot less _painful_ for you.'

While Bulma was absorbing that, two brightly skinned soldiers burst through the door to the loading bay, rushed forwards and saluted Frieza. As soon as Frieza's eyes slid away from her, she dissolved into tears. What was the rest of her life going to be like? Would she be a hostage forced to work for an evil tyrant she hated and feared? The last of her kind, trapped like a tragic exhibit in a zoo?

'What is it?' asked Frieza the saluting soldiers.

The purple one spoke. 'Our scouts have located another village.'

Frieza smiled. 'That took long enough. Zarbon, how much longer until Vegeta awakes?'

'Let me check, my Lord,' said Zarbon, and raised his hand to his scouter. Everyone in the loading bay stood awkwardly, trying not to fidget while Zarbon asked to be put through to the med bay, and Frieza tapped his claw impatiently. One of the technicians near Frieza's shoulder tried to shuffle discreetly away, but Frieza caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and glared at the crowd.

'What are you all standing around for? Don't you have _jobs_ to do?'

The technicians bowed and saluted and mumbled 'Yes, milord,' and generally panicked as they scrambled out of their master's field of awareness. Bulma wished she could do the same. Dodoria was smirking at her.

'The medic estimates two or three hours longer,' announced Zarbon.

Frieza pursed his lips. 'I am reluctant to leave my prize now that I have him, but I feel a little field trip would be just the thing to pass the time until the slumbering prince awakes. And I must admit,' he smiled. 'I am also anxious to get my wish!'

Dodoria reached out and grabbed Bulma by her arm.

'What shall we do with this one in the meantime? Put her in the brig?'

'After that display?' squawked Frieza. 'She'd be gone long before we got back, no doubt.'

'Under guard, of course.'

Frieza sighed. 'I guess that will have to do for now. Make sure she is physically bound, not close to any locks or access panels, and for goodness sake, confiscate those… "hoity-toity" capsules. Zarbon, see to it while I go to visit the villages.'

'Am I not to come with you?' he asked.

'No. I want someone trustworthy here to guard Vegeta from any mishaps or possible rescue efforts while I'm gone.'

'I understand, my Lord.'

* * *

The boys had eaten every scrap of the provisions Bulma had packed into the capsules she'd given Krillin and Goku. Raditz, Brolly and Tarble had brought nothing with them, expecting to go back to the ship for their next meal, and the muesli bars, jerky, apple chips, jacker cakes, tinned sardines and crackers hadn't lasted long in the face of four Saiyan appetites.

As soon as that business had been dealt to, they and Ngata had hidden the dragonballs around the edge of the lagoon - one under seaweed in a rock pool, one inside a giant clam and the last in the thick tuft of an Ajisa tree. Then Ngata left them and went back to Guru, and Brolly was packed into a pod with Nail, with some difficulty. He was nervous, wanting to know what they should do if they came across the PTO while they were out amongst the villages.

'Just do what Nail says,' Krillin had said in frustration when Brolly had baulked at getting in the damn thing. Brolly was far more animated than he had been, but his fearfulness made Krillin feel courageous in comparison. 'You can fly this pod, can't you?'

'Yes.'

'Then we need you to help Nail! We're counting on you, Brolly!'

Brolly had looked appalled.

'Do you want to come with us to Frieza's ship?' Goku had asked. 'Tarble could go with Nail instead.'

'No, it's okay,' was Brolly's reply to that. 'I'll do it.'

Once the door closed and the pod was away Krillin felt a little worried for Nail, but he was also relieved to be rid of Brolly.

'I can't shake the feeling that that kid is a time-bomb,' said Raditz, echoing Krillin's thoughts.

'We don't know that,' said Goku. 'He's healed, according to Guru.'

'Yes. But we don't know what he is at all,' said Tarble. 'I've known him for the last year and I feel like he's a complete stranger now.'

'Yeah,' agreed Raditz. 'It's weirding me the fuck out.'

Krillin got his radar out. Ngata had said that Mathi's village had held the five star ball, so it stood to reason that that ball was now on Frieza's ship.

'It's a long way,' he told them. 'Five thousand kilometres, and I guess we can't take the pod - unless we ride with the door open.'

'The pod won't go with the door open,' Raditz said, walking around and reaching into the pod in question. He came out with the cable that they had tied him up with. It was in two pieces, and Raditz threw the shorter one aside.

'I suppose we'll be faster now, anyway,' said Tarble, grinning as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

'You mean, you'll be strong enough to hang onto this,' said Raditz, passing the end of the cable through a gap in a moulding near the pod door. It was used to clamp the pod to a dock, like on their ship's airlock. He passed the two ends to Tarble and Goku.

'What?' asked Goku.

'Baldie, get in!' said Raditz. Frowning, Krillin climbed on board and jammed himself on the floor between Raditz's legs.

'You must be kidding, Raditz!' called Tarble from outside.

'Is that really safe?' Krillin asked.

'Who cares?' Raditz closed the door. 'Personally I'm hoping it rips their arms off. Pod, elevate to cruising altitude.'

Krillin felt the bottom of his spine compressed into the floor again and imagined he heard the screams of Goku and Tarble outside. They stopped on a dime, as the pod was wont to, and a massive thud hit the underside. Raditz chuckled.

'Jeez!' Krillin touched his transponder. 'You guys all right?'

'Owwwww!' was the only reply he got.

Raditz popped the joystick out of the armrest again. 'This way, right?'

'Approximately.'

The craft lurched to motion, resulting in some more bumping of heads and limbs underneath. Krillin felt bad for them, and he looked up at Raditz's grim mouth set for a few seconds.

'Hey, Raditz, why are you punishing those two out there, but I'm in here with you?'

Over his head, Raditz growled. 'Because I can't stand the sight of either of them right now. Don't get any ideas about me liking your company, Baldie, but at least you didn't turn on your own kind!'

'Oh. Right. And...'

'And?'

'And why do you still call me Baldie? I've got an inch of hair.'

'Yeah, on your _head_.'

Krillin grit his teeth. He knew he shouldn't have asked.

* * *

Bulma was dragged to the brig by Zarbon with all the dignity he had shown her earlier. Finally the contemptuous treatment broke through her fear and she violently tried to shake his hands off her.

'You know I _can_ walk if only you'd let me stand up straight!'

Zarbon let go of her. 'The less I have to touch you the better,' he sneered. She couldn't see him behind her, but she was pretty sure she _heard_ a sneer.

'You're _lucky_ to touch me!' she corrected him, and then remembered how her looks had gone down on Grenouillea II. 'You toads don't recognise true beauty when it's staring you in the face.'

'Toad?' snarled Zarbon, and then she was wrenched into the air by her shoulders, and the corridors whizzed past too fast to take it in. She screamed, and before she finished the breath she found herself jolted to a stop in a small room. Zarbon dropped her, and she sprawled forward into the wall, carried by the left-over momentum of their travel.

'Ah-oww!'

She was fresh out of a regen tank and she was already bruised up.

Zarbon spun her around roughly and his hands went to her waist. For an awful second she thought he was about to start ripping her clothes back off, but he just undid the belt that held her capsule kit. He was leaning over to reach her, and his smooth green hair was in her face. It smelt like the sweetest honeysuckle.

'I hadn't forgotten about these "capsule" things,' he said, standing straight again, his bronze eyes beautiful and familiar but hard as metal, his nostrils pinched. His eyes raked down her and back up. 'We may have to work together in the future, and who knows? Maybe you'll turn out to be a valuable addition to the PTO, so I'll give you a word of warning and leave it at that. I am Lord Frieza's right hand man. If you ever call me a toad again, I'll make you _truly_ hideous.'

Bulma went cold inside, not doubting him for a second as he swept back out of the cell. The door shut behind him. She looked around quickly.

The cell was in the corner of a larger room; two walls were the room's walls and the other two were half walls with bars going up the ceiling. There was one other cell next door, with a soldier asleep on a bench inside. There was a bench and a very uncomfortable looking commode in her cell too.

 _No toilet paper!_ was the first horrifying thought her mind settled on.

Zarbon didn't go far – on the other side of the room were tables, chairs and lockers. He opened a locker and pulled out something that looked like a double ended leash for two little dogs, though she was sure they weren't that innocuous. As he crossed the room again she noticed that his footsteps and rummaging hadn't made any sound at all. Wondering if there was some kind of glass behind the bars she reached out…and felt like her hand had just been slapped hard with a live wire.

'Ow! Shit! Fucking- fudging mother fudger!'

She clutched her jolted hand in pain and realised there must be a force field similar to the one they had around the perimeter of the space port on Grenouillea.

Zarbon opened the cell again and glided towards her.

'Give me your wrist,' he ordered, and reluctantly she did. He clamped her wrist in the cuff at one end of the leash-looking thing, passed the other end through a metal loop in the wall between the toilet and bench, and then put her other wrist in the cuff on that end. The cuffs were made of a plasticy material, and they tightened all by themselves until they were very snug.

Bulma watched this with tears of fear and defeat running down her cheeks. Unless the boys somehow came through without her, they had failed. And even if they did, what was to become of her?

'Now on to more important matters,' said Zarbon, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to her. He touched his scouter button. 'Lieutenant, I need a couple of grunts in the brig to guard a prisoner. Please have them sent as soon as possible.'

She expected him to leave, but instead he stretched and then sat down on the far end of the bench. She leant against the wall he had tethered her too; as far from him as she could get.

'Tell me something,' he said. 'How did you enjoy your visit to that stagnant pond they call Grenouillea Two?'

That threw her. Treading lightly, Bulma murmured, 'It was okay.'

'Spawn City? How was that?'

It had been a holiday compared to this, that was for sure. 'Hot. And, um, clean?'

'Prosperous?'

'I guess. I mean, there seemed to be a lot of money washing around.'

Zarbon's lip curled. 'I understand you met the slimy bastard, Petoncles, or the Vice President, as he's invented himself.'

'Yes, he _was_ slimy,' she agreed, her voice trembling a bit. She blinked hard a few times, making sure she was truly awake and not hallucinating, but the situation remained; Vegeta's enemy Zarbon was fishing for news about his people from her.

'And how was he looking?'

'Ill,' she said truthfully, 'and old.'

The corner of Zarbon's mouth twitched upwards in controlled pleasure.

'Didn't you see him too?' she asked. 'I thought your ship was heading to Grenouillea as we were leaving.'

'Not this time. I stayed on the ship while Frieza took a landing vessel down to deal with business.' He smiled sardonically, not _at_ her, but somewhere to the left and over her head at some memory he didn't share. 'At first I thought it was an idiotic decision by Vegeta to divert from Namek and land on that planet, but then when we heard the full story - that it was no decision at all, it made sense. Although...' His eyes sliced back to hers. 'Having met you, I must now wonder if it was sabotage?'

Bulma said nothing for a moment. Of course it hadn't been sabotage, but she wasn't sure what answer would win her more brownie points. Or maybe there was no point in gathering points?

'It was just a faulty ship.'

'Urgh,' sighed Zarbon, shaking his head. 'I don't trust _you_ at all. You may as well get comfortable in those cuffs; I think you'll be calling this cell home until we make it to Planet Frieza 65 to restock and refuel.'

Something struck Bulma as odd about that statement.

'Didn't you just come from Planet Frieza 65?'

'What gives you that impression?' he asked, standing again.

'Because you were headed there when we were found out on Grenouillea Two!'

He snorted. 'No. We were following Vegeta's tracking beacon.'

Whatever Bulma's face did when she heard that was enough to make him snigger.

'I take it you didn't know about that? Surely Vegeta knew?'

'But they got rid of their pods, their scouters; even their clothes from their time in the PTO! How could you still be tracking him?'

Now he laughed outright. 'To get rid of the beacon you'd have to get rid of Vegeta himself! He _is_ the beacon! He sends off a signal once every two days that we can pick up from halfway across the galaxy, as long as he's not travelling faster than the speed of light. Frieza tracks all his high-risk assets in that way - just in case.'

Bulma was horrified.

'Perhaps you'll end up with a beacon in you, too?' he said and then laughed at her cringing reaction. 'I can't believe he didn't figure that one out! Then again, one has to lower one's expectations when dealing with simple simians.' He looked up to see two soldiers march into the room, one dog-faced and green and the other covered in scarlet scales. Bulma saw them salute from over his shoulder, and Zarbon stood.

'Don't try anything while you're in here,' he warned her. 'You're not worth so much that I or Frieza will tolerate any trickery. Consider this your trial period.'

Then he swept out of the door, taking her capsules with him. The door closed behind him, sealing off the sound of the orders he gave the guards.

Bulma curled up on the bench and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: No cliffhanger this time. Now, I've just realised that there's a new episode of Outlander that won't watch itself! That shit is my bag, baby! Who's with me? I've never been really involved in the Outlander/Gabaldon fandom, but if there ever was a world that held my heart as dear as DragonballZ it would be that one.
> 
> As for the next update, I think it will still be a while. I have the next chapter written, but I'm not sure that all of it is going to stay, and Chapter 47 is really hard for me for various reasons. But thanks for all your reviews. At times when I know I've been neglecting the story due to difficulty making decisions your reviews give me a kick up the arse and remind me that only by keeping going will I make up my mind.


	46. Ties Tested

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay guys, I know it's been 84 days since I last updated. I'm sorry about that because I've love to be able to give you at least a chapter a week, but I'm not too sorry because I've actually been writing a whole bunch in this time. I don't think you will have to wait all that long for the next few chapters. I was going to hold off posting this one until I have chapter 49 finished so that I could post them all close together, but then I got all overcome with regret about my lack of posts.
> 
> Now where were we?
> 
> Bulma is currently languishing in the brig of Frieza's ship after being pegged as a possible asset to the PTO, Vegeta is still out cold in a regen tank, Raditz and the boys are on their way to Frieza's ship to rescue them, Nappa is drinking to the end of all things back on the ship and Guru is where he always is on that custom-build throne

Frieza was having a most wonderful day. Not only had they captured Vegeta, but he was making great steps towards securing his immortality. The female who had hoodwinked Vegeta was on odd find, but potentially very useful. All was sublime.

Only it wasn't.

Who was he kidding? Though this should all be adding up to the best day of his recent years, capturing Vegeta filled him with a certain bittersweet pang weighted much towards bitter. He had stood and watched while the medics had stripped him and put him in the regeneration tank, and just the sight of that face…The child was almost eradicated from those features; two long years of grief had taken his fallen protégé even further from him than the day he realised he'd been betrayed by Vegeta. He had stood speechless, lips trembling, not sure whether this nearly explosive sensation of emotion inside him was fury, joy or sorrow. He still didn't know, nor what he would do exactly when Vegeta was awake. He would kill him – he had no doubt about that, but first he wanted Vegeta to talk. He wanted to know _why_. He wanted an account from the lips of the felon himself. Was it ambition? Revenge? _Hatred?_ Why was all the he had given the little prince not enough for Vegeta? And how could he not have seen the betrayal coming? These questions had been eating at him for too long, and he hoped that he would soon have release from them. Vegeta was his key to peace of mind once more.

He sped his chair across the landscape with such ease he barely felt it a conscious effort. Now and then he had to slow himself so that Dodoria and the other fellows could keep up. This was the story of his life, really. Unless he wanted to do _everything_ himself, he had to wait on lesser beings, but that was kind of the point of ruling the galaxy now, wasn't it?

He checked his scouter again; yes, the cluster of power levels was dead ahead and very close. He crested a hill and there was the village, much like the other two. As he glided in to the open space between the - he hesitated to call them houses – _habitations_ and the fields, he could see that the pathetic populace appeared to be already gathered. He pressed his scouter comms button.

'Spread out and surround them. Don't let anyone leave,' he told his men. 'Two of you search the houses while we talk to the natives.'

He didn't want another debacle like at the last village. His men had taken that place apart and found nothing like the orb from the first village. Even now he was unsure if that village had really had a ball, or if they were some kind of dummy or decoy.

The villagers must have seen them; they scattered to the air.

'After them!'

Frieza's men rushed to obey, putting on speed to pluck the Namekians from the sky. A couple of the faster ones eluded them, and with a grunt of resignation, Dodoria took off after them, using his superior speed to overtake them. A flurry of blows and energy waves were exchanged, with a couple of casualties on both sides. Frieza rolled his eyes with annoyance. The PTO tried to only recruit the best examples of warriors, but with so many ranks to fill, plenty of cannon fodder also slipped in, and apparently Namekians were well above the galactic average when it came to power. Frieza liked to think that resistance was futile, but in this case it wasn't entirely true. He waited for the chaos to abate.

* * *

The med lab technician was having a stressful day. Not only had he displeased General Zarbon, but since Zarbon's dire warning he had become more and more nervous about the containment of the patient. As Vegeta's healing progress passed 90% the technician checked his sedation levels not once or twice, but five times. Zarbon's anxiety over his containment had infected him too. It was highly unlikely, but what if Vegeta was one of those types that could resist the chemical sedation at will?

He was almost relieved when Zarbon returned, demanding to know how much longer until Vegeta was fit to be removed.

'The tank is estimating another half an hour to one hundred percent completion, but he could come out at any point and be reasonably able.'

Zarbon had twitched his nose in mild irritation.

'I suppose there is no reason to hurry things. Let's leave him to cook a little longer.'

Then he had left.

Now the healing cycle had reached 100%. The med lab door slid open again and a skinny, red-scaled soldier stepped in and looked around.

'What is it?' the technician snapped.

The soldier jumped in surprise when his gaze landed on the form of Vegeta floating in the tank, and he didn't answer the technician.

The technician stood up from his station in annoyance. 'Yes, it's the fugitive, but if you've just come to rubberneck you can piss off back out of this lab right now!'

'When is he coming out of the tank?' the soldier asked, his voice surprisingly strained.

The technician sighed. 'Only when Zarbon or Lord Frieza arrive to take custody of him.'

The soldier ignored his tone. 'So, he's healed already?'

'Yes. Were you wanting to leave him a get-well message?'

The soldier looked confused. 'Why would I do that? Didn't he do something with a black hole that almost killed Frieza?'

'I was joking, you moron! Just get out! I'm not in the mood to discuss forbidden topics with a grunt while I'm waiting for Zarbon or Frieza himself to show up!'

The soldier reluctantly turned to the door again, and then, as the doors were sliding shut, he jumped back inside the room. 'I just realised something!' he said.

'What?'

'I was meant to give you a heads up that Zarbon is on his way to get Vegeta out of the tank.'

The technician stood straighter, prompted by the alarm that zipped up his spine.

'Well, why didn't you say that straight away?' He rushed back to his station to check the readings, and then went to the cupboard to select a fresh battlesuit for Vegeta as the cheap orange one he wore before was in bloody rags, and he set them out near Vegeta's very small collection of personal belongings on the examination table. While his back was turned the soldier slipped back out of the door again. He cursed the blathering idiot, but then had to bite the obscenities back, as the doors opened again almost immediately.

'General Zarbon!'

Zarbon swept into the room, looking stern but saying nothing as he stood expectantly before Vegeta's tank.

'Shall I awake him, General?' the technician asked.

Zarbon nodded, and the technician rushed to do his bidding, pressing the buttons on the control panel of the tank to halt the final stages of the healing process and administer the antidote for the sedation. He sweated for the full minute the tank took to complete this before it began to drain. With the way his day was going Zarbon would blame him for the hold up.

Vegeta's feet settled on the floor of the tank and his eyes fluttered, reminding the technician that he should be nowhere close to the young man once he was awake, so he took a depreciating but protected position well behind Zarbon's right shoulder.

He was very glad of Zarbon's presence the moment that Vegeta's eyes snapped open. The surprise on the Saiyan's face diverted straight into recognition, and before the tank was fully drained, Vegeta raised his hands and blew out the top of it.

Both Zarbon and the technician fell back with a cry, metal casing and tubes raining down around them, and then Vegeta stood on the top edge of the tank, still naked, but now with blue lightning crackling over his skin and energy pooling on his palms. He raised his arms again, this time towards them, and then Zarbon…exploded! The technician screamed in panic – he hadn't even seen the blast that ended the general, only the puff of smoke he left behind and a small, blue furry creature... _Wait, what?_

'Vegeta, it's me!' cried the creature.

In utter confusion and terror the technician threw himself back towards the lab door, but tripped over debris.

Vegeta's face came alive with glee and he laughed.

'Well done, again, Daemon!'

And then his eyes settled on the technician who was still scrambling away on the floor. In panic, the technician raised his hand to his scouter button as blue-white energy shot from Vegeta's hand straight into his face. It was the last thing he ever saw.

* * *

Frieza floated into the epicentre of the carnage as his men finally asserted control. Namekians were hauled, dragged and thrown back to the dirt next to their dwellings, and there either cowered or lay unconscious under the feet of their captors. Dodoria brought in the stragglers, and then Frieza judged it time to begin. He started with the oldest, fattest Namekian, as these types appeared to be the leaders in the first two villages. The Namek in question was attempting to struggle to his feet.

'Let him up,' Frieza ordered the man who held him down with a claw between his shoulder blades. The portly Namek sprang up.

'I know who you are and what you want!' he cried.

'Congratulations,' Frieza replied, more than a little irritated. 'And how do you come by this information?'

'Visitors from other worlds have warned our people you were here.'

Frieza sneered. 'Really. _Vegeta_ warned you?'

'No. I have never heard of such a person.'

Frieza's patience ran out. 'It doesn't matter! Now where are the dragonballs? Tell me right now if you wish to live!'

'We will never turn over the hope of our people to the likes of y-'

The Namek was cut short by a bolt of light from Freiza's finger piercing his chest. He jolted and glanced down at the smoking hole before he toppled. The other Namekians screamed and moaned in horror as their fellow died before their eyes.

'Elder Puz!' cried a child.

'That is what happens to those of you who don't answer me,' explained Frieza. 'Make no mistake, I really don't mind killing every last one of you. The only thing that is going to save you is results.' He lined up the next victim for questioning - slender young thing with bright green skin. 'Bring him forth,' he ordered, motioning to the soldier that held him down. The eight or so remaining Namekians looked between each other in panic while Frieza lifted his finger in readiness.

'We have found the ball, Lord Frieza!' announced one of the soldiers he had sent to search the houses, and Frieza turned away from the shaking youth.

'Ah! Good!' Frieza reached for it, levitating it out of the soldier's hands to his own. He enjoyed the weighty feel if it and the soft warmth that emanated from it. Fishing the first ball from the well of his chair he compared them. This ball had seven stars as opposed to the first, which had five.

'Tell me,' he asked of the Nameks in general. 'Do each of the dragonballs have a different number of stars inside them?'

'Yes,' said the youth quickly.

'And there are seven of them?'

'Yes.'

'And is each of them hidden in a village?'

The youth didn't answer, and instead looked over to a bigger, burlier Namek who groaned and forced his way to his knees, throwing off the soldier who had his foot on his back.

'Caraco!'

'You have something to add to these proceedings?' Frieza asked. 'Pray, let it be the answer to my question.'

'Leave the boy alone,' said the Namek. 'There's no reason to bring children into this!'

'And do you have the answer to my question?'

The burly one took a deep breath, but didn't reply. Instead he looked straight at Frieza with contempt in his eyes.

'That's a yes,' concluded Frieza. 'And defiance. I thought I made it clear what would happen to those who defied me?' He lifted his finger again, and this time it was the youth who interrupted.

'It's true! It's true, each one is hidden in a village!' he shouted.

'Caraco!' admonished the older one. 'Don't reveal such things!'

'But he's already guessed,' said the kid. 'I couldn't just watch him kill you when your death would probably have made no difference, Shnek!'

Frieza chuckled. 'A wise brat.' Leaving his balls in the chair, he levitated from it and landed before the youth. 'You're a helpful fellow, and you obviously don't want to see your friends hurt. Maybe you can answer more questions for me?'

'Like w-what?' asked the boy.

'Are there any villages that don't have a dragonball, say?'

'No,' he said.

Frieza pressed his lips together. So, they had somehow missed the ball from the second village, or else it had been smuggled out from under their noses. Frieza now wished he had been more direct rather than stopping to play with the Namekians first that time. This could be a problem.

Then the Namek's mouth and eyes went wide with sudden apprehension. 'Except my home village!' he said quickly. 'I forgot – my village doesn't have a wish orb any more. When the alien Bulma came to claim it, it turned out it had already been stolen, so if you look there you won't find one anymore. We thought that _you_ must have taken it by stealth already.'

'What?' Frieza was brought up short. He had certainly taken nothing by _stealth_. That made no sense! Was there a third party on this planet also looking for dragonballs? Was that why they'd been unable to locate the second ball?

He touched his scouter button and barked at his general. 'Zarbon!' he barked. 'Get here immediately and bring the Bulma girl with you!' A second ticked by as he waited for a response and another possibility occurred to him – with those "capsules" the girl could have been hiding a dragonball right under his nose. 'And don't forget to bring the bag of "capsule" storage containers!'

* * *

Zarbon was standing amidst a scene of absolute disaster when the call came through. The ship had been rocked by first a small and then a large explosion, and fearing the worst, he had made for the med lab. And he had found the worst, too; a destroyed regeneration tank, a dead technician and a huge hole punched in the hull of the spaceship.

His scouter crackled to life as soldiers piled into the room either side of him, as useless as usual.

'Zarbon! Get here immediately and bring the Bulma girl with you!'

'Fuck,' hissed Zarbon under his breath, his heart beating hard, because Frieza would not take this news well. He set his scouter to Vegeta's power level, but he wasn't in range, nor was any power level even close to Vegeta's.

'And don't forget to bring the bag of "capsule" storage containers! Zarbon!'

'Yes, my Lord, I will be there soon.'

He took off through the hole and looked around towards the horizon in every direction, but no fleeing body could be seen. He touched his scouter comm button.

'Lieutenant Coif!' he shouted over the scouter, knowing that Frieza would also hear. The private channel that Frieza, he and Dodoria used also had a clerk listening in to relay orders and put them through to requested people.

'Yes, General?'

'Relay to Major Pertaetow that he is to mobilise all the troops still on the ship other than those needed for security.'

'What's going on?' asked Frieza suspiciously.

Zarbon was glad he was a long way from his master. 'Unfortunately, Vegeta has managed to escape.'

Frieza's reaction was exactly as he expected – a second of stunned silence and then, 'WHAT? WHAT? Zarbon, I will flay you! You had _one_ job!'

'I'm sorry, my lord! I was dealing with the girl and ship business, and someone seems to have awoken Vegeta. He's killed the technician and blown a hole in the ship.'

Frieza choked in shock and outrage. 'My SHIP! Gods be damned, Zarbon! I've not spent two years searching for that cur just to have him escape from under _your_ nose! Who let him out? WHO?'

'I have no idea, my lord,' said Zarbon, sweat breaking out on his brow. 'I did warn the technician twice not to awake him without one of us present, he appears to have done it anyway. Perhaps there is a sympathizer on board? Or maybe one of his friends managed to sneak into the ship?'

'I would have thought that both of these things were impossible! Are not these men the most loyal amongst the PTO? Who hand-picked them? Who set up the security on the ship?'

'Dodoria set up the security on the ship,' he pointed out, attempting to deflect some blame, as it had indeed been Zarbon who hand-picked the crew for this revenge mission.

'But _you're_ currently overseeing the ship,' was Dodoria's quick reply. 'I can't oversee security when I'm not there.'

'I'm sorry, my Lord…'

'You _will be_ if you don't find Vegeta again! You organise the men to find Vegeta, then bring the girl. She'd better not be missing too!'

Zarbon hoped so too, and immediately turned around to race back to the ship and the brig.

* * *

'They're forming a search party for me,' whispered Vegeta and then sniggered with nervous relief. His plan to mislead the PTO appeared to be working well. He was crouched in a functional but unlovely shower cubicle in an empty bathroom wearing the standard issue black battle-suit and white boots that the med tech had laid out for him. He had taken the crony's scout too, and held it to one side of his face with Puar balanced on his other shoulder.

'They're going to almost empty the ship.'

'That was good thinking, Vegeta,' said Puar, and Vegeta basked in his own cleverness. Then Puar tapped her transponder and robbed the moment.

'Hey, everyone! I've rescued Vegeta!'

Vegeta couldn't hear the replies of the others, and remembering the earpiece, he fished the sopping wet thing out of his ear.

'I got him out of the regeneration tank by impersonating Zarbon,' said Puar after a few moments, grinning widely, and Vegeta lost his patience as Puar took all the credit for the momentous feat of escaping Frieza's custody. He reached across and grabbed Puar by the neck – gentle enough not to hurt her, but not too gentle – and held her to his face, pressing down on the transponder to use her as a walky-talky.

'Eek!'

'With some assistance from the Daemon I have freed myself, and we are currently hiding out on Frieza's ship, waiting while they send everyone out to search for me. If Frieza already has any dragonballs we will have an opportunity to take them from the ship.'

Then he held Puar further form his face, frustrated because he couldn't hear the others' answers. Puar was listening though, her eyes darting around.

'What are they saying?' he asked.

'Just a second…'

Vegeta held his impatience back as Puar's expression moved from happiness to concern and then uncertainty.

'What?'

'They're all being very noisy. Raditz and Goku are really pleased, and I think Nappa is too, though he just kind of yelled your name and started talking over everyone, but he's shut up now. Goku reminded us that if we're on the ship and the soldiers are leaving it that will make it easier for us to rescue Bulma.'

'What do you mean?'

'Bulma is here too. She was captured at the same time as you were.'

A wave of deeply unpleasant emotion slammed into him; Vegeta's limbs and heart, so buoyant with relief a minute before, were instantly cold and heavy like lead dragging him down to the depths. Bulma captured? To Frieza she would be nothing at all, just bycatch to be disposed of. He was angry with her, but they still needed her and…what were the chances she was still even alive? Dread crashed in on him, and for a few seconds he was immobilised, without any clue what to do or how to feel.

'Do we know if she's still alive?' His voice sounded weird.

'Yes,' Puar replied smartly, and then apparently had second thoughts. 'Or…she was a couple of hours ago when they brought you two in.' She looked at Vegeta in panic as she realised what Vegeta knew – that two hours ago was more than enough time to get executed. He lowered his head, hiding his face behind the wrist that held the scouter, feeling panic clawing at him too. Rescue her when he didn't know where she was? When it was so dangerous? When they didn't even know if she was alive? He needed to get the dragonballs as soon as possible now that Frieza was here, and if he was captured by Zarbon or Frieza again he was sure he wouldn't get a chance to escape a second time – why would he risk that for a traitor? For someone who had made a fool out of him? But still, the thought of abandoning her filled him with intense anxiety. What if she was already dead?

'Vegeta?' mewled Puar, floating up out his other hand to see him better. He turned his face away, clenching his jaw down on a tremor he felt building in him. 'Vegeta? What's wrong?'

'I'm fine!' Yet he could still not gather himself to action. He could hear an officer's order coming over the scouter – their window of opportunity was coming up. But he had to do something, anything! Hiding in a bathroom was only going to guarantee that Frieza got his wish.

'Where's your radar?' he asked harshly. 'We need to know where the balls are.'

Puar obediently pulled the radar from her kangaroo pouch and turned it on. After examining it for a while she announced, 'There's none on the ship. They're all a really long way away.'

'Then we may as well take a pod and leave as soon as the Major has dispatched the search party.'

'With Bulma, though, right?'

The weight in his chest grew worse; he felt like he was being squeezed, like he couldn't breathe properly. 'Daemon, what makes you think she's still alive?'

'We don't know that she's dead!'

'Has she answered any communications since she was taken?'

'No.'

'Then Frieza has probably killed her!'

'We don't know that! We have to look!'

Vegeta growled. 'If she's alive she will just have to stay alive until I have my wish! There is no time!'

'We can't leave her!' replied Puar. 'What if the ship takes off while we're gathering the rest of the balls? What if they're hurting her?'

Black, thick rage began to descend on Vegeta, but whether it was more at thought of spending precious time on rescuing the back-stabbing bitch, or finding out for certain that she was dead at Frieza's hands, he wasn't sure.

'No!'

Puar began to cry. 'You just don't want to because you're angry with her!'

'You're damn right I'm angry with her! She-' He stopped, growing red in the face with the humiliation of what she'd done. 'She poisoned me!' And he realised now that he'd not thought that she could or would betray him like that. Those obstacles she'd thrown in his path were just that – obstacles to be leapt as part of the game, but she had pushed him _out_ of the game! And what had made him think that she wouldn't do something as underhanded as poison him? He didn't trust anyone that wasn't Saiyan, or at least he hadn't until now. Why had he let himself feel safe with her?

Puar floated around him, trying to get a better look at his face.

'You can't leave her here,' she insisted, feeling in some way responsible for Vegeta wanting to abandon Bulma.

Vegeta said nothing.

Puar cried harder, thinking of Bulma's furious words to her, and how upset she'd sounded. _I drugged Vegeta unconscious! I think I almost killed him! Are you happy now, Puar?_ No, she wasn't happy! She hadn't wished Vegeta ill either. She'd only wanted Bulma to stay true to Yamcha. And Bulma had drugged Vegeta to show Puar how dedicated to Earth's cause she was, though to Puar it still didn't prove her loyalty to Yamcha… Puar was sure Bulma had looked like she was enjoying herself in her brief observation of them making out.

'She didn't want to have to drug you!' Puar whispered urgently, wondering if Bulma would have done it at all if she hadn't confronted them.

'So _she_ said,' muttered Vegeta.

'She was really upset after she did it. She felt bad about it. I-I think she likes you,' admitted Puar, though it galled her to think of Bulma liking him.

Vegeta snorted. 'Don't talk to me of "like" and other fuzzy feelings, Daemon. I only care about loyalty. Loyalty and revenge!'

'Can't you have your revenge on Bulma later, then? There might not be a chance to rescue her later!'

Vegeta looked her in the eye at last, the deep frown of his eyebrows threatening to give way into some other emotion. He quickly scrubbed at his face again, trying to rub the expression away.

'I suppose you are correct, damn you,' he said.

'Do you mean you'll look for her?'

He nodded. 'I can't believe I will waste time on her, but yes, we will try. But if the Galaxy falls into Frieza's hands forever because we were looking for a girl, Daemon… I'll blame you. Know that.'

'Thank you!' squeaked Puar and flew forward to hug him around the neck. Vegeta pulled her off with disgust and flicked her a few inches away.

'Stop that! And give me your earpiece – I need to be able to communicate for myself.'

Abashed, Puar quickly swapped ear pieces with him. Vegeta tapped his transponder to see if it worked with this new earpiece.

'Can any of you hear me?'

'Vegeta?' Krillin replied first. 'Yeah, we can hear you! What's up?'

 _What's up?_ Vegeta clenched his jaw at the aggravatingly casual greeting, as if things weren't all sliding down the wormhole to hell right now. 'At the cat's insistence we are about to attempt to rescue the serpent you call Bulma, assuming she's alive.'

'Thank god, Vegeta!' Krillin gushed.

'I will not,' he replied and dropped his head in his hands for a moment. Other voices joined Krillin's, but he ignored them because a voice was coming from the scouter in his lap. He raised it to his other ear and hooked it in place.

'…stay in your arcs, sweeping backwards and forwards before going further out. Be on the lookout for any decently high power level and report anything you find immediately _before_ investigating any closer. Your commanding officers will answer any questions. Move out.'

'The search parties are leaving,' Vegeta told Puar. 'We should start now.'

Puar leapt to his shoulder. 'Where do we start?'

'The brig, I suppose,' he replied, 'but she's so weak, I'm not sure if they'd bother. If she's not there, she could be _anywhere_.'

'So let's look there first! Can't you use your chi sensing to find her too?'

 _Not if she's dead_. He closed his eyes, the dread doubling up. He could just imagine her limp body lying atop the refuse pile in the ship's garbage compactor. He was almost afraid to reach out with his chi sense, but he did. He could feel quite clearly a few individuals who were close by, and then further away a mess of medium and small powers in which it was hard to make anything out clearly. In a way, that was reassuring – he couldn't _not_ sense her, so she might be in there somewhere. One particular life energy overshadowed the others by a long way and made it hard to fix on anything small near it. The sheer size and brightness of that life force was troubling – bigger that Dodoria's. He guessed it was Zarbon.

'I can't tell at this distance – there's too much interference from others.'

He stood up, and went to the door, listening with his ears and reaching out with his chi. No one seemed to be there.

'Let us begin, then.'

* * *

Frieza paced, greatly upset by the news of Vegeta's escape.

 _Find him, Zarbon, find him!_ he willed his General. A thought occurred, and he pressed his scouter button.

'Zarbon, what happened to the team we sent to Vegeta's ship? The soldier with the offer for that baboon, Nappa?'

'I'm not sure my Lord. Shall I look into it?'

'Yes, you imbecile! And if they're still there, tell them to destroy the ship! And if they're not still there, have them turn back and then destroy the ship! Any pods or craft that aren't ours are to be destroyed on sight, understand? I won't have Vegeta escaping off the planet this time!'

'Of course, my Lord.'

'Swine,' he muttered after he closed the channel again. Zarbon wasn't going to get away without punishment this time, just by bowing and scraping!

He strode up and down the avenue of soldiers and prostrated aliens a few more times before becoming aware that all eyes followed him. He was making a scene. Presently he forced himself to stop, close his eyes and take a long, slow breath. Of course, he was frantic inside, but it didn't do to let underlings see such emotional states. One risked being seen as an ordinary mortal.

He approached the young, talky one again. The Namek dropped from his feet to his hand and knees, cowering closer to the ground; it was most pathetic.

'Tell me more about these Dragonballs, child,' he invited him.

'Like what?'

'Is it true that I can wish for anything I want?'

The youth looked over at the larger one called Shnek, which was irritating.

'Don't look at him!' Frieza snapped. 'Just give me the answer!'

'Caraco…' Shnek said softly. 'Stay strong. If we perish here, Grand Elder Guru will- Argh!'

Frieza materialised in front of the Namekian, his clawed foot smashing down into the back of his head, grinding his face deep into the dirt. The gentling voice of the Namek had pushed his temper over the edge. The youth cried out in anguish, triggering another wave of rage in Frieza. He pushed down harder on the Namek's head, standing on one foot and using his chi to push down.

'Nmm!' the Namek screamed into the soil, and then his skull cracked audibly and collapsed under Frieza's claws. As one, the remaining Namekians cried out, the youth, Caraco, the loudest. Frieza hopped back to the ground, wiping purple brain matter from his foot onto the blue moss with revulsion.

'Now without that distraction, perhaps you will answer my question?' he asked Caraco.

The boy's eyes were wide with shock, and instead of speaking he sobbed. Frieza sighed in exasperation.

'Answer me!'

The Namekian closest to Caraco shuffled closer and whispered to the boy.

'What are you saying?' asked Frieza. The Namekian immediately stopped, staring at Frieza. 'Tell me!'

'I told him to answer your questions,' said the Namek on his knees.

'I heard him, my Lord,' said a nervous voice from behind him. Frieza turned. It was one of his men who spoke – a grey-skinned whippet of a man, with huge bat-like ears.

'So those ears aren't just for show? What did you hear?'

'He told the kid he should answer all your questions because an outsider will never be able to use the wish orbs without the password or speaking Ancient Namekian.'

Frieza had the satisfaction of hearing the old Namek's yelp of dismay.

'A password, you say?' He switched his attention to the whisperer. 'Pray, what is the password?'

'I would never tell you!' the man said boldly. Frieza nodded at the soldier who stood a way behind him.

'Haul him up.'

The soldier immediately leapt on the Namek and got him in a headlock, then pulled him upright into an awkward half crouching, half standing position. Frieza took a place before him, looking him in the eye with contempt, and held up his hand, gathering a spinning ball of chi on the tip of his index finger.

'Tell me the password.'

The Namek pressed his lips closed pointedly. Frieza poked him in the shoulder with his finger, the ball of chi searing through the man's flesh with a sizzling sound, and those lips came right unsealed again with a scream of agony.

'What is the password?'

The Namek gasped and blubbered, but still said nothing, so Frieza poked his arm too, while the victim struggled in vain against the soldier who held him. After the second scream died away Frieza spoke.

'Do you see how this is going to go?' Frieza asked. 'I will keep asking, and when you don't answer, I will put another hole in you.'

The man looked down at his shoulder to see the purple blood trickling down his chest, looking dazed with pain. He tried to raise his head again to look at Frieza.

'A fiend…like you,' he gasped, 'will never…be allowed-'

'How boring,' said Frieza, and plunged his finger between the man's ribs this time. That must have hurt more that the first two times, because this scream was choked off and devolved into piteous groans. Frieza's upper lip curled. The suffering of weaklings was all very… _corporeal_. There was something almost obscene about the sounds this fellow was making.

'I'll… die... before… I… tell…'

'Quite possibly, you will,' agreed Frieza, and then out of curiosity's sake, took hold of the man's head and put his chi ball in the Namek's eye socket. His eyeball exploded, and the fluid boiled before running down his face – it actually steamed! Frieza jumped slightly and chuckled at the unexpected outcome, then quickly wiped his finger on an unstained portion of the fellow's tunic. The screams where quite deafening this time, but not from the victim, who had mostly given up on screaming and seemed to be approaching unconsciousness. The surviving Nameks were quite distressed.

'Please don't kill Mulaca!' begged the tiniest Namek, sobbing uncontrolledly. Even many of the adults were blubbering away.

'Perhaps you'd like to answer the question for me then, little one?'

The little boy squealed and shouted, 'I don't know the password! I don't know it!'

'Then what good are you?' Frieza strolled over and grasped the child by the back of his robe to pick him up and returned to the now one-eyed Namekian. The child cried out and covered his face in order not to see his elder in this state. "Mulaca", or whatever his name was, was moaning slightly, his head lolling around as much at the soldier's grasp allowed.

'Namek, is this child dear to you?' Frieza asked. There was no definite answer to be discerned amongst the noises he was making, but Frieza continued. 'I will torture and kill this child if you don't tell me what I need to know.'

'You're a monster!' one of the few other Namekians yelled. Frieza ignored him… for now. Instead he charged his finger with chi again. The child, still with his hands over his face, didn't see it coming; he only screamed when Frieza dragged the white hot energy over the dome of his head.

'Stop!' cried Caraco. 'The password is Porunga! The password is Porunga!'

Frieza rounded on the kid immediately. 'My helpful, little informant slug! Porunga, is it? Dodoria, make a note.'

'As you wish, my Lord.'

'Now, Caraco, is your name? Tell me about Ancient Namekian. Can you speak it yourself?'

'Yes,' said the boy, but he was immediately shouted down by the one who called monster.

'Caraco, no!'

'I can't just let him kill us all, including the little children!' retorted Caraco. 'Maybe if he gets his wish he'll leave us alone!'

'You'll certainly never hear from me again,' said Frieza, smiling a little at the misleading nature of that statement. 'I am not lying.'

'We should just do as he says and get rid of him as quickly as possible,' insisted Caraco. 'It's either that or we all die!'

'He's right!' agreed another Namek, and apparently with that, the shouter was overruled.

'Good, good,' said Frieza, pleased things were finally moving forward. 'I think I'm going to need some translators.'

* * *

No one was in the corridor, so Vegeta slipped out and raced to the next junction and then another before diving into an empty bunkroom.

'What are we in here for?' whispered Puar.

'Shhh!'

Presently they heard the sound of footsteps outside. They didn't pass though, and came right up to the door. Vegeta pressed himself to the wall next to the door. When it opened a skinny, blue-skinned soldier stepped inside and was immediately cast to his knees with Vegeta's arm around his neck and his other hand over his mouth. Vegeta twisted and pulled, and the sounds of the man's vertebrae cracking and popping apart were clearly heard in the quiet room, as was Puar's scream of horror.

Vegeta dumped the body and grabbed the cat off his shoulder instead.

'Shut up, you idiot feline!' he whispered, clamping her furry muzzle closed. 'The whole point of killing him like that was to keep our presence as silent and unknown as possible!'

Puar was breathing hard, about to break down into hysterics by the look of it. 'D-did you need to kill him? He's dead!'

'I did. It was your idea to rescue Bulma, wasn't it? This is what it takes.'

She glanced down and then away again. 'Urh! No! That's the guy who gets pranked by Billbry!'

'What nonsense are you talking?'

'I think I'm going to be sick,' said Puar, clinging to his hand.

'Then keep off of me! I don't want to be wearing cat vomit.'

He checked the coast was clear again, and with Puar draped over his shoulder like a ragdoll he made it to the next junction and the elevator. Eschewing the elevator, he took the narrow stairs instead, emerging up a level only to sense someone not far away. He took refuge behind the closest door he could find. The small space behind it was dark, and he tripped over a floor polishing unit, almost landing on his backside before he caught himself.

 _Well, this is grand, isn't it? My great revenge reduced to hiding in cleaning cupboards_.

More people moved around on this floor – it was the command level after all, where all the pilots, navigators and officers worked. Then that big power swept past and Vegeta held his breath and his own power down like he was smothering a campfire with a wet blanket. Zarbon headed in the direction he knew the brig to be in – just wonderful. He stayed over there though, and Vegeta remembered that Zarbon's own office was nearby too. He should perhaps take the risk to get closer before despairing.

He waited several long minutes before he decided that no one was currently travelling the corridor.

'Be ready,' he warned Puar. 'We may be spotted.'

Out and around the corner into the curve of the main corridor he sped, stopping once in a short off shoot of a corridor to scan for intruders before continuing on. He was halfway to the next one when he sensed the worst thing possible – _Zarbon was coming back this way_.

'Fuck!' He made it to the next short corridor and ducked into it in time to hear Zarbon exit a door of a room that was on the interior side of the corridor – the brig. Vegeta tried the door handle on one side of the corridor he was stuck in, but it was Dodoria's office, so of course it was locked. The one on the other side was Dodoria's bed chambers, so of course they were locked too.

'Why don't you just tell me why Frieza suddenly wants to see me again?' demanded a voice that set part of Vegeta free with its screechy, entitled tone, because she wasn't dead! Puar clutched his shoulder tighter.

'Talk to Frieza like that and you'll regret it!' snapped Zarbon.

With nowhere else to hide, Vegeta flattened himself the corridor wall. With any luck, Zarbon would pass without noticing him in his peripheral vision.

'So, it's okay if I talk to _you_ like that?'

They came into view and stopped directly outside the short corridor Puar and Vegeta were hiding in. Puar gasped and sunk her claws into Vegeta's shoulder in fear, while Vegeta desperately tried to think of a way to attack, get Bulma from Zarbon without killing her, and get away from Zarbon without dying.

Zarbon had Bulma by the back of her training suit but he let go of her for a second to slap her. It was a light slap, but not for Bulma, who staggered, howled, and clutched her face. Zarbon leaned over to grab her arm as she collapsed to the ground, his face about to swing towards the two in the corridor.

'What do _you_ think?' he said to her coldly, and then as he straightened, a quiet popping sound was heard and the world went black for Vegeta.

His limbs went stiff with panic, but he was afraid to move for fear of giving himself away to Zarbon. He couldn't breathe! He felt like warm mud or clay was packed around his face, his hands - the whole front of his body in fact. Was he so scared that he'd managed to flip some switch on his sanity?

'Having a good look, Private?' Zarbon asked, his voice sounding muffled, as if Vegeta was holding his hands over his ears. Vegeta had no idea who he could be talking to, but was glad that Zarbon had been distracted by someone else, that is, until a high pitched voice answered, also muffled, but much louder and from right in front of his face.

'No, sir!'

'Now that you no longer need to watch the prisoner, soldier, you'd better be hurrying to join the search for Vegeta.'

'Yes, sir!'

'And where is your scouter?'

'Oh no, I must've forgotten the scouter!'

'Run and get it, and then report directly to Major Pertaetow! Idiot.'

The sounds of footsteps continued and the sound of Bulma's weeping became more distant, and Vegeta's lungs were bursting. He reached up to rip the substance from his face, but -

POOF!

He could see again – see a blue cat's butt hanging right in his face.

'What did you do?' he hissed.

'She's alive!'

'I saw that myself, you moron! Did you transform yourself over me?'

Puar nodded. 'You told me to be ready, so when I thought he was going to see us, I covered you with the shape of this red, scaly soldier that put me in his drawer before!'

'Never, ever do that again!'

Puar's excited face turned aghast. 'But it worked really well. I thought it was a really good idea! Zarbon thought we were the soldier that was guarding Bulma!'

'No! _Never again!_ '

Crestfallen, Puar returned to Vegeta's shoulder. 'How are we going to get her away from Zarbon?'

'We're not,' admitted Vegeta. 'He's taking her to Frieza. I can't face either of them yet.' _Or I'll die_. His heart sunk low again. Despite the advances he'd made he was too outmatched still. He needed the wish or he would end up dying on this planet. Or maybe he should just run again? _No, not again! Dammit, no!_ He couldn't allow Frieza to gain the immortality he wanted for himself! Then he would _never_ defeat the lizard!

He growled.

'But what about Bulma?'

'I can't help her now except by gathering all the dragonballs! She should be all right for now. They must want her alive for some reason.' He hoped he was right about that. 'Come on, let's go.'

He made his way back to the corridor with the elevator, carefully maintaining distance from Zarbon. When he felt him shoot up and away – with Bulma's gentle glow locked to his side – he went to the end of the corridor and through the tiny airlock that was the same size as the elevator. Both doors were unlocked at the moment, at least in the outwards direction, as they were in atmosphere. The outer door opened on the huge, central, cylindrical shaped space that pierced the ship like a doughnut hole. Airlocks punctuated the wall at regular intervals, and ranks of pods clung to the sides like strings of beads. The iris doors at the bottom were closed, but the ones above were open, with guards ringed around the top, looking outwards.

Vegeta flew the short distance to the nearest rank of pods and pressed the buttons to open the door. This central core was all about egress in and out of the ship, on land and in space. Soldiers could launch and land pods at any time. There was no internal access to the pods – if one of the iris doors was open when a soldier came out, well, every PTO soldier was supposed to be able to hold his own in the vacuum of space for at least sixty seconds.

Slipping inside he got his butt in the seat and said, 'Get yourself comfortable, Daemon, we'll be going fast.' He checked the serial number.

'Pod 486C, launch from ship-dock and rise to atmospheric cruising altitude.'

'Launch is not authorised at this time,' the computer told him. Vegeta frowned. The pods had never had a launch restriction on them in his day.

'Override launch authority.'

'Please state override authoriser.'

Vegeta hesitated. 'Lieutenant Vegeta.'

'Lieutenant Vegeta is not a recognised authoriser.'

'Damn. Override launch authoriser is…General Zarbon.'

'General Zarbon will be contacted to confirm authorisation.'

'Fuck! Puar!' He snatched the cat up again, not wanting to wait long enough for the cat to climb back on him, and shot out of the pod door again. Pouring every scrap of chi he could muster into velocity, he accelerated up through the top of the ship, zooming past the guards with a whoosh, still going up and up, cracking the sound barrier and making it into a cloud before he dared change direction or check for any sign of pursuit. Zarbon was a way over in that direction, and didn't yet seem to be coming for him, so Vegeta picked a path at ninety degrees to that point and powered onwards, needing to put decent distance between himself and Zarbon and the ship before he attempted to quash his power and hide that way. He kept to the clouds as much as he could though, and placed Puar back on his shoulder. She nestled in tight to him, shivering a little, her fur starting to dampen from the cold water vapour.

'Tell me what's happened while I was unconscious,' he shouted over the sound of the air rushing past them. He hated feeling in the dark. Virtually nothing was in his control right now.

Puar didn't answer immediately. He pushed his chi out in front of them forming a windbreak in case she was speaking and he just couldn't hear her, but she wasn't.

'If you are deciding which half-truths and lies to tell me, I will be incredibly unforgiving when I find out the truth.'

The cat began talking a rush of words. 'Ah… Raditz and Goku found a village that had been murdered by PTO, but they also found a dragonball hidden there that Frieza didn't find. Nappa thought we should all come back to the ship, but we didn't. That's when he realised that there was something wrong with you. Bulma performed three trials or something to get the dragonball at the village you were at, and I have that dragonball with me.'

'And what was your little tiff about?'

'Umm. I took the ball from the village while Bulma was doing the trails, without telling her. Then I left in your pod to go look for the next one.'

'What?' He laughed at the idea of Puar acting alone. He hadn't thought the daemon could be so independent and rebellious. Then he stopped laughing. Of course, Puar wasn't really a Daemon at all, though he treated her as one. He'd been wilfully resisting that realisation for a long time. She was useful, almost formidable at times, despite her timidity and weakness. She _could_ also betray him just as well as Bulma had. It was a sobering thought, and he was more than a little creeped out as he felt her rub her cheek against his neck under his ear. He stuck his fingers between them and shoved her over on his shoulder two inches.

He slowed now, judging himself to be somewhat out of the danger zone, and lowered his chi so that it was just enough to keep flying along at a decent clip.

'Why did you steal the ball from Bulma?' he asked after a few moments.

'I didn't think she was taking things seriously.'

'Meaning?'

'Meaning she was too busy sucking face with you!'

'Which was all an act.'

'Yes. Well. _Maybe_ it was an act.'

Vegeta frowned. He didn't know what to make of Puar and Bulma's un-united front. He didn't know what to make of anything right now.

'You need to keep away from her,' Puar warned her. 'She's got a boyfriend already!'

'Eurgh! Your wish is granted; I will never touch the vile succubus again.'

'The what?'

'Bulma! I won't touch her again!'

They flew on in silence, Puar satisfied with Vegeta's response, and Vegeta feeling the ache around the thought of Bulma grow bigger, not smaller as he vowed to wash his hands of her once they were free of this detestable planet.

'Takorate pa Porunga popura pyro,' the child spoke obediently.

'And the other part?' Frieza prompted.

'Tenomora pa dengo te dynoma pongura, ma.'

'Is that what the other one said?' Frieza asked the soldier next to him who was busy jotting the gibberish down for comparison.

'Could we have him repeat it one word at a time, my Lord?'

'We can,' said Frieza, his patience wearing but not broken. He had singled out a few Namekians and placed them inside their hovels where they could neither see nor hear each other, and quizzed them for the Ancient words that would grant him his wish. He only had the threat of torture or death to keep them honest, but at least they couldn't now collude to mislead him. He didn't like this – he didn't like having to rely on aid from those who would rather turn on him if they had the power, but it seemed to be his only option.

The child finished his slow recital and the soldier made his report.

'One of the words doesn't match the either of the first two translations, my Lord.'

The child on the ground made a noise of alarm and swayed like he might faint. 'Which one, which one?' he cried.

The soldier continued though. 'The last word is the same as in the second translation, though it's missing from the first.' Shaking a little, he pointed the word in question out to his master.

Frieza's eyes shifted from the paper to the chubby green brat. 'Do you care to explain why you used the word "dengo" when the other two used the word "tekengo?'

The kids eyes popped open. 'Dengo means man, and tekengo means foreigner, that's all! I wouldn't think it matters which one you use!'

'And what of the last word, "Ma"?'

'That just means please,' replied the child. 'I'll be addressing the mighty Lord Porunga after all.'

Frieza rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to the soldier.

'Go and verify those two words with one of the other Nameks. As soon as I have a reliable translation I wish to move on.'

After the soldier left the hut Dodoria spoke from behind him.

'My Lord, is there a hurry? We have yet to locate another village.'

Frieza turned to his General, less than happy to admit anxiety, but Dodoria should know. 'Vegeta is on the loose again, and none of his companions except the girl are accounted for yet, that leaves at least…' Frieza cast his mind back to the reports from Grenouillea II. 'Two adult Saiyans, three juvenile Saiyans and a-' Suddenly, Frieza caught his breath and it squeezed out of him in dismay. 'A shapeshifter! Vegeta has a shapeshifter in his crew! God of Ice and Fire!'

Dodoria flinched back from Frieza's venomous profanity, but Frieza wasn't seeing him now; he was seeing Zarbon tricked like a fool in his mind's eye. He pressed his scouter button. 'Zarbon, did you remember that they have a shapeshifter amongst them?'

* * *

Hundreds of kilometres away still, Zarbon paused in his full-speed approach to answer his master, fear gripping his heart for a second, because he _had_ forgotten. And even if Frieza had only just remembered himself, Zarbon was sure he would be blamed for forgetting, especially if it was revealed that that was how Vegeta had escaped, which now that he thought on it, made sense with the scenario he'd encountered in the med lab.

'Yes, I am aware, my Lord.'

'Oh good, _you are aware_ ,' replied Frieza sarcastically. 'Are the crew aware? Have they all been reminded that literally ANYONE they meet may be an imposter?'

'I'll do it at once, my Lord!'

'No need, Zarbon! I'll do it myself. Coif, you cretin, are you listening?'

Lieutenant Coif's alarmed voice stammered that he was.

'Put me through to the entire crew. I wish to address them all.'

Zarbon uttered some vile words as soon as he took his finger from the scouter button. His passenger was circumspectly silent. She had even ceased her sniffling; thank the Father for small mercies. Travelling backside-first at his top speed must have been enough to discourage her from complaining.

He listened to Frieza revealing the fact of Vegeta's shapeshifter ally to the entire crew and then harangue them about their responsibility of vigilance. Taking the opportunity he checked to see what the little notification symbol on his scouter screen was for. It couldn't be too important or he'd have been told directly over the scouter, but it was annoying. The pressed his scouter's other button…and in his surprise, dropped the girl.

He watched her go for a few seconds while he debated whether or not to let her fall to her death. The news on his scouter demanded far more attention, but then he decided that he couldn't be responsible for losing any more of Frieza's playthings today.

'But a few moments delay,' he reminded himself, and then streaked after the screaming chit, knocking the breath out of her deliberately when he caught her before throwing her carelessly onto his back. Both hands free now he checked his scouter again...and changed direction.

* * *

Vegeta nearly fell out of the sky when he heard Frieza's voice in his ear.

'As revealed to some of you previously, the fugitive Vegeta has been travelling in the company of a shapeshifter! As such, nothing and no one can be taken at face value. You must all demonstrate the utmost vigilance and suspicion. Anyone acting out of the ordinary must not be trusted. Anyone duped into falling for the shapeshifter's tricks shall be held fully responsible for whatsoever transpires because of it, do I make myself clear? You must not fail me!'

Vegeta snorted.

'What is it?' asked the Daemon. Or the not-Daemon. Whatever.

'Frieza has only just realised that you may have been involved in deceiving his crew. Good job he didn't think to warn everyone _before_ we got off the ship.'

Puar gulped. 'I guess I might not get away with impersonating crew again.'

'No, but there should be no need. We're one step ahead of him again, and I intend to stay that way. Now get your radar out. We need to know where we're headed.'

Puar delved into her pouch to retrieve the radar, growing herself an extra set of paws to do so at the same time as keeping her grip on Vegeta.

He waited while she twisted it this way and that, pressing buttons.

'Huh?' she said eventually. 'It looks like there are three dragonballs all together in one place!'

'How can that be?'

'I don't know!' she said. 'They weren't together before, but… One is the four star ball that Raditz and Goku had, and they met up with Krillin and Tarble who had another one. They must have gotten a ball from Guru!'

Hope sprang anew in Vegeta's chest. Three dragonballs! And Puar had a fourth…somewhere.

'Where is the dragonball you stole?'

Puar was silent.

'Daemon!' He cast a vicious glare at the cat on his shoulder. 'Do not tell me you lost it!'

'No, it's safe.'

'Safe where?'

Puar's brows knitted up and she bit her lip.

'I guess there are three wishes now-'

'Spit it out!'

'I have it in a capsule!' She patted her pouch. Oh, of course. Bulma would have set the Earthlings up with a way of concealing any dragonballs they found from him and the Saiyans. He should have thought of that. He caught a smile trying to move his lips and he crushed it down. The time for amusement at her antics was long flown.

'We'll head to them,' he said. 'Which direction?'

Puar pointed a path that would nearly bring them closer to the ship. Still, it was not _directly_ back to the ship, so he turned.

Puar's speculation reminded him that he'd been questioning her about events while he was unconscious.

'What were you doing on the ship before?' he asked. 'Did you sneak on board?'

'Oh. No. After I took the pod I, um, followed the radar to the nearest dragonball and accidentally flew right to Frieza's ship.' Vegeta rolled his eyes, unseen by Puar. 'Some soldiers opened the pod, and I pretended to be a handbag, then one of them took me into his bunkroom and locked me in his drawer.'

'And then Dodoria rode my pod back to Bulma and I!'

'Yes. I know.'

'We could've have been killed!'

'I know!' Puar hunkered herself down flat on his shoulder. 'I'm sorry! I was mad at both of you, but I didn't mean anything horrible to happen to either of you!'

Vegeta hissed between his teeth in fury. Puar was many things, but first and foremost she was a _child_.

'What else happened?'

'I had no idea how to get out at first, then I was thinking, "What would Bulma do?" and so I used the radar to-'

'I'm sure it was all very ingenious, Daemon, but I think I can guess this story from here. What of the others?'

'Krillin, Brolly and Tarble got another ball like I said, and went to see the oldest Namekian, called Grand Elder Guru. On the way there they met Raditz and Goku and…'

'And?'

'And…they all decided to go to Grand Elder Guru's together!'

'And who is that?'

'The oldest Namek who made the dragonballs here.'

'Why did they go there?'

'To ask his advice about things, and because he had another dragonball. I guess they got it.'

'Is that where they are now?'

'I don't know. You took my earpiece away.'

'That's four balls,' said Vegeta. 'Where are the other three, do we know?'

'We think Frieza has at least one.'

'What of Nappa?'

'I don't really know. He killed some PTO that came to the ship, but then when you were captured he said you were as good as dead. He didn't even want to help Goku, Krillin and Tarble rescue you because he said there was no hope. I think he's been getting drunk on the ship.'

That Nappa had prematurely given up hope was no real surprise to Vegeta - the man was the ultimate pessimist – but it did make him angry. The cat and the brats had been up for rescuing him, but Nappa _hadn't_ been.

Vegeta tapped his transponder. 'Nappa! Explain yourself!'

* * *

Nappa's eyes snapped fully open at Vegeta's voice, seeing the trees in proper detail for a while as they zoomed away below him. He'd been fighting the urge to sleep ever since he got in the air.

He raised his hand to press the scouter button to reply. 'Vegeta! I'm… somewhere. Hopefully on the way to you.'

'Who is this on comms?' asked an unfamiliar voice.

'Uh. Crap. It's the Fairy of the Hindermost Nebula!'

'The what?'

Nappa quickly turned the sound down on the scouter so he could hear Vegeta over Bulma's comm lines. He'd been pressing the button on a scouter to communicate most of his life – it was a hard habit to break, especially when one was tipsy.

'Nappa, what did you just do?' Vegeta snarled. 'I heard you on the _scouter_ I stole!'

'Sorry, your Highness! I got confused for a second 'cause I'm more used to the scouter than the girl's rubbish. I'm in the middle of nowhere, but hopefully on my way to you.'

'And how do you know where I am?'

'I don't, but I can kinda sense Frieza, so I'm heading in that general direction.'

'Don't bother. The pets and the children can do your heavy-lifting for you.'

'What?' asked Nappa, not sure he understood what Vegeta was saying, but pretty sure he should be offended by it. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, unless you can find me by some miracle in the wilderness, the chances of you being any use at all are slim to none! You may as well go back to the ship and wait for us.'

A sense of shame stole over Nappa. 'I will find you, your Highness! As soon as I knew you hadn't been killed by Frieza I started out after you.'

'Huh. Is that right? A bit late after the fact, isn't it? Luckily I had _Puar_ watching my back.'

'I… I…I just couldn't see any way for us to get you away-'

'Save it, Nappa,' Vegeta cut him off. 'If you insist on blundering about the countryside after me, be aware that there's a search party out.'

'I know, your Highness. I heard it on the scouter traffic too.'

'Well, don't get caught, as I think Puar will be put out if she needs to launch a _second_ rescue operation.'

Nappa blanched at the outrageous insult and then he roared out his temper to the empty landscape.

* * *

'Damn that man!' Vegeta raged to Puar, but the cat held her silence, which was probably wise. 'I hope Raditz hasn't also been showing the same lack of faith.' He touched his transponder again.

'Raditz, are you there?'

Raditz's voice answered him a second later.

'Yes, my Prince! I'm in a pod with Krillin and we've got Kakarott and Tarble clinging to the outside.'

'Where are you now? What are you doing?'

'We were on the way to Frieza's ship to rescue you, using the five star dragonball as a target, but the target…' The rest of Raditz's words receded and Vegeta felt a prickling on his back of something massive and unwelcome approaching from the rear.

'Zarbon!' he said, realising that he hadn't gotten away after all.

'What about him?' asked Raditz.

Vegeta dropped his head to look underneath himself, back the way he came, and there was a little dot, still tiny, but way, way too close.

'Shit! Zarbon is on my fucking tail!'

'Oh, crap!'

Vegeta grabbed Puar to steady her as he accelerated to full speed. At least full speed was now faster than it had been! He felt like he could probably take down Dodoria after his time healing in the regen tank, but Zarbon was even more powerful.

'I'm heading for you guys,' he shouted out over the air rushing past. He didn't know how that would help, but he had no better plan right at that moment.

'How do you know where we are?'

'Puar is tracking the three dragonballs you collected.'

'But we don't have them! We hid them at Guru's place.'

'Well, that's where I'm headed!' said Vegeta. 'I suggest we all meet there if we have any hope of overpowering Zarbon.'

He looked back at Zarbon again. The dot had gotten no larger.

'How much further, Daemon?'

'Er, another one and a half thousand kilometres.'

Vegeta didn't know how far that was, but it sounded way too far for his liking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, next fic I update might be this one or it might be Monkey Business. The ever-obliging Adli is currently betaing both but has her own busy life to fit fan fiction into, so we'll just see how things go! Anyone who was following Monkey Business will know that it's been 2 years since I updated it - 2 YEARS! I'm so sorry! I have no idea I'd left it so long. I chipped away at it now and then, and now I have 2 chapters to show for it (or in truth, one monster chapter cut into 2 long chapters). In related news, Never Ever Land has just passed it's 3rd birthday.


	47. Trial by Zarbon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi everyone! See, I told you it wouldn't be that long. Thank you so much for all your reviews!

Zarbon felt a small trepidation for diverting from his mission to bring the girl to Frieza with all haste. He was already treading thin ice with his master today; he was almost certain that all would be forgiven if he managed to corral Vegeta again. However, if he _failed_ to catch Vegeta he'd only be making things that much worse for himself.

'General!' The voice over the scouter cut into his thoughts.

'Major?' replied Zarbon, one hand on his scouter.

'I've had a report that someone was just talking over comms on Sergeant Mangosteen's scouter. They didn't identify themselves, but some others reported that it sounded like Vegeta's companion, Nappa.'

'It probably was,' Zarbon told him. 'I have bigger fish to fry though; I'm on the tail of Vegeta. The idiot was stupid enough to try and use my authority to launch a pod from our own ship! I doubled back and was able to pick up his trail quite easily. It's odd – his power signature seems to fluctuate wildly, but he was not that hard to find.'

'He wasn't?'

'No. Which begs the question; what the hell have your men been doing out there to miss him?'

'They've all been searching with the utmost earnest, I'm sure,' replied the Major.

Zarbon sighed dramatically. 'Must I do everything? Send some men out to follow me with chi collars and cuffs. I may need them.'

'Yes, sir. What should we do about Nappa?'

'Send some others to try and pick him up. Make it men you don't like though – judging by the fact that we still haven't heard from Mangosteen or the two he took with him, and that he's using Mangosteen's scouter...'

'I understand, sir.'

 _Nappa!_ Zarbon rolled his eyes. The deal he and Frieza had offered the brute was extremely generous, but it seemed like ties that bound the monkey-troop had won out over sense.

'Vegeta escaped, then?' asked the girl from his back, shouting over the wind.

Zarbon had almost forgotten she was there.

'Temporarily only, you can be assured.'

'What will you do when you catch him?'

'Teach him a _lesson_.'

Bulma's stomach fluttered with fear at Zarbon's menacing tone, and she wasn't only scared for Vegeta. How was Vegeta going to defend himself without taking her out, too? Would he even care about hurting her anyway? He had thrown her off a really steep hill after all. She contemplated her fate with a trembling lip, but covered her mouth before she could start crying again. God, she wished she could take back what she'd done to him!

One good thing about Zarbon dropping her before was that when he'd picked her up again she'd landed roughly astride his back. She surreptitiously rearranged herself, crouched low over him, clutching the neck of his armour with one hand because he was going so fast she could barely breathe or see though the tears the wind was tearing from her eyes. With her other hand she checked her pocket and found the earpiece. Would it be dry now? Probably not. It felt like it had been hours and hours since she'd gotten out of the tank, but probably it was only a few. Still, she shoved it in her ear, but she could hear no one talking over the line.

Up ahead she could see a slipstream through the air, and sometimes she imagined she could see a dark dot at its centre. _Vegeta_. She wasn't sure whether to hope they caught up to him or not.

Something was digging into her leg, and when she looked she saw that it was the buckle of the belt that held her capsule kit. Zarbon had it looped over one shoulder like a handbag. She knew there was nothing in there that she could use to fly away from Zarbon, and the kit itself was hanging out of reach under Zarbon's shoulder. If she took it off him she was fairly sure he'd feel the movement, but if she got a chance to get away, she needed to take the kit with her. Maybe he would put her down before the fighting began? _Please let him put me down first!_

Gingerly, she pushed the end of the belt back through the buckle and pressed the prong back through the hole. Now free to slide through the buckle, she held the end of the belt in her hand, ready to grab the whole kit at a moment's notice.

* * *

Frieza took a moment to pace the width of the small hut, trying to grasp the ends of his temper and his anxiety.

 _Oh, look at me,_ he bemoaned silently. _Brought to a state of neurosis by a snot-nosed monkey prince and his cretinous lackeys! I am Frieza, Lord of all the Galaxy – there is no question that I will prevail!_

He stopped in front of the Namek child who had stared at him as he paced, and narrowed his eyes. The child flinched away from him in fear. Frieza pressed his lips together and the brat stumbled backwards until his back was against the wall, and it started to cry.

Frieza smiled. This was his power, his gift. Even those who had never heard of him before today could tell that a veritable god stood before them, and they were utterly at his mercy. Vegeta had merely defied the odds for an unfeasibly long time, but soon enough his number would be up and it would be _his_ Saiyan tears shed in terror at Frieza's feet. The last of the Saiyans would cry out in despair before he ended him.

Strangely, he could hear cries already. He looked up and towards the door, just as Dodoria also stepped forward. The air trembled from an explosion.

'What's going on out there?' the General asked, cutting Frieza off as he headed through the door.

'Stay with the translator,' Frieza ordered the Private before following.

Out in the yard only the dead Nameks and dead soldiers were still on the ground. Two soldiers were hovering above the carnage and the last few captive Namekians were captive no more, flying away into the distance. And there were rather more dead soldiers than there had been earlier. The two in the air blasted wildly around them.

'There!' one cried, and they both shot again. Frieza couldn't see what they were looking at, but he did see the flicker of green that approached them from behind. In the split second following, both soldiers were launched in different directions, crashing into the ground on either side of the village.

Dodoria roared and charged after the little green menace. Frieza held himself back from action at the last moment. Dodoria could cope with whatever this was, and there was not a lot at stake anyway. Frieza still had his translators in the houses, and he had only been about to kill the rest anyway. A few escaped villagers wouldn't be able to do much to stop him using the dragonballs.

No, wait, there _was_ something at stake!

He turned sharply to see his hovering chair behind him, and there was a face! A pink-skinned _thing_ was caught red handed dipping his arms inside the chair to take his dragonballs! The sneak was wide eyed with fear and turned immediately, leaping into the air with a golden orb under each arm.

'You! You thieving monkey!' screamed Frieza, for appeared to be a Saiyan despite having no discernible tail. Frieza took flight, like a harpoon at the creature, but it was fast! A crack reverberated as it broke the sound barrier, and Frieza ploughed through the turbulent air after it, catching up actual seconds after he gave chase rather than the fraction-of he was expecting, and he slammed into the back of the boy. The balls went flying, and the boy tumbled head over heels to the ground, crashing into the moss below. Frieza prepared to gloat, but then the thing rolled to his feet again, apparently unharmed. He looked up at Frieza – it wasn't Vegeta, nor one of his old underlings, so it must be one of Vegeta's mangy rescues. The expression in its eyes was completely animal with fear. Then it bolted. Frieza saw it was heading towards one of the balls.

'No, you don't!' he shouted, flying at top speed to scoop the ball up himself. The Saiyan screamed and quickly changed direction, and just as Frieza levitated the ball into his loving embrace Dodoria sped past him and hit the ground, sending up a spray of dirt as his wide body made a gigantic furrow in the field.

'Hah?' Frieza gawped, almost not comprehending for a moment, and then he turned and that little green pest of a Namek was coming right at him.

'Brolly, get the other ball!' it shouted. Frieza couldn't believe the audacity for a moment. He let it come almost the entire distance towards him, arms outstretched, ready to batter into him, and then sidestepped it.

'Take my other ball?' he asked as the thing wheeled around. It really was just a child, almost indistinguishable from the one he'd just had cowering at his feet in the house, only it had done the impossible and overpowered _Dodoria_. He charged after the tyke, and spun in the air right before its face, lashing out with his maimed tail to land a solid blow across its face. He couldn't believe that he'd actually had to make a move for himself – that hadn't happened for decades at least – Dodoria, Zarbon and the Ginyu Force were nearly always sufficient for the job. _It's surely not natural for a Namekian to be so powerful?_ he mused, watching the body arc away. He recalled distantly that a few had a reputation for being warrior-mystics, but a power of this degree was worthy of note and possibly even recruitment.

He looked over to where he thought the other ball had landed, and the Saiyan was running through the rows of useless tree saplings towards it. Frieza was tempted to let him find it for him and then pick him up once he took to the air, so he flew closer, shadowing the Saiyan from above, watching the kid searching this way and that, and sometimes looking up with an exclamation of fear. Frieza backed off, chuckling a little. He was getting the impression the Saiyan was more fleeing than foraging at this moment, so perhaps he should give it a bit more room to actually look?

A streak of golden energy came in from Frieza's left flank. He almost didn't spot it in time, but he turned at the last possible moment, and it glanced along his torso, scorching a gouge in his armour.

'What the in world?'

He turned and there was that little green devil-child again, breathing hard and hanging in the air a short distance away. For a second he was open mouthed with astonishment, and then he laughed, for something so unexpected was a little funny. When one was as old as he was, surprises didn't come along every day.

'Well, aren't you something?' he congratulated the Namekian child.

'I am a defender of my people!' it shouted back at him.

'I'm sure you are,' said Frieza, pressing his scouter button to get a reading. The digits raced and raced, and then settled on a number that made Frieza grunt.

'Thirty one _thousand_ units. Well, no wonder you bested Dodoria.'

'I will best you too!' it shrieked.

'No you _won't_ ,' Frieza assured him. 'Dodoria is a drop in the bucket compared to my power. There is no other of my equal in the entire galaxy. But I tell you what…a power like yours is remarkable and not lightly thrown aside. I plan to destroy this planet when I am done with it, an inevitable end, I'm afraid, for the Namekian race. But there is always room at my side for a power such as yours.'

'What do you mean?' the kid asked. 'Do you think I would _join_ you after you kill my people?'

'Just listen to that scorn! Don't be so quick to leap on a noble death, child, as it would do no good for your people either way. You have your whole life to lose on one hand, and a lifetime of varied and satisfying employment to gain on the other.' He smiled, thinking of this naive child's soul being shocked, cowed and tempered into something cool, cynical and useful. Nothing pleased him more than moulding a young talent into the perfect tool. He sighed, thinking of Zarbon and Ginyu, and then felt the sick clenching of his stomach as his mind touched the edges of the hole left by Vegeta.

'I would love to have a Namekian on my crew.'

'I would love to burn a hole right through your heart!' shouted the child, bringing both hands together to send a beam of crackling pink energy at Frieza. Frieza charged into it, deflecting it with ease, and arriving directly before the Namek while he was still gathering breath for his next move.

'Think about it,' prompted Frieza, and as the kid's fist shot out (very fast, but still no match for Frieza's speed) he phased behind him and wrapped his tail around his scrawny, green neck. The child gurgled, his hands immediately reaching for the thick band of muscle that was so many thousands of times stronger than the boa it resembled.

He held the child right against his body. Since Vegeta's attempt to off him, his tail was a good foot shorter, and it made this chokehold move more difficult.

'Last chance,' offered Frieza. 'Join me or die.'

The kid stopped struggling against his tail, and for a shocked second Frieza thought that he might actually be permitting him to kill him, but then his hands glowed with sudden charge, and he released it straight into Frieza's side where the armour was damaged.

'Ah!' Frieza cried, letting go of him. He couldn't believe it! That actually stung! The Namek backed up and then turned again, ready to attack. It was obviously deluded or suicidal!

'Well, little one, it seems you have chosen death! Let me oblige!'

He pointed his finger and the brat took flight, going sideways at a speed that no one except Frieza himself could keep up with. Frieza grinned, sending off a series of pot shots, just to keep the boy flustered and on the move, and then he moved faster still, appearing right in the path of the fleeing Namekian. The child was so taken by surprise that he actually crashed into him, rebounding a distance perfect for Frieza to spin and strike the fool in the face with his foot. He was launched into the distance and then fell, tumbling limply in the air as he crashed to the earth. Frieza followed, his grin becoming a sneer as he stood over the Namek. Purple blood flowed from his nose as he struggled to raise himself to his elbows, and he seemed to be trying to speak, but only splutters and groans emitted.

'What a mess,' Frieza chided. He pointed his finger again, and this time fired his beam of focused energy. It pierced the Namek's chest and the child froze, his eyes wide, mouth open in shock, but he still breathed.

'Tough, aren't you?' Frieza stated. 'It's a pity you forced me to kill you.' He pointed his finger again, this time aiming for a spot right between the thing's eyes. He hesitated when he heard a cry from a way off, and was about to see who was shouting when pain exploded across his side. The world spun crazily around him, and then he was hitting the moss, battering his knees, shoulders, hips as he rolled over and over.

 _What?_ he asked himself. _What is happening?_

With an effort of will he put a stop to his wild motion and found himself in the shocking position of being hands and knees in the dirt. He hurt! No one had managed to _hurt_ him since he'd left home! Breathing hard he looked around, spotting Dodoria hauling himself up out of his own hole. Touching the button on his scouter he set to scan for large power signatures as he looked around. It immediately locked on one behind him and he spun around, spotting the _Saiyan_ carrying the injured Namekian away. Maybe it wasn't the same Saiyan though, because this one's hair had a purple sheen to it. He took to the air as the scouter was still ticking upwards, trying to find the upward limit on the kid, and suddenly it overheated and exploded.

'What?' he cried aloud, because the scouter was designed to accommodate every power level in the galaxy except for that exceptional one which was the strongest – himself! And there was no way in hell that a Saiyan was as strong as he!

He passed above his two dragonballs sitting together on the open ground and he slowed. The lucky Saiyan had his arms full of Namek, not dragonballs – he must have abandoned the balls in favour of his companion. Perhaps it wasn't worth pursuing him recklessly?

He used his chi to lift the balls into his arms and then flew to Dodoria, who stared at him in astonishment.

'Lord Frieza, that kid...'

'Don't say another word unless you want it to be your last,' Frieza warned him. 'He may be strong, but I was taken by surprise. Next time he won't be so lucky. Now give me your scouter – mine has malfunctioned!'

Dodoria rushed to take his scouter off, and his eyes strayed over Frieza's shoulder.

'What's he doing?'

Frieza turned and saw the Saiyan circling back with the Namek under one arm. Surely he wasn't stupid enough to come back for more of a fight? He dropped to the ground behind a rocky outcrop a hundred yards away, and as one, Dodoria and Frieza took to the air to see what was happening behind the rock. Before they quite made it over the rise a space pod zoomed upwards, past them, high into the sky. Almost without thinking about it, Frieza shot the thing with a conservative ball of chi. The blast launched it higher, spinning madly, its ass-end blistered and torn, and then it began to fall.

'Nice shot,' commented Dodoria, and Frieza sniffed in dismissal of the unwarranted praise. Dodoria may as well have complimented a half-hearted fart he'd just given. Not far from the ground the thing exploded, and Frieza tensed, waiting to see if this had been an intentional move by the occupant. Perhaps it was, as from the wreckage two bodies and a large spherical object fell.

'What is _that?_ ' Frieza asked, though the instant it was out his mouth he realised it was obvious. The skinny figure of a Saiyan charged into action, collecting both Namek and ball from the air, and then he was off.

Frieza made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a shriek, and he fired off the most powerful beam of energy he could gather in that instant, aimed right square at the Saiyan's back. Almost as if he sensed it coming, the Saiyan peeled off to the side and the chi whizzed past, useless. He took one last look over his shoulder and accelerated again, almost disappearing from sight in a mere second.

'He has _another_ dragonball!' roared Frieza. He cast a look back at the village where the last handful of his soldiers had filed out of the houses with the Nameks they'd been using as translators. They would only slow him down.

'I'm going after this sneaking monkey,' he told Dodoria. 'Bring the translators and follow me!' He took to the air without waiting for any kind of response from Dodoria, two dragonballs trailing him like obedient puppies, setting his eyes on the almost invisible mote on the horizon; the brat who took his dragonball!

* * *

Brolly flew, his heart beating madly against his ribs, his breath hissing in and out of his through clenched teeth. He could feel Frieza, that horrible thing behind him, and the feeling was not receding. He was so sure he was being followed that he was too scared to even look back over his shoulder.

He looked down at Nail though, at his little limp body tucked up in one of his arms, and distress squeezed a cry from him. Purple blood smeared Nail's face and drenched the front of his white and maroon tunic. Somehow the moment seemed horribly familiar, and Brolly's fear continued to rise. He jerked the boy, trying to elicit some kind of response from him. _Dead baby. Death was close_.

'Don't die, Nail!'

As the words left his lips the feeling deepened into a memory of another time, another fear, another face, another voice - a woman's voice.

' _Don't die, baby! Gods, you can't die, I'm getting you out of here!'_

'Urgh,' groaned Nail, barely cracking his eyes open. 'I'm trying…not…to.'

'Good!' he replied, relieved a tiny bit. Everything else was wrong, but at least Brolly wouldn't be alone in this terror, clutching a dead kid.

'Guru's…' croaked Nail.

'That's where I'm headed,' said Brolly quickly. 'Or at least I think I am.' He'd heard what Vegeta had said, but they'd been creeping up on Frieza's men at the time, so he hadn't been able to say anything. Nor could he warn Vegeta now that they were headed his way as he had one arm full of dragonball and the other full of Nail. He wasn't sure what he felt about Vegeta right then – he wasn't sure what he thought about most things since Guru had laid his hand on him, other than terrified by the black monolith of chi that was on his tail right now. He remembered that in the past he'd felt irritated by Vegeta, and he knew he resented being ordered around at times, but at others he was happy to help…It didn't make any sense to him. What he did know was that wherever Vegeta was right now was the safest place _he_ could be. Vegeta was the strongest and the cleverest of them – if anyone had a chance of fending off this Frieza guy it was him.

'Are we going the right way?' he asked the Namek, and noted that his own voice was still shaking. Nail lifted his head with an effort and looked around before collapsing back into Brolly's hold.

'Yes. That Frieza monster is following us.'

'I know.'

'Did you get his wish orbs?'

'No. I got _you_ instead. I couldn't have carried three plus you.' Part of Brolly cringed. Why had he felt it so important to save the Namek? He'd felt fear as Frieza had attacked Nail, almost as if he was being attacked himself. What the hell had Guru done to him? Weren't the dragonballs far more useful to them than Nail? But it felt like Nail was far more precious and irreplaceable.

Nail groaned. 'You didn't lose _our_ wish orb, did you?'

'No.' He hoisted the ball up into view so that Nail could see it. 'But we didn't gain anything with your plan except Frieza on our tail and you beaten senseless!'

'Not true,' replied Nail, and then took several deep breaths before managing to speak again. 'Four of my people saved. Four alien soldiers killed.'

Brolly felt another emotion creep in. Like the other new ones, it was unpleasant; a dull ache, curling up in his chest, like his heart didn't want to touch the rest of him, like it wasn't happy with him. Like he wasn't happy with himself. Nail had asked him to attack the soldiers with him, but Brolly had argued for high-tailing it back to Guru's the moment they figured out what was happening in Puz's village. Nail had been disappointed with him – perhaps that was an understatement – and said he would do it alone. Brolly though had been too scared to even try and find his own way back to Guru's alone. He said he would hide a distance away and wait and see what became of Nail. Nail had then talked him into searching for the dragonballs while the soldiers were distracted with his attack. He'd agreed, quaking with fear. After all, gaining the dragonballs was the whole point of being here, wasn't it? And the sooner they had them all the sooner they could leave this planet, and that he wanted very much. Still, he wouldn't have done it if he'd known that Frieza was going to rush out of a building and catch him.

'Vegeta is heading to Guru's house too,' he told Nail. 'We'll be safer.'

Nail snorted. 'Is he as powerful as Frieza?'

Brolly had not been able to sense chi for very long, but even he could not be mistaken about the difference between them. 'No. But Vegeta is smart.'

'So are Ngata and Guru,' replied Nail. 'I will put my faith in them.'

They continued in silence for a long time. Brolly was too scared to check behind him to see if Frieza was gaining on him, but it felt like their lead was maintained.

'Perhaps Frieza will bring his orbs to the Grand Elder's?' Nail pondered, his voice steady, but sounding a little weaker now.

Brolly supposed that was a good thing. 'If he does, that means we'll only need one more ball to make the wishes.'

Nail reached up and wiped the blood away from his mouth with his sleeve. 'You're wishing to bring Earth's Guardian back to life, right?'

'That's what Bulma, Krillin and Kakarott want. I was going to help them do that.' Now he wondered if that was what he really wanted. 'Vegeta wants to wish for immortality so that he can fight Frieza without dying.'

Nail gasped. 'Immortality? It's against the nature of the universe for something of this dimension to last forever!'

'Seems like a good idea to me,' said Brolly, and it _did_. Immunity from death sounded like the most wonderful and sensible possibility at the moment.

'Is that what you'd wish for, too?'

'Maybe.'

'I think that is a wish that you'd regret in the end.'

'But not for a long time. I would also settle for just being just a really, really long way from this planet.'

Nail considered that.

'It's been interesting to meet you and the others – even Raditz, in a way – but I think that is what I would wish for, too. For all the aliens on Planet Namek to be far, far away, and not able to find their way back.'

'It's been nice to meet you, too, but yeah, I wouldn't mind that at all.'

Nail gave a grim chuckle and then sighed. 'It will take a long, long time to undo the damage done here today.' Then he squinted up at Brolly again. 'Your hair is black again.'

'Huh?' said Brolly. 'It's always been black.'

Nail frowned and then looked unsure of himself. 'I could have sworn it was sort of purple for a while.'

Brolly shook his head, feeling concerned for Nail. The boy was seeing things.

* * *

'What's that?' asked Krillin, pointing out the pod window. A flash, and the tell-tale feel of chi spiking. A fight.

'Stop the pod!' Tarble yelled over comms. He and Goku took off before the pod finished decelerating. Raditz mashed the door opening button so hard he crushed it, then almost tore the door off its hinges as he pushed his way out. 'Nappa!' he cried, and Krillin could feel him too, that bold, familiar chi bouncing around.

They took off and immediately found themselves in a hail of energy waves. The sky in front of them was littered with the dark specks of PTO soldiers. Krillin fended one chi blast, then another and another, and then dodged a fourth. It zipped past him and in the open door of the pod, which exploded.

'Fuck!' yelled Raditz, looking back as the pod became a shower of smoking shrapnel.

Nappa was fighting a score of opponents, but somehow he was not only holding his own but still managing to take others out. As the other four joined the fray, Nappa went after a soldier who was firing chi bolts from a contraption on his wrist. Nappa didn't even try and duck the shots as he went in face first. He caught the soldier by the wrist, wrapped his legs around his middle. With a laugh and a wrench, Nappa tore the guy's arm right off, chi-contraption and all. Krillin stopped in the air – at least this alien's blood was green and not red, otherwise Krillin might've vomited at the sight of the stuff gushing out and coating Nappa's training suit. Nappa went for the guy's head next, and Krillin forced himself to turn away and deal with his own problems, which were in the form of two more PTO soldiers converging on him. Heart feeling like it was beating its way out of his throat with fear and excitement, Krillin closed the distance between himself and his enemies. He could hear Goku winding up his Kamehameha wave, but Krillin had never formed an energy wave in combat. Hell, until a few weeks ago he'd barely been able to produce visible chi! He needed to patch this hole in his education, but in the meantime he stuck to what he knew - close combat. Feet landing, fists pummelling soft places, Krillin was surprised how slow these soldiers were, and how easy to take down. Within moments they were both falling limply to the ground and Krillin was worrying that he'd used excessive force and killed them.

'Oh, shit, sorry!' he muttered, and rubbed the tattooed dots under his widow's peak. Good job he wasn't holding himself to his vows just now, but it didn't stop him from feeling suddenly and cripplingly guilty.

A chi blast zipped past so close to his face it felt like it seared the hairs on his cheek, and he whirled around.

_Damn it, there's no time for this now, Krillin!_

There were a handful more soldiers to deal with, but it only took another minute before they were taken care of – either scattered on the ground or obliterated to ash by chi. Disbelieving, shaking, Krillin turned on the spot taking in Tarble, Goku, Raditz and Nappa, all still airborne, all breathing hard.

'Everyone all right?' asked Goku.

The consensus was yes.

'You guys crashed my party!' Nappa complained. He actually didn't seem very pleased, which rankled Krillin, as he considered that he'd just done something very brave and extremely grave in defence of Nappa.

'You think we should have left you to it?' asked Raditz.

'I don't need help from you brats, that's for sure.'

'Fuck, what crawled up your butt and died? Next time we'll wait until you tag out before getting involved, how about that?'

'Fine by me.'

'Where's the pod?' asked Tarble.

'It died,' explained Raditz with a dirty look at Krillin.

'You're blaming me?' Krillin protested. 'You let it happen too!'

'I thought you had it covered.'

'Well…I thought _you_ did. At least we're not that far from Guru's now. Oh, crap.'

' _What?_ '

Krillin pointed at a spot on the horizon. 'It's in that direction, roughly. Keep your chi sense peeled for Ngata and Guru – the dragon radar got blown up with the pod.'

* * *

A needle of rock appeared over the horizon and grew steadily larger. The sense that something else foreboding lurked there also grew. Was this the Guru the others had spoken of?

'Are we still on course?' Vegeta shouted.

'Yep, but the signal is starting to split. I think the balls must be close to each other but not together.'

'Just pick the nearest one and we'll start there.'

Vegeta checked behind him and almost yelped with panic – Zarbon had gained on him! He was close enough now that he could see he was carrying something on his back. Not Bulma, surely? Well, that was just perfect!

'The right bank of that lake thing!' said Puar, pointing at a body of water that surrounded the spire. Vegeta altered his course slightly, but what was he going to do when he got there? Land? Zarbon would just catch him immediately! Keep going? Zarbon would catch him anyway at this rate.

He touched his transponder.

'Where is everybody?'

'Close!' cried Krillin straight away.

'Yeah, we're almost there,' said Nappa unexpectedly. After the spiteful things he'd said to the man he still felt relief to hear his second would be here to back him up. 'Raditz and Kakarott and Tarble all in tow.'

_Thank the gods!_

'After we've dealt with Zarbon we've still got three balls to get our hands on. Do we know where they are?'

'Only three?' asked Raditz.

'Puar has one,' replied Vegeta.

'We know Frieza has one of the three then. The other two will make their way here with any luck.'

The features of the lagoon grew larger. He looked back again and roared in despair. He was just about out of time!

'Daemon, where is the ball?'

'In that bay over there,' she replied.

Vegeta stopped, grabbing the cat in his hand and she squealed at the sudden deceleration. 'Meet me there,' he told her, and then he threw her overarm at the bay, the cat spinning away with a tiny scream that disappeared into nothing.

He turned, breathing deep, trying to catch his breath before Zarbon was in his face. Could he hold Zarbon off long enough for the others to get here? He would _have_ to! Would they be able to make a difference even when they did? Well, he'd had a zenkai boost since Dodoria beat the snot out of him. Maybe that _would_ be enough to hold his own against Zarbon?

'Fuck,' he said, and dropped from the sky, landing on a headland covered in the same ubiquitous teal moss as the rest of this planet. Zarbon altered course too, turning and swooping low to the water, and suddenly the figure on his back pitched itself off, falling, screaming, to hit the water. Zarbon slowed for a second, but then continued straight for Vegeta.

* * *

_Oh my god, this is way too high!_ is what she thought as she plummeted. Even though she'd thrown herself off of Zarbon's back, and even though she'd done it to save herself, this was still probably the most fear she'd ever felt as she fell and fell and fell to the water. Three seconds felt like eternity as she prepared herself to meet the green depths. She wrapped her arms around the capsule kit, legs cycling in the air before she remembered to glue them together just before she hit. Down she went like a spear, shock and water and air bubbles rushing over her and then crushing down on her, its pressure making her head and ears ache. Panicked, her legs opened, ending her decent and she thrashed out with them, making for what felt like up, nothing but a wide, green blur above to guide her. Up and up she kicked, her feet and ankles in pain from the impact, her heart going a million miles an hour and using up all her oxygen.

 _Don't get all the way to Planet Namek and die by drowning!_ she told herself. The surface…she still hadn't made it…how could it be so far away? _Swim, swim, dammit!_

* * *

Vegeta backed up on the cliff, giving Zarbon room to land and yet still be a good thirty yards away. The longer he could waste time with trash talk the better.

Zarbon floated in smoothly and gracefully, arms folded, alighting on one foot, letting his braid settle, his smarmy face smirking fit to snap in half.

'You know you might have gotten away if you hadn't been stupid enough to invoke my authority to launch a pod,' Zarbon started.

'I thought I'd better tip you off, as apparently you couldn't catch me even when I was right under your nose on the ship.' He needed to try that power up thing again – he needed everything he had for Zarbon.

Zarbon scoffed. 'Vegeta, your bluster is pathetic. You know very well you can't fool me. I bet you've already stained your fresh undergarments just by my appearing before you.'

'Don't flatter yourself - you're not _that_ pretty!' replied Vegeta, astounded that Zarbon had left such a door open. Zarbon actually cracked a smile.

'Crude, crude.' He tutted. 'Somehow you managed to keep up the princely act for Lord Frieza, but you could never conceal your true character from me.'

Vegeta felt anger seeping up to cover his fear. 'If you're talking about my contempt for you, no, I never _bothered_ to conceal it. I _loathe_ you, Zarbon.'

Zarbon's upper lip curled. 'The feeling is _quite_ mutual. Never have I seen such attention lavished on one so unworthy. A little bit of attention from Frieza and you become horrendously arrogant, just like your father did. You have no idea of your true place in the universe, and it's certainly not as a serious challenge to our master!'

At the mention of his father the anger poured into Vegeta's stomach. He was breathing so hard he had trouble getting the words out as he asked, 'Is that why you told me about what Frieza did to my father and my planet? To put me in my place?'

'Exactly!' crowed Zarbon. 'I knew Frieza would not be pleased, but I couldn't take your over-inflated sense of self another second. You father was pathetic! I could have sent a sap like _Cui_ to destroy him, but Frieza allowed him to come all the way to his chambers so that he could kill him in person. And that's what you are – the heir to a pathetic, crude race! To a pathetic, crude man!'

The blood was thumping in Vegeta's ears now, and all thought of holding off the fight as long as possible was obscured by Zarbon's insults. The impulse to go straight at the man had him rocking forward on the balls of his feet before he stopped himself. No, he needed to power up! He couldn't go into this fight half-cocked when his chances of winning were already so low! Recklessly he dug inside himself, feeling those pathways of chi, wrenching at them violently. Taking a deep breath he plunged inside himself, the feeling almost painful as his power began to move. The air began to whip around him. He clenched his fists, biting down, and then he was growling with the effort, pushing against his body's natural regulations.

'What's wrong?' asked Zarbon. 'Choking on the truth?'

Vegeta ignored him, struggling with the shackles inside himself, chi crackling up and down his body as he forced it out of hiding. And then it began to _flow_. Vegeta roared, his struggle giving way to relief as he felt his own power rush through him in a way it never had before, and his chi erupted into an aura of blue-white flame, thicker, hotter, richer than any aura he'd bled before.

'Nice light show!' mocked Zarbon, and with no further ado he appeared before Vegeta, punching right through his stomach in a sudden, devastating blow, his fist protruding right out Vegeta's back. Face frozen in a laugh of triumph, Zarbon looked into Vegeta's eyes and felt confusion. Where was the resistance he should have felt? Where was the feeling of warmth and wetness around his arm? Vegeta's face faded in front of him and Zarbon spun around, away from the after image, instinctually preparing for an attack from behind, but he was not quite fast enough. A white, PTO-issue boot struck across his cheek, snapping his head back the way he'd been facing and launching his whole body, spinning over the heath until he crashed into the ground. He was in the air again in a fraction of a second, jarred, sore and angry.

Vegeta didn't rush in again straight away. With that explosion of action he had cleared most of his immediate need to purge his anger and now he took a moment to enjoy having landed a serious hit on Zarbon for the first time ever. Excitement bubbled up inside him – _I could win this fight! I could KILL Zarbon at last!_ He watched Zarbon touch his face and wince.

'I think I broke your ugly face.'

Zarbon scowled at him. 'That's pretty rich coming from someone as hideous as _you_. That may leave a bruise, there's nothing remotely broken about me yet.'

His hand left his face, and he pulled it back over his shoulder. A core of orange light filled his palm, and with his new sense of chi, Vegeta could feel the intensity of it. Zarbon slingshot the bolt at him. Vegeta flew sideways to avoid it, but the damn thing _followed_ him. With only a tiny fraction of a second to react, he turned and clumsily deflected it. It rolled him over, burning him as he just managed to clear it over his body and face, and then it was off into the distance like a monstrous firefly, illuminating the landscape until it lost cohesion and disintegrated into a fireball, igniting the oxygen in the air. Vegeta heaved one breath in recovery before Zarbon was on him, a flurry of blows into his chest, knocking him down. The blows stopped before Vegeta hit the ground, but then he _didn't_ hit the ground – he splashed down into the water, going deep.

Normally he could hold his breath for minutes, but the hits in his chest and stomach had winded him. Vegeta had to clamp his hand over his mouth to stop his involuntary gasping and keep himself from drowning. He needed air, but he didn't dare come up where he'd gone down, so he swam along the bottom of the lagoon for a hundred yards or so, the edges of his vision going dark and his thoughts hazy before he left himself surface, as gently as he could, next to the shore. That first breath that he took was one of the greatest demonstrations of will he'd ever demonstrated over his body as he forced himself to be quiet about it.

Looking around he found he was protected from view on the shore side by a low bank. He couldn't see Zarbon out over the water, but to his surprise he saw another face bobbing about _on_ the water. A long way off, and difficult to spot due to the soaking wet teal hair against the green water, Bulma was swimming doggedly his way. He looked about for Zarbon again, and not seeing him he waved her away. She stopped, perhaps noticing him for the first time. He waved her off again, making shooing motions. She waved back.

 _That idiot! What does she think I'm doing here?_ He tried a third time, more aggressively, channelling his irritation at her getting in the way of the action. Then she screamed, and while he was being confused as to the reason why, suddenly his wrist was caught and his arm wrenched as Zarbon hauled him from the water.

He found himself brought almost eye to golden eye with the sneering General, his wrist squeezed tight in the iron grip of his ex-superior officer. _Not nearly as superior as he once was_ , Vegeta assured himself silently, gathering chi in the hand he held behind his back. Zarbon opened his mouth and Vegeta swung his fist, intent on feeding Zarbon a meal that would fry his face and throat, but Zarbon turned his face in time, grabbing his other wrist and angling his hand over his shoulder so that Vegeta's blast went to waste. Vegeta didn't pause to mourn the failure though, and curled his body up, held securely in Zarbon's own grip, and kicked out both feet into Zarbon's chest. Zarbon staggered back, winded, but he still didn't let go, so Vegeta slammed a foot into his nose, again and again until Zarbon roared and tossed him away.

Vegeta recovered immediately and touched down on his toes, bringing his hands up, ready to fight again. Zarbon clutched his nose and then drew his hands away, roaring again at the sight of his own blood covering them. He spat blood from his mouth and looked at Vegeta with more hatred than he'd ever shown before, which was quite a feat considering.

'Looks like I did break your face now!'

'You little bastard! If you've ruined my nose I'll resurrect you with those fucking dragonballs and kill you all over again!'

Vegeta sniggered, glad to have caused grief. 'You need to be able to kill me _once_ first.'

'Did I ever tell you how infuriating your cocky attitude was?' Zarbon shouted. 'I'm _not_ here to kill you or else I would have succeeded by now. You must know that Frieza wants that pleasure all to himself?'

Vegeta's smirk froze in place. Yes, he did know that, but he didn't like to think that Zarbon was holding back.

'I'm not looking for the gentle treatment,' he said.

'Fine. If I accidentally kill you, so be it.'

Zarbon rushed him, leaving him no time for fear to set in. Punches rained on him, and he parried desperately, managing to avoid the worst of it. Zarbon's face was way too close for his liking, pouting in determination as he attacked. The larger man's reach was too long to even retaliate from this position, and Vegeta picked the tiniest break in Zarbon's assault to flee upwards, higher into the sky. He flipped over, chi coming into his hands to form an attack, but to his shock Zarbon was sailing after him, matching his speed. Vegeta released his Galik Gun, undercooked, right at Zarbon's face. Zarbon braced for it, trying to power through, and he did, but it slowed him down, pushing him backwards. Fighting for more space, Vegeta let the chi flow into his hands in a non-stop stream, and he fired blast after blast at Zarbon. They exploded over him one after another, and the Grenouillean was knocked back by each, grunting with effort of overcoming the attacks. Vegeta was too strong for Zarbon to come at him head-on, but when would a blast break through his defence? Surely Zarbon would tire?

But it was Vegeta who tired first. The chi was not endless, and the blasts became weaker as he scraped deeper and deeper for them. Panting from the effort, he didn't have the wind to gasp when Zarbon broke through the barrage, parting his last energy wave with cry.

Vegeta muscled into the engagement, but he was already flagging. He got under Zarbon's swing and landed his own blow on the man's already broken nose, shattering the General's concentration. As Zarbon howled in pain again, Vegeta went to town for the space of two breaths, kicking Zarbon in the chest, the cheek, the kidney, and they were falling back to the ground, Zarbon's control over his chi lost.

Vegeta went for Zarbon's throat next, but Zarbon caught his foot.

'That's my own move, you unoriginal sheep!' Zarbon spat, snorting blood down his front.

Vegeta didn't have the breath to argue ownership over such a basic move, and instead stamped with his other foot. Zarbon snarled as he tried to block the kick with his other hand and got it bashed against his cheek, but the end result was still Vegeta trapped by both legs. Vegeta didn't panic quite yet, though – he relaxed, giving himself a few moments to recover and gather himself.

'Idiot!' hissed Zarbon. 'It shames me to think that you served under me in the- ARGH!'

Vegeta suddenly bent his knees and curled over backwards, arching around until he could shoot the last of his chi in the green son-of-a-bitch's balls. It was not that large of a blast, but he'd caught Zarbon by surprise and close range and in a sensitive area; _he_ was certainly sporting no battle injury, or at least he hadn't been until now. Zarbon let him go to clutch at himself and Vegeta was off, flying wildly, anywhere but towards Zarbon.

Where were the others? How close was "close"? Again he turned to the tower and the huge chi that he sensed lurking there. Or maybe two chi signals? And what if one of them decided to take a chunk out of him, too? The last thing he needed was another hard fight right now!

Then came the very unwelcome sensation of a crushing grip around his ankle. Zarbon was growling in fury, and Vegeta had no time to react as he was spun and released, straight at the ground. He managed to halt himself, facing the dirt a few feet short of impact, and then a weight like a deep space freighter slammed into his back and drove him into the ground.

Dazed with pain and struggling to re-inflate his lungs, he could do nothing as he was grasped by the hair and pulled up from the smashed ground to dangle like a broken doll at the end of Zarbon's arm. His face prickled and seared with pain, blood flowed into his mouth and when he took a breath, agony rippled up his back and ribs. He tried to lift his arms to attack again, but they barely moved.

_Damn, damn it, it was over!_

'A filthy move from you that I should have expected,' said Zarbon, sounding winded and quite strained, his voice a little high pitched. 'But there's not much fight left in you now, is there? I just have to sit on you and wait for my men to arrive with a chi-collar and chains. Or I could beat you close to death and carry you to them.' He paused to catch his breath after that speech. 'So…which should it be?'

'Nnnnn-u!' Vegeta groaned, not even able to shout in defiance.

'Now all I need to do is find that ugly whore of yours and my day hasn't turned out too badly after all,' Zarbon said. 'I'm sure she's not gone too far.'

Despair washed through Vegeta, taking away all desire to do anything. There was no point in attempting any action because he was _done_. How could he possibly have thought he might defeat Zarbon?

Zarbon dropped him to the ground, causing all of Vegeta's pains to crescendo. His vision dimmed, and he sensed the approaching unconsciousness and panicked, fearing he would die before he ever regained it. His father's face flashed through his mind, and with it shame and then anger. _I may have failed to avenge you, but at least I achieved more than you ever did!_ Inexplicably the vision was replaced by a one of meal time on the ship, Saiyans and Earthlings jostling for food, talking, arguing and laughing, and he was pierced by grief for himself. _Not for me, not for me anymore! It's all over for me!_ Bulma laughing during lunch in the floating restaurant, cocktails with Raditz by the pool, wrestling with Bulma during chi training; it was like images from another life. What a fool he'd been to think that his life could be like that, even for a short while? His life was meant to be like this; brutal, violent and short. Despite all his dreams and schemes, deep down he'd been fighting the belief that this would be how his life ended – under the heel of his master. This was his real life and his real death, not playing about and daydreaming of becoming some legendary, mythical super-warrior. That was a child's hope.

_I was always going to fail._

The vision of Bulma's face behind his eyelids became more dreamlike, and she reached down a hand to pull him up. He reached out to her in desperation, so grateful she had come back for him, and his anger at her was forgotten for the moment, but before their fingers could touch she was replaced by an old, pissed-off Namekian glaring right at him, disapproval emanating palpably from him. He flinched awake again, opening his eyes.

'Are your ribs broken?' Zarbon asked, turning and apparently preparing to sit on him as promised. 'I hope so, but if they aren't they will be soon.'

Beyond Zarbon in the sky was a speck that was swelling in size and presence. That chi – it was intimidating! In the space of a second, Vegeta watched the speck grow into the sour-faced Namek from his vision. He blinked, his head began to clear, and he found enough strength to raise it to see the man better.

'Huh?' Zarbon saw him too and straightened his knees, putting off his plans to torture Vegeta further. 'I don't need curious locals right now. Who are you? Are you the creator of the dragonballs?'

The skinny old Namek settled on the ground as light as a feather and his nose twitched in contempt.

'No. I am-'

Zarbon didn't wait for the rest. He fired a jet of orange chi at the man; a jet that would have finished off nearly every individual in the galaxy. This Namek was one of the exceptions though, as once the light and heat dispersed the Namek still stood there, looking even angrier. Not even his white and blue robes looked singed.

' _What?_ ' cried Zarbon, and Vegeta lowered his head back to the ground. If it was a choice between being killed by Frieza and being killed by a Namekian, he'd pick Frieza. Frieza had perhaps earned the honour, and it would carry a certain sense of tragedy, whereas death by random angry Namek was merely pitiful.

'I am Ngata, Grand Elder Guru's bodyguard, and I am here to see you on your way.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' said Zarbon, reaching up to touch his scouter button.

Ngata's mouth widened into a hard, thin lipped smile. 'I was hoping you would say that.'

The scouter beeped and Zarbon gasped and Ngata moved all at the same time. Sound and light cracked from their first contact, and then they were away, a blur of violence that only the best warriors in the Galaxy could follow.

Vegeta stayed down as the fight went skywards, left struggling to breath on the moss.

 _Should I be grateful for this Namek's interruption?_ he wondered. His breathing picked up, hurting him more as he realised there was a little hope after all. While the Namek and Zarbon distracted each other he had a chance to get away – if he could. _If I can get to my feet, maybe I can get to the dragonballs!_ But what of Puar? What of Bulma? What were they doing? Were they gathering the balls together right now? And if they managed to get the last three, would they wait for him or just leave him and his ambitions to die out here? _No, I'm not going to die! I'm too close to my wish to die! I need to get up! I need to keep going! I can't let others decide my fate!_

' _Vegeta_ ,' said a voice, but not through his ears. It was a voice in his mind, and not his own frantic inner voice, but a calmer, richer one. ' _Come to me in my house_.'

 _What's this? Am I delirious?_ Vegeta thought, panicking. _I didn't think I hit my head that hard! Am I dying after all?_

' _You aren't delirious and you aren't dying, but I do sense your grave injuries. I am Guru. My house is up on the spire._ '

_If I was delirious my delirium would probably reassure me just this way._

' _I am not a result of delirium, but come see for yourself_.'

Vegeta looked across the lagoon to the spire. He could certainly feel there was someone up there, it was unmistakable – there _had_ been two chi signals in the tower. One was the fierce Namek who was chasing Zarbon all around the lagoon right now, and the other was also huge, but soft and gentle. Vegeta was almost sickened by the feel of it – so giving, so warm, so open – it was like a castle with every door and window wide open and light spilling out.

'Why should I?' he asked aloud. There was nothing in it for him after all, and perhaps it was a trap?

' _Come to me and I will heal you_.'

Hope sparked in Vegeta again at that. Healed would be good. Healed would be _very_ good. Guru had helped Raditz and the others… Would he be fool enough to help him too?

'Okay. But this…better not...be…a trick.'

He rolled from his back to his hands and knees with a cry of pain, and then lurched to his feet, steeling himself, gathering the dregs of his chi to push himself into the air. Around him the lightning and thunder cracks of Zarbon and Ngata's battle raged. He saw Zarbon pause to his far left, chest heaving. The Grenouillean roared in frustration.

'Don't tell me I have to transform for some old-man Namek?' Then he spotted Vegeta and shot away from the fight to catch him again. Vegeta tried to go faster, but he barely had enough left in him to keep flying, let alone speed up. Ngata got around Zarbon though, and blocked Vegeta from view with his body.

'Let me past!' cried Zarbon. 'I need that horrid monkey-child!'

Vegeta hurried on, higher and higher, dreading that he wouldn't make it and maybe fall exhausted at the last moment, but he didn't. Landing on the top of this weird plinth of a rock formation, his knees buckled, dumping him on the ground. With huge effort he pushed himself back to his feet. He'd be damned if he'd _crawl_ into anyone's castle.

It wasn't much of a castle though. It was another dome shaped house, complete with spikes and bulges and a front door smashed in. He stepped over the threshold and found a sight that matched the feel of the chi – massively indulgent, massively soft and just plain massive amounts of green flesh was poured into a giant throne. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't this.

'Guru…'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I'd like to say a little something about Shallow Water Blackout because I think it's something that many people don't know about (including me until a couple of years ago). What Vegeta did by staying underwater and swimming until he was beginning until he was almost unconscious is MAJORLY dangerous. Adding to the fact that he was winded too, if he was a human like you and I, he would certainly have lost consciousness and drowned. I only put this in the story because he's a Saiyan and it's make believe, but then after I did so I felt guilty that I was perpetuating a dangerous ignorance, so here's a Public Safety announcement:
> 
> What is shallow water blackout? It's when people drown in shallow water due to holding their breath, and it is frighteningly common and effects people of all swimming abilities. You might think that you couldn't pass out due to holding your breath, or that you'd have enough warning that you needed to breath that you wouldn't pass out, but that's not the case. The mechanism that causes us to feel the need to take another breath is not lack of oxygen, but a build up of carbon dioxide. It is possible to have a situation where we have very little carbon dioxide in our blood and lungs when we begin holding our breath, so that by the time we feel the need to breathe our brains have run out of oxygen and we have lost consciousness under the water. This can happen when people hyperventilate before they go underwater - something that I used to do sometimes to help me hold my breath longer! I didn't know that I was increasing my chances of dying. Being winded will also knock all the air out of your lungs, meaning that CO2 levels in them take longer to build back up.
> 
> A second way shallow water blackout can occur is if you're tired and your oxygen levels are already low before you go underwater - something that happens if you are repeatedly holding your breath, or swimming multiple laps under the water, only coming up to grab another breath. You don't even need to have hyperventilated for you to die that way, but if you are doing both then that is a very dangerous situation. If you've ever been playing games to see who can swim furthest underwater, going multiple times, and started to feel tired and unco-ordinated, that's lack of oxygen right there.
> 
> It is also possible to black out without either of those situations, simply by epically ignoring the urge to breathe. Yes, like the kid that says they are going to hold their breath until they pass out, you can do that to yourself under the water, and in fact I almost have. If, in the spirit of competition or curiosity you 'push though the pain' of needing to breath, the urge to breath actually starts to go away again AS YOUR BRAIN STARVES OF OXYGEN. When I was a teenager I had a friend who's family had a swimming pool, and she told me that she had swum underwater for so long that she stopped feeling the need to breath again, and she got confused but kept swimming for a while before finally deciding to come up. I thought even at the time that that sounded dangerous, but she said it was impossible to hold your breath until you pass out, so she challenged me to try it and I did and experienced it first hand. I only realised how close to death we both came when I heard about shallow water drowning. The confusion was our brains shutting down, and the next step was unconsciousness. I have heard though that there is often no warning before unconsciousness descends.
> 
> It may seem weird that holding your breath underwater could be so dangerous when so much water education for decades has emphasised breath-holding practice and underwater laps and the like, but there is definitely a limit on how long and how much you can safely hold your breath underwater, and that is not being taught so much yet. Sorry for anyone scratching their heads about this lengthy lecture, but I worry that not enough people know about this deadly, but preventable happening. New water safety guidelines state that you shouldn't hyperventilate before going under, play competitive breath-holding games underwater, push your limits underwater, and you should never swim underwater when you're by yourself. Please be safe.


	48. The Usages of Chi

'Guru,' Vegeta guessed, eyeing the oversized Namekian doubtfully despite the blood that was dripping from his chin and the fact that he could barely draw a breath.

The ancient Namek nodded, and Vegeta doubted he could even see with those heavy folds of flesh around his eyes. 'Yes, I am Guru, the Grand Elder of all the Nameks, and you are Vegeta, the last and only prince of the Children of Saiya.'

Vegeta registered the very archaic name for the Saiyans. Perhaps this jello mountain of an alien was that out of the loop? It didn't matter.

'Heal me then,' he said, stumbling towards the throne.

Guru raised a huge hand. 'Come here.'

Vegeta came closer but stopped, remembering to be suspicious. 'How can I trust you?'

'Can you sense life force, Vegeta?'

'Yes.'

'Then tell me, does mine feel of deception?'

'You can tell character traits by chi sense?'

'I can. Can you not?'

Vegeta didn't want to admit to a stranger that he couldn't do something, so instead he reached out with his chi sense again and touched the alien's aura. It was all warmth, and somehow all crystal clear at the same time. Pure. He felt a little like Kakarott, but smoother, lighter, certainly bigger, but deeper too. He wasn't sure what deceitful chi would feel like, but he supposed this wasn't it unless Guru was somehow able to lie with his chi.

'I can. I suppose I may trust you.' It didn't feel good to say that. Trusting a stranger went against all Vegeta's instincts, and he wasn't so much trusting as taking a gamble for the sakes of getting healed.

'How will you heal me? Do you have a regen tank somewhere?'

Guru laughed. 'No, we have no need for such things. We heal with our own chi, calling on the life in each of the body's cells to heal themselves.'

That sounded like bunk, but Vegeta stopped himself saying so out loud. _Chi sensing_ itself sounded like bunk a couple of weeks ago, and the Nameks in the first village claimed to have healed him already from Bulma's poison. 'Okay.'

Guru beckoned him forward. 'Come closer. I need to be close enough to touch you.'

Vegeta reluctantly did so, and watched the hand lower, half expecting it to crush him, but it didn't. Instead it hovered over his head, the palm brushing the peak of his hair. Guru took a deep breath and let it out with a long hum, and the air shimmered around Vegeta. It was bright, clear, pure; Guru's chi made visible, and he watched gentle waves of the stuff pass down his body. He could feel it too, like refreshing water and warming sunshine, like deep sleep and easy waking. Within a matter of seconds he felt his injuries melting away. Damn, could all Nameks do this? Maybe they should take one with them when they left?

'No,' said Guru.

'No, what?' asked Vegeta.

'You may not take any of my children with you when you leave,' said Guru. 'Not unless they wish it, which I very much doubt they will.'

The stream of chi ended and Vegeta stepped away, feeling already not just better but _improved_. _Zenkai!_ he rejoiced to himself, grinning. _It's good to be a Saiyan!_

Guru rumbled with disquiet, and Vegeta turned his attention back to the old man. It seemed like… Well, it seemed like Guru had done something impossible.

'Why does it seem like you read my mind?'

'Because I did,' said Guru simply. 'I can read your character in your chi and hear your thoughts as you think them, and what I see does not make me happy.'

Vegeta was shocked – he hadn't actually expected that Guru could read minds! 'How is that _possible?_ Is this more Namekian magic like the dragonballs?'

'No. It is the reading, the control and the perception of chi, just like the healing, and for that matter, the "dragonballs" as you call them. Anyone with the necessary patience, subtlety and sensitivity to chi can learn to read the minds of others, or speak to them in their minds.'

Of course. Vegeta felt a little foolish, as after all, hadn't they come here to Namek on the strength of Kakarott's telepathic exchange with Earth's Namekian guardian? Apparently planetary guardian status was not a requirement for the skill.

'I can see the deep hole in your heart, and your fear and the pride and the doubt in yourself, and from the memories of Goku and Tarble I know of your grand plans and aspirations and the way you treat those weaker than yourself. Your lack of regard for life other than your own is most troubling.'

Vegeta sneered, feeling exposed and judged by this avalanche of lard. 'You _should_ be troubled.'

'You would kill me?' Guru demanded.

'Not you – you are the creator of the dragonballs, are you not? They are tied to your life force.' He grinned as Guru straightened, struggling to open his eyes.

'I have healed you so that you may defend my children from Frieza. Don't make me regret it. It is not all darkness inside you, but in your current state I don't support you or your aims in any way.'

'I never asked for your _support_ ,' said Vegeta, turning rudely and striding to the door. As he reached it, Raditz's voice cut over the comms line in obvious panic.

'Vegeta, are you there?'

'Yes, if by "there" you mean alive. If you mean somewhere else you'll need to be more specific.'

'Oh, shit, good! We got to Guru's and found Ngata and Zarbon tearing pieces off each other and we thought you might be…you know…'

'Zarbon didn't manage to kill me,' Vegeta said acidly, not admitting to the fact that Zarbon _did_ kick his butt. 'But where were you when you could have been useful?'

'We came as fast as we could! Where are you then?'

'In Grand Elder Grossly Obese's house.'

'Oh yeah? Is he unlocking your potential?'

'My what?'

'Your potential. He did it to all of us.'

'And what is "it"?'

Raditz hesitated. 'Some kind of mystic power-up. I don't know. Makes you the best you that you can be at the present moment of time or something. You should get him to do it! It's amazing! I'm sure I'm like…five times stronger!'

' _What?_ ' shouted Vegeta over the lines.

'No, more like three I think,' said Kakarott.

'Yeah, three,' agreed Krillin.

'Fine then, _three_ times.'

But Vegeta was no longer listening. He whirled around and stalked back to the Elder.

'You were holding out on me!' he cried. 'I thought you couldn't be deceitful!'

Guru was unmoved, his sagging face stern. 'I did not lie. I only offered you as much as I thought wise to give you.'

'Well, I want my full potential! I want my strength tripled!'

Guru harrumphed, the sound like an elephant's sigh. 'That is not how potential unlocking works.'

'I don't care! Apparently by being the "best me I can be" I can be stronger and I want that. Now do it!'

' _This_ is why I don't want to unlock you.'

Vegeta leapt into the air, coming to rest on the Namek's gut, which wasn't nearly as soft as it looked. He was tempted to grab the old guy's mantle and start throttling, but choking him would get him nowhere. Up here he could see a sliver of Guru's bloodshot eyes and dark irises. They glimmered at him in anger.

'You _need_ to give me this power-up, old man. You want me to defend your people, huh? That's a quite a thing to ask of a person just passing through, but if you triple my strength I might just be able to _do_ it! You have no idea how strong Frieza is!'

'Get down, Vegeta.'

Vegeta folded his arms instead. 'If you don't make me stronger, you and I and all your _children_ will be dead before too long! Do you _want_ that to happen?'

'Of course not. But creating one monster to kill another is not a wise Namek's solution.'

Vegeta wasn't sure whether to be infuriated, insulted or pleased with that comparison.

'Do you think I would be worse than Frieza? _I_ at least, promise not to destroy you and your planet after I get my wish, how about that for a deal? I doubt you would get such consideration from Frieza.'

'Possibly not.' The Namek's face was like stone as he regarded Vegeta. From the light coming in the high window above the throne he could see sweat glistening on Guru's forehead. For his own part he had talked himself into a state of anxiety again. With his Zenkai boost he was sure he could beat Zarbon now, if that hard-faced Namek warrior didn't finish him off first, but Frieza's power levels were both legendary and mysterious. No scouter could read it and Vegeta had no clue what target he needed to reach to challenge him. He needed everything he could get and probably more. He still needed that immortality!

He couldn't shake the feeling now that time was running out, and that doom was on the horizon. What stupid, old coote would risk not playing all his cards in such a dire situation? Did Guru really think that Ngata guy was enough to save them all? Suddenly he realised what Guru's issue was – if he made Vegeta significantly stronger he'd be stronger than his guard dog outside. They would have no power over him.

Guru groaned, looking away from their staring match. 'Frieza is coming this way,' he announced, causing Vegeta's stomach to flip in fear.

'W-what?'

'Surely you can feel that life force? It is awful. Pure darkness.'

Oh, was that what that was? He hadn't been near Frieza since he'd learnt how to sense chi, but he realised he must have always been able to sense Frieza in a small way, because this sinking, bottomless, terrifying feeling was familiar to him. Needles of panic shot through Vegeta's body. He did grab Guru's mantle now, his hands shaking as he jerked the huge head about.

'Then there's no time to lose! Give me what I need!'

'Get down, Vegeta,' Guru repeated.

'No!'

'Then sit!' Guru lifted his arm to indicate the arm rest. Vegeta looked at it in confusion. 'I must be able to place my hand on your head if I am to do anything.'

Understanding, Vegeta dropped Guru's collar and hopped onto the arm rest, crossing his legs and waiting impatiently while Guru lifted his hand over his head.

'Clear you mind.'

This was difficult at that moment, but he did his best. However, as the weight of the huge hand settled on his head his thoughts seemed to erupt from him, bursting forth in a riot of images and feelings. Memories of blood and laughter, memories of pain and anger and soul-tearing disappointment, of cathartic destruction and pinpoint instants of shame bubbled up and burst.

He opened his eyes, but it was as if he wasn't in Guru's house any longer. He could only see the screen of his mind, filled with images of battles and purges he'd almost forgotten, and humiliations dealt to him by various officers of the PTO. The focus lingered for an unbearably long moment on the first time a woman had begged him to spare her children— though he'd killed them all anyway— and the anger he'd felt that she'd forced him to face some moral quandary that he would've rather not. He saw his father's unforgiving face as he ordered an execution. He felt again the fear he couldn't admit to in his first weeks on Frieza's ship, his dismay and eventual resignation to the terrible, bland food of the PTO rations, as well as the slow sinking realisation that he would _never_ be going home. So many fragments of Nappa's pearls of wisdom and Nappa-style history lessons whizzed past, and Raditz's rapt face as they talked of this or that thing about their extinct race. He felt again the joy of revelling in praise for completely destroying his opponents, from his father and tutors and from Frieza; the moments of glory when he knew he'd struck fear into his fellow officers; the faked stoicism before Frieza when he wasn't sure if he was going to face reward or judgement; the relief from fear he found in his strength, heartlessness and reputation; the pleasure of hearing his name whispered as an infamous killer and now terrorist; the crushing humiliating revelation that drove him to try and kill Frieza.

Guru sighed and for a moment the rush stilled, but then he breathed again and the deluge resumed and more recent memories came forward. Staring at himself in the mirror as he realised how remote his plans for revenge on Frieza were when the barriers were so enormous; the disgust that Tarble's naive face made him feel; the jealousy he'd felt watching Bulma live her pampered life from the shadows of the garden or the window ledges; his delight over finding such a thing as dragonballs existed and the promise of eternal safety they could give him; the cautious pleasure he'd felt playing the part of another prince on Grenouillea II; his decision not to let Bulma be killed; his pride in Puar's achievements for him… All that and more flashed past him, the recent weeks returned to most often, backwards and forwards until he was dizzy. His jealousy over who Bulma might really like, attacking Nappa after he harmed Bulma; his utter confusion and despair over her and the kiss against the rock. The remembered joy fizzled straight into sizzling shame and he didn't want to remember what came next.

'Stop!' he croaked.

'I think that is enough anyhow,' said Guru. He kept his hand on Vegeta's head.

'I don't feel any different,' said Vegeta, which wasn't totally true because he actually felt worse and a little sick.

'I haven't released your potential yet.'

'What have you been doing, then?' Vegeta shouted.

'I _will_ do it,' said Guru, 'but you must promise me that if you have a chance to make a wish with the orbs that you do not wish for immortality.'

Vegeta stared up at him. Even sitting on the armrest, Guru's eyeline was still higher.

'Promise me, Vegeta,' Guru insisted.

'Okay, I promise,' he said.

'You are lying, I can tell.'

Vegeta's temper broke. 'Of course I lied, you fool! Why would I give up immortality if it was in my grasp?'

'I am old, but I am no fool,' said Guru. 'You don't truly want immortality any more than you really wish to rule the Galaxy.'

'Don't tell me what I want! You have no idea how much I want both of those things!'

'You _think_ you want them. You want the _recognition_ and the _security_ of being the ruler of the Galaxy, not the position itself. You think you want immortality because you fear death and failure, but you are ignorant of what immortality really means.'

Vegeta flushed with anger and shame. 'Anyone who says they don't fear failure and death is a liar! We don't have time for this!'

'My only fear is that I won't be able to preserve my race – my children. I don't fear death, Vegeta. I'm old for a Namek; nearly five hundred years. I may die today, but if I don't my death still won't be far off. I have my children around me to remind me of all the things I achieved, and still, I feel that life is long and I am ready to be done with it. I am happy, but if it is my time for something new I am ready.'

'You're insane!'

'And you are _young_. Can you imagine what five hundred years feels like, Vegeta? That is a lot longer than Saiyans normally live, is it not? If you have children, they would be dead, and your grandchildren and their grandchildren. Everyone you know would most likely be dead. Can you imagine a thousand years? Can you imagine ten thousand, when every experience open to you is old and tiresome, and your memories are full of all the people you have met, grown to know and lost to death? What about a million?'

'I get the point!' snapped Vegeta. 'And I'll worry about it when I am a million years old!' He tried to shove Guru's hand from his head, but couldn't. It was suddenly like it weighed the same as a mountain. Vegeta pushed and strained, tried to get up, roll away, but he couldn't move more than a little. His muscles felt bound. Guru talked over his panic.

'It would be too late to do anything about it by then. I'm sure the Namekian race will be over. Nothing in this dimension is meant to last forever. Even the universe itself won't last forever. When the last star goes out, when there is no warmth and nothing moves and never will again, you will still be in it, alone, unable to cross over to the other dimension, unable to die, unable to do, see or hear anything for the rest of eternity. The first million years will have only been the beginning of that infinite death that is worse than death!'

Vegeta grit his teeth, the image in his mind awful. He wasn't sure if he imagined it himself or if Guru put it there, but either way, he stubbornly refused to let go of the idea of immunity from death. 'Then that will be my problem to bear alone!'

'I believe that you would make a slightly better ruler of the galaxy than Frieza, though the main improvement over Frieza would be that while he may live for another thousand years, you will _not_.'

'Are you going to unlock my fucking potential or not?' Vegeta roared.

' _Yes_ ,' said Guru, his voice rasping in a harsh tone that was unlike him. 'And when I do, remember that a person's potential is not all about fighting strength and speed. It is unpredictable, personal and surprising. Your companion Raditz was unwilling to let all his potential to be unlocked because he was afraid of the doors that would open within himself. You may be stronger, but you may not be the same afterwards. Do you still want it?'

Vegeta hesitated. This was ominous, but he was more and more aware of the presence of Frieza approaching. 'Are you planning to brainwash me?'

'No, this will merely dust off the cobwebs.'

'Will I still be myself?'

'More than ever.'

Vegeta crossed his fingers, then uncrossed them. He was not a child and he didn't believe in superstition.

'Then do it.'

* * *

Zarbon tried not to scream aloud as he went down again and again under the Namek's attack. Holy Hells, he hadn't felt this outmatched since he'd challenged Captain Ginyu to get serious during a sparring session. If things went on this way this guy was going to knock him unconscious or worse. He could barely keep track of him! Right now he'd gone missing again, and Zarbon was looking around, feeling like he was fighting almost blind when the warrior materialised before him and landed another kick to his chest. Zarbon crashed to the ground and landed in an explosion of soil, his breath knocked from him. He choked and coughed as he tried to get air back in his lungs. How could this be happening to him? This should be impossible!

The Namek paused, bringing his fingers of one hand to his temple as if he was concentrating, and maybe he was, because the fingers of his other hand started to crackle with golden energy.

'Yield!' Zarbon gasped, then coughed some more.

'Yield?' his opponent echoed.

'Yes, yield, you know?' Zarbon said. 'I give up! I'm done!'

'Well, that will make the rest of this fight rather easier for me,' replied the Namek with a ghost of a smile.

Zarbon gaped. 'I thought your race were meant to be peace-loving and merciful?'

The Namek smiled wider. 'We are, as a rule, but even a peaceful people, or maybe _especially_ a peaceful people, need a guardian with a little more pragmatism to preserve their innocence. You're too dangerous an end to leave untied.'

'That's not fair!' Panicking, Zarbon reached for any words that might save him. 'I'm broken! What could I do to you now? I'll leave! I will turn around and not come back! I know you can end me if you want to, and I value my life! Please, have mercy!'

The Namek's smile disappeared and the dropped his fingers from this forehead. 'Very well. Leave, and do not come back.'

Zarbon made a show of raising himself slowly, coughing and playing up his injuries.

'Get going,' said the Namek, folding his arms.

Zarbon bent over, coughing some more. 'Please, I need a moment...' Yes, a moment to unloose those shackles inside himself, to transform!

He righted himself, his muscles swelling so fast they seemed to pop, feeling his face swelling, swallowing his nose and becoming grotesque. With it came the singing of power which he damn well needed; that smug turnip was not going to know what hit him. With a surge of vitality that ripped a laugh from Zarbon's throat he stood tall again, hideous but lethal.

The Namek in question appeared startled. 'What did you _do?_ '

'Shown you my ugly side, you withered, old stick!' said Zarbon, even his voice rough and lowered by the transformation. 'I know it's hard to look at, but it's even harder to defeat!'

'You look no worse now than you did in your other form.'

Annoyance spiked through Zarbon. He was going to teach this guy a lesson that he'd take to the grave – probably in a minute or two or less. He roared and charged.

* * *

The Saiyans and Krillin clustered on a cliff, watching the show.

'I didn't know Zarbon could do that, did you, Nappa?' asked Raditz.

'No,' said Nappa, his eyes round with awe.

'That Ngata guy is amazing,' said Goku.

Krillin watched their fascination with the ongoing fight and couldn't share it. The sense of Frieza's approach was turning him to jelly.

'Guys, should we be maybe getting out of here? Maybe we should take the balls and go, because I think things are going to get real messy, real soon.'

'Yeah, I guess,' said Raditz, his eyes still on the figures far away. 'I can't believe I got this awesome power up, and yet I still feel totally outclassed right now. How is that fair?'

'Welcome to my life,' muttered Krillin. 'But seriously, guys! Can we not be standing out in the open?'

* * *

Guru's hand became gentler, taking another grip on Vegeta's head, but nothing happened other than a slow smile breaking on Guru's face.

'True night falls only once every three years here. Your soul is like one of those nights; dark, but it has some points of bright stars in it. I don't know if that can be changed in the long term, but in the meantime, it's time for the moon to rise.'

Vegeta wondered if he knew about the Saiyan's connection to the moon. 'What does that mean?'

Guru's smile grew wider. 'You will see, or maybe you won't. Keep your new Earthling friends though. They are good for you.' Then he frowned. 'Hmmm.'

'What is it?' said Vegeta, on the verge of screaming in panic. Did the Elder have any concept of haste at all?

'Brolly is here.'

Vegeta looked up at Guru, surprised by that statement. Brolly was the last person on his mind right now. Now that Guru mentioned it, he could feel some Brolly-esque chi, though indefinably different, against the background of Frieza's darkness.

'So?'

No sooner had he opened his mouth than Brolly flew into the room, skidding to a halt at Guru's knees. He was breathing hard and clutching something to his chest and another large, round, golden thing under his other arm.

'Frieza is on his way' he gulped out.

'We know!' said Vegeta.

'And Nail…' he continued, ignoring Vegeta's outburst. Something about Brolly's manner put Vegeta on edge, but he couldn't tell what yet.

Guru groaned in grief.

'Give him to me!' he said, letting go of Vegeta and leaning down with both hands to take the bundle from Brolly. Vegeta saw it was a Namekian boy, covered in purple blood that flowed from a chest wound and his mouth. Or _had_ flowed – he appeared to be dead.

'He stopped breathing just a minute ago!' cried Brolly, sounding more like Krillin than himself in his panic. What was going on?

'There's time for dead brats later!' shouted Vegeta.

'He is not dead yet,' said Guru, settling the Nail kid in his lap. 'Not quite.' He raised his hands and the healing chi began to flow over the kid.

'Another delay?' roared Vegeta. 'Don't you realise what's coming for us?'

'Still yourself, Vegeta,' said Guru. 'Ngata will hold Frieza off should he arrive, but I won't let Nail die when I have the power to save him in a matter of a minute or two.'

Vegeta pounded his fist into the stone of the armrest, shattering it, but he waited for one of the longest minutes of his life while pure chi poured over some meaningless Namekian infant. His attention snapped to Brolly as the boy leaned over Guru's knees to see.

'Why aren't you with the others?' he asked shortly.

Brolly, glanced up at him, still distracted by the healing that was going on. 'Because they sent me with Nail to get the last two dragonballs.'

'Why the hell would they do that?' That made no sense to Vegeta. Why would they send Brolly out on his own, with a local no less, to gather dragonballs?

Brolly hunched his shoulders looking uncomfortable. 'They were going to go rescue you and Bulma in the meantime.'

'Did you get the balls then?' Vegeta's eyes fell on the thing under Brolly's arm. 'Is _that_ a _dragonball_?' It was huge compared to the Earth ones. Maybe that meant they were more powerful too?

'Yep. We got this one, but Frieza beat us to Puz's village. He's got two balls now.'

One ball or two balls in Frieza's hands – it was no different. Somehow they would have to get them, but at least Frieza didn't have all of them.

'We have the rest, though?'

Brolly frowned, anxiety plain on his face and Vegeta suddenly clicked – t _hat_ was what was wrong with him! Brolly was _worried_. He'd never seen that expression on the other Saiyan's face, his brow creased, his brows up… Vegeta jerked, almost falling off the armrest – the diadem was gone!

'If Puar has one like you said, then yes,' said Brolly.

Vegeta was stiff for a moment, wondering if it was wise to ask, but then he figured he'd had several boosts to his power-level through Zenkai lately; if Brolly was unstable he should be able to overpower him, though a fight with a friendly was the last thing he needed just before Frieza arrived.

'Brolly, where is the diadem Bulma gave you?'

Brolly reached into his pocket and drew out the thing. 'It broke when Guru healed me.'

Vegeta stared, expecting Brolly to break into violence at any moment.

'He doesn't need it any more,' said Guru softly, not pausing in his healing of Nail. The hairs stood up on the back of Vegeta's neck. This power that Guru wielded, what _was_ it? What were its limits? How can he have healed _madness?_ Or did he just have no clue what he had unleashed?

Nail stirred, the green returning to his face and Guru sighed with relief and smiled. The boy blinked and tried to sit up, taking Brolly's attention again.

'Grand Elder!' he whispered.

'Rest a little longer, my son,' said Guru. The waves of chi continued to roll from his fingertips for another few moments, but the second it stopped Vegeta seized his chance.

'My turn!'

Guru's smile turned upside down as he clamped a hand on Vegeta again. 'If only unlocking your potential would also give you better patience and manners.'

'It had better not give me patience and manners; I only want to be _stronger_ ,' growled Vegeta.

Nail sat up, still looking shell-shocked. 'Brolly,' he said, and then he jumped in shock. 'Brolly! Frieza is almost here! We have to gather the dragonballs and take them away before he gets here!'

Brolly looked like he was about to take off through the ceiling at those words.

'No you won't,' said Guru. 'You need to rest a little while longer, Nail. Brolly can do it and you can join him soon.'

Brolly's mouth fell open and he took a step away. 'By myself…?'

'Ngata is out there. He will engage Frieza when he arrives and protect you if he needs to,' Guru said, and Brolly still hesitated, looking torn.

'Do it, Brolly!' Vegeta snapped, keener on having a Saiyan protecting his interests than a Namekian, even if the Saiyan was this strange, unknown version of Brolly. 'Get the balls and wait for me!' Brolly's eyes flashed up to Vegeta's in anger, putting him on guard, but he nodded, turning reluctantly for the door. Then he stopped again, that look of terrible anxiety on his face again.

'Vegeta, is Bulma here? Or is she still on Frieza's ship?'

'No. She was swimming in the lagoon last time I saw her.' He realised that he hadn't thought of her plight at all since Zarbon had pulled him out of the water and he felt a pang of guilt.

'What?' Brolly cried, and he took off, tearing the air in his haste.

* * *

Bulma was cold, wet and barely holding it together. Up above her and ranging over the entire lagoon and surrounding hills, a fight raged. She wasn't sure who was even in the fight because they moved too fast. All she knew was that it wasn't Vegeta anymore because she'd seen him flying away very slowly, up towards a break in the cloud that illuminated the top of the spire of rock with beams of sunlight. He looked like a soul returning to heaven, abandoning her to the tribulations of the world.

'Did you forget about me?' she shouted after him, but he was too far away to hear.

She wouldn't have even recognised the chaos around her as a fight if she hadn't witnessed the Saiyan disciplinary sessions. Beams of light, explosions, cracking thunder, the ground shaking. And what was she doing? Taking a lovely mountain bike right through the middle of it while occasionally breaking into sobs of terror. She honestly couldn't remember packing a mountain bike in her adventure kit, but she'd found it in a capsule labelled "misc. terrain" along with snow shoes, skis and stilts. Well, she was grateful she supposed, as though the hills were not too big around the lagoon, she doubted her campervan would get far before it got bogged down.

The radar had survived the dunking unlike her earpiece, which was soaked again. She took the radar out every now and then to check what it had told her. Zarbon had brought her practically the whole way to three dragonballs! She wasn't going to look that gift horse in the mouth. While Vegeta hid out on the tower thing, she would make hay.

Rolling down the last lump into a curving half-moon bay she rode the estimated fifty metres and then stopped to get the radar out again. It was somewhere right here.

'Bulma!'

Bulma almost jumped out of her skin, and then screamed when something blue shot right at her throat. 'Shit!' Reaching up to tear it off she felt soft blue fur and trembling. 'Oh, Puar!'

'Thank god you're here, thank god you're okay!' the cat mewled. 'I'm sorry I ditched you! I shouldn't have let me being so cross with you get in the way of the mission!'

'Yeah, me and you both, _Puar_ , you …' and then she amended her bitter tone. Now was not the time for grudges, and she could afford to be forgiving. 'Silly kitten!'

'I know! And we all got caught. I freed Vegeta and then we tried to free you too, but Zarbon took you away before we could.'

Bulma was stunned. They'd tried to rescue her? Well, Puar _owed_ her, but she was surprised and gladdened that Vegeta had too.

'Vegeta tried to rescue me?'

'Yeah. He took some convincing, but…'

'Huh.' Well, that didn't sound nearly as hopeful. 'Well, now we're all free and there's a dragonball right here.'

'I know!' said Puar, zipping away to the rock pools. She lifted a hank of some dried water plant and there was the big old thing underneath, one star winking at them merrily. Bulma shook her head. If she'd invented the dragonballs she'd keep them all locked up at all times and never tell _anyone_ they existed.

'Let's pack it up – there are two other balls around the edge of this lagoon.'

Puar got her capsule out, and they put it inside next to the two-star ball. After she popped it back into her pouch though she hesitated.

'Vegeta said to wait here for him.'

'Vegeta abandoned me and went to the top of that tower,' said Bulma. 'I'm sure he can find us if he wants to. Come on.'

She checked the radar again and yes, the next ball was only a few hundred metres away. She widened the scope and then nearly dropped the radar in surprise.

'Puar! There's not just two other balls! There's another one in the vicinity now, too!'

'Wow!' exclaimed Puar, happily.

'Maybe wow,' Bulma cautioned. 'We don't know who's bringing it here.'

'Oh.'

She got back on her bike and Puar leapt onto the handlebars for the free ride.

'Have you talked to the others?' Bulma asked, remembering them at last.

'Not since I swapped earpieces with Vegeta. His one got wet.'

'Uh. So did mine.'

* * *

No! How could this be happening? Even in his transformed state this Namek was obliterating him!

Still reeling from deflecting one golden cannon blast of energy, Zarbon wasn't fast enough to dodge the next and it blasted over him with blistering, pummelling pain…

He had his eyes closed; his brain had checked out for a second. He could feel wind against his back and in his hair, and he could smell burnt silk, and then the ground smashed into him, bones snapping and joints popping, his ears ringing from the back of his head hitting the rock so hard.

'Urgh!' he groaned in protest. No, he was Frieza's right hand man, how could he be dying?

A shadow fell over him and he struggled to force his eyelids open. 'Mercy,' he croaked.

'Pathetic,' was the reply, which both heartened and chilled him because it was his master's.

Sure enough, Zarbon opened his eyes to Frieza standing over him, arms crossed.

'Is that you, Zarbon? It's hard to tell when you're so ugly and covered in blood and dirt. What are you doing here? Where is the girl? Where is _Vegeta?_ '

'They're both close by,' Zarbon croaked and forced himself to sit up, which hurt enough to make him cry out loud. He'd landed on one of the small, rocky islets in the lagoon. Frieza levitated gently to the ground and two fat dragonballs landed either side of him like ladies-in-waiting. Where was the Namekian?

'Are you dying?' asked Frieza incredulously. 'Are you being killed by a _Namek?_ '

Zarbon had no answer to give.

'I can't believe it! Make yourself useful for once and go and find Vegeta and the girl. Meanwhile, I will clean up _your_ mess!'

The Namek made his appearance and landed a short distance away, tense and glaring at Frieza.

'I am Ngata, protector of the Grand Elder, Guru, and I will not let you-'

'Blah, blah, blah,' Frieza sing-songed, turning his back on Zarbon. 'I don't care about finding out the names and aspirations of those I kill.'

'Monster!'

Frieza unfolded one arm and extended a finger towards the Namek. 'Monster, is it?'

The tip began to glow an intense pink.

Zarbon grimaced and rolled himself into the water. He needed to be anywhere but here right now.

* * *

Up, down, along. Bulma's legs felt rubbery with exhaustion and adrenalin. She stunk too, despite her cold bath, but at least she wasn't cold anymore. Spots danced in front of her eyes for a few moments after an uphill section. _Damn_ , she was hungry. It felt like longer than twenty four hours since she last ate or slept, and maybe it was. Planet Namek's three suns made it hard to keep track of time.

They made it to a bluff with a bit of a gully leading down to the shore with some Ajisa trees growing up out of it. The next ball was somewhere in that mess.

Bulma melted off the bike. 'Puar, get the ball – I think I'm gonna faint.'

She lay on her back for a while and didn't faint, so she got out her capsule of supplies that had stayed in her training suit pocket and opened it, and stuffed jacker cakes in her mouth, sucking the sweet chemical nothingness of them into oblivion. She half felt like she was going to barf, but the requirement for blood sugar trumped nausea for now.

Another crack sounded across the lagoon, and then a barrage of them, and it wasn't until that moment that she realised there'd been a lull in the fighting. She sat up to look and saw something that looked and sounded like a distant fireworks show. Flashes, beams and bursts of white, pink and yellow lit the underside of the clouds overhead, and occasionally the water exploded in fountains and geysers, but it was too far away to be threatening. The action died away again, and she saw a sphere of dazzling pink light swell from a dot to an enormous, swirling ball, setting the waves of the lagoon sparkling with magenta light.

 _Pretty_ , she thought. And then the ball began to move and her brain got back online. It was heading their way. She leapt to her feet.

'PUAR!'

But as it got closer she saw that it would miss them, so she just stood and watched as it sailed over the water. It was so large it looked like it was going slowly, and then smashed into the bay they'd been in minutes ago, and zoomed through the soil and rock like it was loose dust, throwing out plumes of debris a hundred metres tall. The ground shook like an earthquake was in progress. Puar rushed back to her side and they watched disbelieving as a trough was ploughed through the bedrock to the horizon. The debris arched overhead and Bulma screamed in realisation.

'The bike! Puar, get on the bike!'

The machine practically leapt into her hands and Bulma pedalled like she never knew she could.

'Faster, Bulma!' screeched Puar, looking back over her shoulder. 'Oh, my God! To the left, go left!'

She swerved left, and to her right a boulder smashed down making its own crater. Dirt was falling around them. Bulma felt her back pelted by small stones, here and there ahead of them boulders fell, and behind she could head a sound like the a surf breaker coming onto shore, but amplified a hundred times. She screamed but couldn't hear her own voice. They hit a downhill and she didn't stop pedalling until she couldn't keep up with the wheels. They flew, juddering wildly down the slope and the wave broke behind them with a vibration that almost pitched them off the bike, dust and pebbles outpacing them along the ground like the water chased up the beach, but the larger debris was left behind. Bulma pedalled on until the worst of the dust was cleared and then stopped the bike, hyperventilating. Puar was sobbing so hard still, that the sound was almost screaming.

'Tell me you got the ball!' Bulma asked, her voice sounding crazed and oddly quiet after the deafening sound earlier. Grit coated them.

Puar nodded, still holding tight to Bulma's neck.

Bulma looked behind her and almost couldn't process what she was seeing. A new canyon had opened up, and the waters of the lagoon surged to fill it. How was this "fighting"? This was letting off weapons of mass destruction on each other! Who had done that? Who had been on the receiving end? Whoever it was she couldn't do anything about it. The need to get the dragonballs together was more pressing than ever.

She hurriedly checked her waist and yes, her capsule pouch was still there, but she realised her spread of snacks was left behind. No, her jacker cakes, her jerky! Her muesli bars! It was too much! Too much!

She broke down into hysterical crying.

* * *

This trip was even more of a rocket ride than having his memories ransacked.

Vegeta almost felt like he couldn't breathe, and sucked in huge breaths as his being felt blasted open by a storm. He could feel those chi pathways within electrified as chi surged through him like a gutter in flood, but he couldn't comprehend what the sensation was because he was too overwhelmed by the sensation of being dragged where he didn't want to go in his mind. He saw the gate of the palace where he'd been born slam open, and then the door, the inner doors, one by one, by one, crashing open. The deeper he went the darker it got, the walls lit only by lanterns as they penetrated the fortress carved into the mountain. There were people and things in the shadows that frightened him, but he rushed past too fast to see what they were. He could only feel that he was exposed to the bad things. Panicking, he fought back; digging in his heels as he was pulled closer to the inner sanctum of the palace where he was sure the worst waited. The rush slowed and the next door remained closed.

'Submit!' ordered Guru's voice.

'Ngata!' cried another voice. Abruptly the vision faded like a dream just woken from, and Vegeta slumped, catching his breath.

'No!' cried Guru.

Vegeta opened his eyes, the image of the closed doors still dominating his mind. Nail was standing on Guru's lap, looking at something that couldn't be seen through the wall of the house. His face was stricken.

'You must go, Nail,' said Guru.

'But I'm-' Nail began to talk and burst into tears for a moment before recovering himself. 'I'm your bodyguard now! I have to stay here to defend you!'

'If Ngata could not prevail then neither can you, little one,' said Guru gravely. 'You need to keep the wish orbs from Frieza. They are our only hope now.'

'No, Guru!'

'Yes. Go!' insisted Guru. 'We are _all_ counting on you.'

The little Namek bit down hard on his lip, mustering a look of teary determination, and took to the air, flying out the broken door.

Dimly, Vegeta realised what must've happened. 'Am I done?' he asked. Guru's hand was still on his head and he couldn't move.

'No,' said Guru stonily. 'You insisted we do this, so we shall do it properly. Now submit!'

The palace was back again with its sense of dread and the doors – double doors carved with scenes of warfare, gilded gold. Vegeta instantly reacted by baulking, but Guru dragged him through as they swung open. Now he was in the corridor outside his father's chambers. He glimpsed his martial arts and his maths tutor, and then he was before the doors covered in hammered gold, soldiers guarding each side. 'You can't go in there, your Highness!' they said, but though he struggled he was forced through. He turned and now he faced the doors to his father's bedroom.

'No! Stop!' he shouted, pushing back hard enough that he stopped at the brass door-handles.

'YES,' commanded Guru, and the doors opened under Vegeta's own hands. He could feel the cool metal of the handles in his hands, they were at eye height and the doors were heavy. Beyond he saw a hazy image that he couldn't make sense of at first – slow, rhythmic movement, a moan, flesh, a tangle of limbs, his own father's buttocks shamefully naked and flexing with effort, and then a sudden flurry of movement and two faces turned to look at him – one his father's and one a woman's.

All of a sudden the walls of the palace were falling. The rooms, dug deep into the mountain were disintegrating, chunks of stone falling from the ceiling, from the walls, and his father did nothing, as if he didn't notice or care that he and his son were in mortal danger. 'Father!' he shouted, frustrated and terrified as daylight broke in through the ceiling and knew his home that had seemed so impenetrable was _gone_.

Vegeta screamed in senseless horror and suddenly it was over, like a bad dream. He opened his eyes, his mind clear. He sat on the armrest a moment longer and then he felt the surge as Guru's hand lifted away, and he couldn't not stand! What he'd seen in the vision was already fading away, seeming ludicrous rather than terrifying, and was completely put aside by the roaring he felt inside himself.

'Holy God of Blood and War!' Vegeta cursed, unable to contain himself – he felt literally brimming over! This was exhilarating! So much _power!_ He back flipped off the armrest and touched the ground with his toes and bounced back up like he had the speed of a neutrino and the mass of a soap bubble. He was agog at his own glorious self!

'How did you _do_ that?' he asked.

'I open pathways that the mind has closed,' replied Guru. 'Now go and use your power wisely. Put an end to the scourge that Frieza has brought to our galaxy.'

Vegeta felt elation bubble up and turn to laughter. It rang around the house and echoed off the walls, and he could hear that he sounded mad, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He would fight Frieza – he would fight Frieza and WIN! There was no way the lizard could be more powerful that Vegeta felt right now. He was incredible! Invincible! A god!

'I am the legendary!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: finishing touches going on chapters 49 and 50...
> 
> Hat's off to Adli! She works, takes care of baby and STILL finds time do do beta work for me! Say thanks to her from me if you see her around, and check out her stories too. you might've noticed that I added two chapters to Monkey Business in the last week, too. I'm on fire! And so is Adli.


	49. Boss Level

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi dudes and dudesses! Thanks to those of you who reviewed last time. Things are getting really finger-biting in the story now!

Frieza took a moment, looking at the valley he'd carved in Planet Namek. The remarkable Namekian warrior didn't reappear, so he concluded that he had not dodged the attack. He had been almost dead when Frieza hit him with the energy sphere, after all.

He looked around from where he hovered over the lagoon but couldn't see Vegeta or the girl. Reaching up to the scouter he'd taken from one of his soldiers, he set it to scan the area for power levels. He only waited a second before the damn thing started to chirp like a budgie. He was surrounded by high power levels! He turned to the shore on his right where there was a cluster of them together. Behind him, perhaps at the top of that spire were another two, another shooting past him to the left, and another more distant to the left.

'What the devil?'

He couldn't search all these power sources by himself. Maybe he should pick the largest and get Dodoria and the few surviving soldiers to check the rest? He pressed his comms button.

'Dodoria, how far off are you?'

'Not far now, my Lord!' replied Dodoria. 'I got a crew to pick us up in one of the landing craft, so we have reinforcements. It'll only be another minute I'd say.'

'Good. I will need lots of bodies to track down Vegeta and the Bulma girl amongst this mess.'

'No problem, my Lord. As soon as we touch down in your vicinity we'll begin a search.'

Frieza looked down, seeing the two balls he'd arrived with still sitting out in the open where he'd left them on the island. He was reluctant to pull them after him into a battle with Vegeta, but he also couldn't leave them out here in the open where anyone might find them. He landed beside them and gave each a gentle kick, and they bounced and rolled over the jagged rocks to fall under the roiling surface of the green lagoon.

'Perfect.'

* * *

Bulma cycled, Puar on her shoulder keeping an eye on the action over the lagoon. They were both nervy and weepy, but there was nothing for it but to continue. At least there'd been no signs of fighting since the massive explosion.

'I wonder where the boys are?' Puar wondered. 'I thought they were on their way here.' Suddenly she gripped Bulma's shoulder harder, her claws going through the training suit.

'What is it?' Bulma squawked, eyes too busy guiding the bike over the gravel and rocks at the foot of a cliff to look.

'Someone's flying towards us!' said Puar. Bulma skidded the bike to a halt, eyes zeroing in on the person, whoever it was. They were definitely coming directly for them, coming in low across the water. Her muscles locked in place for a moment because what if it was Frieza? But already the figure was close enough to see that they were wearing green and had black hair flowing out behind them. Still, she was about ready to ditch the bike and bolt for cover before she remembered who had left the ship this morning with black hair and a green training suit.

'I think it's Brolly!' she gasped. She got off the bike and dropped it. 'BROLLY!'

'Brolly!' Puar squealed, adding her voice. The two began leaping about, waving their arms and screaming as the boy made his final approach.

'We're saved!' cried Puar as Brolly landed before them. He even had a dragonball under his arm. 'YES!'

'Bulma, you're all right!' He rushed towards her, dropped the ball and grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes roaming over her like her like she'd changed the colour of her skin or something.

'Yeah,' she said, confused by the way he was acting. His gazed switched up to her eyes and got stuck there, growing wide like he'd just realised something shocking, but he said nothing.

'Brolly,' she said, alarmed. 'Are _you_ all right?'

'Yes,' he said. 'I am. Kind of.' The look of astonishment on his face faded and he stood straight, and that's when she realised his diadem was gone. Bulma jerked back involuntarily, and as she stumbled away from him she tripped over her bike. She landed painfully on her ass, Brolly darting forward but failing to catch her in time. She yanked her hands away from his outstretched ones.

'What?' he asked.

She almost bolted, but logic reasserted itself in time, telling her that Brolly would have her back in an instant if he was inclined. Instead she snapped, 'I'm okay!' and looked for Puar over his shoulder. Puar was puzzled – she hadn't noticed what was wrong yet. 'I can get up by myself!'

She got to her feet, wondering what her next step should be. Brolly was still watching her, nearly as confused as Puar.

'How come you're here?' she asked, aiming for a neutral tone, belying her thundering heart.

'To make sure you were okay. Vegeta said he left you out in the middle of the water.' The note of disapproval was unmissable. Well, Bulma felt rather the same way on that point.

'Lucky it wasn't too far to swim,' she said and then as casually as she could, although it didn't come off sounding casual at all she asked him, 'What did you do with the diadem I gave you, Brolly?' Behind Brolly's back, Puar flinched and all her hair stood on end.

Brolly frowned, which she might've expected, but something about the pinch of his lips and the way he dropped his gaze from hers made it look like she'd hurt his feelings with that question, and how was that possible? The brief glimpse she'd had of the real Brolly when they got him out of the tank would have had her expecting suspicion but not offence.

He fished into his pocket and pulled out the diadem. 'Sorry. It broke when Guru was healing me. The latch won't do up now.' He demonstrated – the clasp was broken and grimed with ash – she suspected the electronic lock was burnt out.

'Oh, shit,' she muttered, taking it from him with fingers that shook. Maybe it could be fixed. One day. If they were all still alive.

'Guru told Vegeta that I don't need it any more. What does that mean? Isn't it just a piece of jewellery?'

'Yeah, just a really expensive piece of jewellery,' she lied.

Brolly didn't look convinced. His brow was furrowed, and the look of worry and hurt was still there. The expression was completely alien to his face and Bulma found that she couldn't stop staring at him. It was like there was a whole new person behind his eyes – someone that was _awake_.

'I was starting to think that it was to do with…with how I was before,' he said.

'What do you mean?' she whispered, her voice failing her.

'I mean, Guru _changed_ me,' he said, and clutched his temples. 'He did something to all of them, but he did something else to me…in my head.'

'What? I don't know what you mean.' Bulma could see Puar starting to back away, but she couldn't really go anywhere herself with a cliff a few feet behind her.

Brolly trailed one hand down over his heart and dropped his eyes from hers. 'I can feel things now that I couldn't feel. I don't know!'

She didn't say anything, and when Brolly looked up again he could see that his words were not doing what they should. He could see that fear on her face and feel it twist like a knife in his chest. _Bulma_ was scared of him. What reason did _she_ have to be scared of him?

'Please, Bulma. Don't be afraid of me! I don't like what he's done to me and he wouldn't undo it, but please don't be scared of me – I can't stand it!'

Now her expression was of surprise as well as fear. ' _What_ do you feel now?'

'I can feel-' but he choked the words back as another new, bad feeling came to him; that same, heart-shrinking nastiness, and he found he couldn't admit he was afraid. 'I can tell what you're feeling now, and feel it in me.'

'Like you're a mind reader?' she asked, unnerved.

'No! Just like what everyone feels, is what he said. Empathy. And other things. He said he healed my mind.'

'Oh. Well. How…? But…?' She seemed to be having a hard time accepting what he'd just said. 'Oh, my god, _Namekians!_ So he healed you? That's good, isn't it?' she said, and he saw her shoulders ease down a minute amount.

'Is it?' he asked. 'Maybe. I feel like I've been living with my eyes closed, but now I can see...and I see that everything sucks.' He wanted to go back to feeling safe and happy. Earlier today, nothing was much of a bother, and now it was like the world was made of knives – every way he turned he sensed dangers, foresaw trouble and faced decisions, and his heart felt like it would wear itself out from the wrench of feeling things. But could he go back to being blind? He could still tell that the girl before him was Bulma, but already he could see that she was more than just a pretty girl that was nice to him, and more than just the _only_ girl, and therefore the best prize he could take from the others. He remembered thinking that – that if he took the girl everyone wanted away from them, that he would have won. Even if he could now see that Bulma was scared of him, just like the others were, and even if the thoughts and feelings that moved behind her face hurt him, she was _so much more_. He'd always known she had feelings, but they'd never seemed very important to him, like they weren't as real as his until now. And what did this mean about him? Did this mean that _he_ was more? It felt like he was less – smashed and open to the outside world.

'Well, everything sucks _right now_ , that's for sure,' she agreed. 'But I think it must be a good thing that Guru has done. Did he say anything else?'

Brolly tried to recall the words. 'That he's given me back those parts of me that were locked away, but I'm still healing. He told the others that they had to look after me.' He snorted. 'I wonder where they are now?'

Bulma's expression softened a little, and Brolly felt a brief surge of something glad but almost painful as he wondered if she was maybe feeling a little sorry for him.

'Please don't be scared of me,' he asked again. 'I'd never hurt you, Bulma.'

Her eyebrows went up and then her expression collapsed into something complicated he couldn't read. 'You're healed,' she said, and then laughed shakily. 'Brolly, this is great!'

'Yeah?' He tried a smile on, but it wouldn't stay.

She took a step forward again, not close enough to touch, but not cowering any more. 'I think it _will_ be.'

What was it about his new self that terrified her? Surely she hadn't been scared of him before? She'd always been so cheerful. What did the diadem thing _do_ anyway? He wanted to ask her why she'd really given it to him.

'You've got a dragonball,' she said, waving her hand towards the one on the ground between them, and diverting his thoughts. 'We're on our way to collect another one that's nearby. We've already picked up two-'

'And nearly died while we were at it!' said Puar, hurrying around Brolly and landing on Bulma's shoulder again. 'One was under some seaweed and one was in a tree.'

'Oh, yeah,' said Brolly, remembering the reason he'd been sent out here. 'We hid those earlier, and another one over that direction,' he pointed over his shoulder, 'in a big clam. Vegeta told me to gather them together and try and find the last two.'

He didn't miss Bulma's slight flinch at the sound of Vegeta's name.

'Okay, then,' she said. 'Let's get the one in the clam. You can put your ball in Puar's capsule for now. It'll make it easier to carry.'

They did so, and the six-star ball joined the one-, two- and four-star balls. Bulma picked her bike up.

'You should put that away too,' Brolly said when he saw she was getting on it again.

Bulma looked confused and then uncomfortable. 'I can ride.'

'But it will be much faster if I carry you.'

She got off the bike again, stared at it for a second and said, 'I guess you're right.' She packed it back into her kit and walked to Brolly without looking him in the eye. 'Come on, Puar,' she said, and the cat approached even more nervously.

It frustrated Brolly to see them acting like this. He'd told them already that he wouldn't hurt them, or at least he'd told Bulma, but they were still acting like he was dangerous. Why couldn't they see that he wasn't?

He bent down and Bulma put her arm around his shoulder so that he could pick her up, and she was stiff in his hands. Puar landed on Bulma's tummy rather than cling to his shoulder like she did with Vegeta and Bulma.

'I already told you, I won't hurt either of you,' he said.

'Yeah, I know you won't,' said Bulma, but she didn't sound at all sure of it.

* * *

Vegeta took off, his body as tight as an arrow loosed from the bow as he shot from Guru's house and out to where he could sense the cesspit of Frieza's aura. He was so fast now that he had to form a chi shield around himself to stop from being blinded by the air drilling into his face. His target awaited him on the edge of an island in the widest part of the lagoon. In the fraction of a second before Vegeta connected, a blast of chi exploded out of Frieza like a rolling wall of wind. It couldn't have stopped him, but he decided to stop anyway. He didn't have, nor in his estimation did he now _need_ the element of surprise, so for the sake of curiosity he would take the time to hear what his old master, his old _slave_ master had to say for himself before launching straight into an attack.

Frieza was the same as he always had been – the mauve skin of his face and the pink hide of his arms and legs as smooth as ever, his face as youthful, red eyes gleaming and lips dark and shining. He'd never looked as dangerous as Vegeta knew he was. The sharp, black horns that protruded from either side of his head were the only true indicators of what resided inside that skull. Those burgundy lips were currently flattened into a line and his eyes were as hard and cold as ice chips. Habitual fear assailed Vegeta for a second – this was Frieza, the one who had held the power of life and death over him for most of his life – but then he bit down, clinging tight to the knowledge that he was so much more than he had been last time he stood before his master.

Frieza's expression was not the slightest bit amused. He had no smile for Vegeta, his eyes almost bulging as he touched down on the edge of the island. It put him on edge – he knew Frieza, and Frieza enjoyed mocking his enemies with an air of good humour and manners. Instead, his old master was staring, his eyes darting around his body before returning to his face. Vegeta saw the muscles of Frieza's jaw flex, and a tiny movement caught his eye – his pink tail quivering with pent up emotion. Most of the purple tip was gone, and the chunky stump left was quite disgusting. Vegeta had never had the chance to see the result of the black-hole-bomb. The sight of that and of Frieza struggling to contain himself made him feel powerful again, and he laughed into the silence that hung between them.

'Close your mouth, Vegeta!' Frieza snapped.

'Make me,' Vegeta replied, knowing that the insolence would enrage him, and it did. Frieza's fists clenched and he hissed.

' _Vegeta!_ '

He'd never seen Frieza without something to say before. It looked like the lizard could barely keep a handle on his anger, and he started laughing again. Nothing would be funnier than Frieza pursuing him for years, full of rage, only to be die at last by the one he pursued!

'You should be on your knees before me, begging for mercy!' cried Frieza.

'I don't know that I should be doing anything. Maybe it's you that should be begging me?'

Sparks of pink electricity crackled over Frieza's hands and arms. He was so angry he was having trouble containing himself within his first form. The long awaited confrontation was here, and Frieza was appalled at his own lack of mental organisation. Seeing Vegeta animated was at once edifying – after all, he had been searching for him for long enough – and at the same time deeply cutting, almost as if the betrayal happened yesterday. Vegeta had grown, but what threw him the most was his attitude. Vegeta had always been cocky, but he'd never spoken to _him_ this way. No one did, or obviously they would be dead! Was this what Vegeta had felt for him all along? The possibility, always remote, that Vegeta had only _accidentally_ delivered him a live black-hole-detonator seemed ludicrous now. He'd been betrayed without a doubt by some cur of a Saiyan it turned out he'd never truly known.

'It's not like you to be speechless, my Lord,' said Vegeta playfully. 'Are you considering bowing down after all? Because I'd like to see it, though it won't save your life.'

The sheer bombastic nature of that statement shook Frieza out of his daze. He stood straighter, relaxing his shoulders. No one had talked to him in such a manner for centuries at least, and Vegeta had neither the excuse of ignorance or massive power.

'Have you lost your mind, Vegeta? That would explain what you did maybe, and also why you are attempting to bait me. Are you in a hurry to die? Don't worry, I will eventually kill you, but it may take some time, I'm afraid.'

Vegeta lost some of his amused look. 'I didn't lose anything, unlike you,' he said with a nod at Frieza's tail. 'I tell you what I've gained though… Power.' Vegeta paused, his eyes darkening. 'I have become…the Super Saiyan!'

The bolt of shock had Frieza taking a half step backwards before he caught hold of himself. Had he not read the reports on Vegeta's conduct in field and arena battle? Had he not witnessed some of his fights himself? Vegeta was known for talking up his game, and this was undoubtedly a bluff. And if it wasn't, well… the silly family legend meant nothing anyway. So what if some weaker ancestor was almost destroyed by a Super Saiyan? He was _not_ his ordinary Ice Demon forefather.

He chuckled himself, and then laughed heartily. 'You tell yourself anything that makes you feel better!'

'Well, if you don't believe me, I guess I'll have to demonstrate.'

Vegeta seemed to swell with the massive breath he took, and then he threw his head back and growled between clenched teeth. Frieza snorted, wondering what this little fit was about, but then the wind began to rush around them, centering on the Saiyan, and the unmistakeable prickle of chi filled the air.

'Hmm?'

The ground began to shake, and Vegeta's aura became visible; a blue flame that almost swallowed him, and chi crackled brightly over his skin. Bits of dirt and rock and water drops from the lagoon behind Vegeta started to levitate and then dance in the energy field that Vegeta surrounded himself with. Frieza had seen smaller displays such as this before, and it was akin to a small scale transformation. Perhaps Vegeta _had_ become the Super –

No! He couldn't allow that that was true!

Frieza took a step forward, hand coming up to offer his own energy in the form of a devastating attack, but Vegeta gasped and the field of energy expanded again and again, pulverising the rocks and boiling the water, and knocking Frieza back when it hit him.

Frieza cried out in surprise. It wasn't as if he couldn't have kept his feet, but he just hadn't expected something so strong. Attacking using only the force of aura was something that Frieza was able to do, but not a move he expected from others! Vegeta screamed too, whatever he was up to seeming to reach a crescendo. The aura snapped back into him and all the movement stopped. There was just Vegeta standing there, a grin of anticipation on his face and the rush of almost invisible energy passing over him like a waterfall in reverse.

'What is going on here?' Frieza muttered. And then Vegeta attacked.

Attacked! Him!

Despite his shock, Frieza had the wits still to be ready to defend himself, and Vegeta's first blow, a flying fist from overhead, crashed into Frieza's raised forearm. He was gone again before Frieza's retaliating blow could connect. Turning, he caught the movement but was too late to stop Vegeta from grabbing him by the tail and wrenching. Frieza turned into the movement, accelerating his tail past the speed that Vegeta was pulling it, and flicked the cretin off, but he was left shaken. No one had gotten such a move on him since he and Cooler would wrestle as children over the right to rule father's Empire.

Vegeta careened through the air but caught himself with a burst of chi that sprayed water in all directions. While his back was too him, Frieza pressed the button for a power reading on his scouter. Vegeta turned, still grinning.

'Believe me yet?'

The numbers on the scouter screen raced up and up, and then Vegeta flared his chi and the thing exploded.

'Gah!' Frieza didn't spare the pride to be ashamed at his cry of shock. Something was happening to the Saiyans – this was the second time he'd been hurt by one today.

'I have ascended!' roared Vegeta. 'Your end is here!'

 _That_ was rather on top. Yes, Vegeta's power was surprisingly increased, but so was his arrogance, it seemed.

'Do you think you have me beaten?' Frieza scoffed, charging the fingertips of one hand at the same time. 'You haven't seen anything yet, you ignorant whelp! I haven't even begun to punish you!'

He raised his hand, slicing it through the air in an arc that spread the purple energy out like a flying scythe toward Vegeta. The monkey phased out, but Frieza was ready to follow the movement this time. He chased Vegeta out over the water towards the far shore, and when Vegeta slowed to look behind him Frieza was on him in a second, one clawed foot landing in the middle of his back. Now for his party trick – Frieza sped up, appearing in front of Vegeta's hurtling body and punching him in the gut. Vegeta felt as supple as an iron girder wrapping itself around his fist, but that was to be expected.

'HA!' said Frieza, amused that Vegeta appeared to be knocked senseless by the one contact, his limbs hanging limp. 'Done already, sweet prince? I didn't have to transform after all!'

Vegeta shifted on his fist, and then moved like lightning, striking out with one leg into his chest. Frieza was knocked backwards, his armour cracked open while Vegeta hung in the air, not even winded. Well damn. Vegeta was a trickster – he'd do well to hold that in mind.

'I'm not the slightest bit done,' Vegeta said. 'And what's this you say about a transformation?'

Frieza hesitated, considering his next words carefully. If Vegeta was still the same as ever, he could be easily goaded into something by suggesting that it was beyond him. With affectedly relaxed movements he broke the last of the broken purple armour form his chest. The armour was only for show, after all. Underneath, his white torso and purple thoracic plate were untouched.

'Did you think that this meagre form was all there was to me?' he asked. 'This is just the form I use to _contain_ my energy. You see, it's so inconveniently large as to pose a danger to the physical world around me. It's hard to enjoy a glass of wine when one's mere proximity shatters the glass.'

Vegeta looked sceptical. 'You're bluffing.'

'No, Vegeta, _you_ are bluffing. I admit, defeating you in this form might be a tall ask, but in my next...' Frieza smiled. 'All I need is a moment.'

* * *

The trip to the bay that held the clam and the dragonball with Bulma cradled in his arms was a very short one. Bulma was dirty, damp, and drenched in the stink of stress and fear, but under it all she still smelled like her, which was something wonderful to Brolly. When he put her down in the next bay he let go of her a little reluctantly.

They found the huge clam and Brolly yanked the shell open while Bulma reached inside to get it out, and then they had the three star ball too.

'Now where are the last two?' Bulma wondered aloud as she pulled the radar out.

'With Frieza,' replied Brolly, and Bulma and Puar made noises of dismay, but they didn't sound that surprised.

Bulma looked down at the radar and turned until she was facing out into the lagoon, then looked up, her voice suddenly tight as she said. 'Well then, that means Frieza is less than a kilometre in that direction!'

Right at that moment another massive crack sounded across the water. The fighting had started again.

'Shit! Who's fighting now?' she cried.

'Frieza and Vegeta,' Brolly replied, feeling their chi without effort. Both of them were large enough that they were inescapable. 'Vegeta must've just got out of Guru's house.' His heart had begun to settle over the last couple of minutes, but now it sped up again, and he began to tremble. This was it – if Vegeta couldn't beat Frieza then they were absolutely defenceless. He'd felt Ngata's chi be snuffed out by Frieza's massive blast, and he had no idea how Vegeta was meant to overcome power like that.

Bulma and Puar gasped and Bulma sat down suddenly on the sand.

'Oh, no,' she moaned.

'What is it?' he asked, afraid that something else was wrong.

'Did you see that blast before? I just don't see how Vegeta can win!'

Brolly said nothing while he watched and sensed. Blasts were traded over the water, pink and blue, and he could feel Vegeta's chi spiking up and down, sometimes settling low but raising high in an instant. Frieza's was far more static. And his peaks were not as high as Vegeta's. He smiled.

'I think Vegeta is holding back. He's stronger than Frieza!'

'Really?'

And then the area around the combat pulsed with pink light.

* * *

Miles away on the opposite shore of the lagoon the rest of the Saiyans and one Earthling watched the pulsing too. Goku's eyes were glued to the fight. He'd been surprised that Guru had unlocked Vegeta's potential after the fuss he'd made over Raditz, but he had and that was surely a good thing. Krillin had given up worrying about being out in the open – ever since Vegeta had come screaming out of Guru's house like a comet on fire with chi, he'd been as unable to look away as the Saiyans. At this distance they couldn't actually _see_ much, but they could feel seas of energy crashing against each other.

'Whad'ya reckon that is?' asked Raditz.

'Not good!' was Tarble's guess.

'Yeah, it feels like Frieza's energy is increasing,' said Goku, his attention far out over the water. 'I hope Vegeta knows what he's doing.'

'Holy Mountain,' said Nappa sitting down heavily. 'I never thought I'd…'

'What?' asked Krillin when he didn't go on. His voice trembled, but Goku didn't blame him – things were uncertain right now.

'Never thought I'd see Vegeta face Frieza. At least… not with more than a Tuffle's chance of beating him.'

Raditz huffed in laughter. 'Oh, Vegeta. Where would we be without you?'

'Living a long and peaceful life?' Krillin suggested. Raditz only laughed again.

The pulsing stopped and the group took a collective gasp. It was as if Frieza had just had his potential unlocked – the sense of him was suddenly overwhelming!

'Oh, fuck, no! Get out of there, Vegeta!' growled Nappa, seeming to go back on what he'd just said.

'I wonder if Puar is still with him?' said Krillin. Goku felt his stomach drop – he had no idea where Puar or Bulma were or how they were doing.

'For the cat's sake, I hope not,' said Raditz, not taking his eyes off the battlefield.

'I could ask her!' said Goku, reaching for his transponder. 'Her and Bulma both!' But Nappa reached over to grab his hand and pull it away.

'No! I don't want you breaking the prince's concentration.'

'Uh. Of course. But I could call them over the Earthling channel. Then only they would hear.'

'Earthling channel? You mean you've got a private Earthling channel?' Nappa shot back to his feet again. 'You treacherous, fucking Earthlings! I ought to kill you!'

Krillin and Goku both leapt to their feet. Goku had forgotten that Nappa didn't know about that, and Nappa was in a particularly bad mood right now. Goku looked at Krillin, who lifted his chin. If they had to deal with Nappa now, he was ready. Tarble and Raditz backed away, looking between the three like they weren't sure if they should get involved or not.

'In-fighting? Seems to be a trend amongst you Earthlings and Saiyans.'

They all turned to the source of the deep, throaty voice, and Goku felt horror prickle over his skin – they had been snuck up on by some PTO guy with pink skin, a spiked and ridged head and purple chopped-liver lips. He was really ugly and really _powerful_. They must have been so intent on the two enormous powers in front of them that they failed to sense lesser powers coming up from behind, but Goku suspected that lesser than Frieza though he was, this pink guy was powerful enough to cause them some serious and even fatal problems.

 _Should have been on the lookout for others!_ Goku told himself off.

The guy stood on the top of the low hill behind them, a dozen other soldiers arrayed behind him, three of them holding Namekian hostages. For a few seconds no one said anything, and then Nappa found his voice.

'What do you want, Dodoria?'

Oh, so _that_ was Dodoria.

Dodoria laughed. 'Well, while I admire your stones for disrespecting me like that, monkey, all I really want is to clean you all up like the sentient waste that you are.'

Then he opened his mouth wider and an unbelievable river of chi burst forth at them. Goku screamed and threw himself out of the way, crashing into Krillin and Tarble as they all went tumbling. The edge of the cliff they'd been standing on was obliterated, and out in the lagoon the water exploded up, vapourising into a column of steam where it hit. When the flow ended they were left facing Raditz and Nappa on the other side of a channel cut in the rock. The two adult Saiyans looked nearly as annoyed as Goku was. They all had no excuse for letting their guard down, and now they were all in trouble.

Dodoria swaggered forth, coming down the hill with another offering of chi streaming from his mouth. He waved his head from side to side like he was a fire-breathing dragon, and the boys scrambled further from the arc of his destruction, taking to the air.

Goku grit his teeth and drew on his chi at the same time as he dodged.

'Kamehameha!'

Krillin was fleeing in the opposite direction, but as the cyan ball of Goku's Kamehameha wave zipped past him to hit Dodoria, his friend looked up at him in surprise and did an about-face. The Kamehameha wave didn't stop Dodoria, but it definitely knocked him about; the river of chi he was still spewing abruptly stopped while he looked around for the source of the attack. Spotting Goku, he moved so quickly into the air that Goku could barely keep his eyes on him, and raised his fist, charging it with chi. And then Krillin crashed into Dodoria's side, foot first, making him lurch. Goku saw the impact roll through Dodoria's body and Krillin still hanging there, looking surprised at what he'd done. Dodoria meanwhile, recovered quickly and his eyes landed on Krillin.

'Why, you little-' But the end of his sentence was lost as Goku hit him with the energy wave he'd been cooking up. Dodoria shook it off, snarling, but suddenly Tarble was there next to Goku, his fingers charged with his own chi. Raditz and Nappa floated up on the far side of Dodoria. They were out above the water, away from the rest of his men, and they had him surrounded.

'Huh?' grunted Dodoria, only just recognising the strategic misstep. 'Do you pipsqueaks think you're any threat to me at all?'

'What are we waiting for?' yelled Raditz. 'Attack!'

The next minute was brutal. They couldn't all attack at once, but they could attack unceasingly. Cornered, Dodoria fought earnestly and then indiscriminately, seeking to maim, blind or kill anyone, attacking or not. They all dodged and ducked chi, both Dodoria's and each other's. Krillin got clipped by a fist that he was not fast enough to dodge and it hit his wrist, and he fell back with a cry before re-joining the fight with one arm clutched to his chest. Nappa and Raditz fought in a way Goku had never seen before; savage, desperate, but cautious. None of their attacks was devastating, but the relentlessness of five against one was starting to overwhelm the General. Goku pulled back – he could hear Dodoria's harsh breaths under the yells and cracks and blasts. This isn't what he meant to happen when he attacked Dodoria – he was just going to fight him one on one!

One of the soldiers barked an order and suddenly most of the troops came at them from the shore side. Goku abandoned the unequal fight to hold them off with Tarble. Straight off the bat, one of Tarble's Scallion Shots hit a soldier and went straight through him – they could both see daylight on the far side of the guy's body before he dropped like a stone, and Tarble stopped still, staring in shock, and in that split second got hit by a bolt of chi from Dodoria from behind.

'Tarble!'

The boy was launched through the soldiers and dropped to the ground behind them. Goku lunged after him, fighting soldiers as he went. One, two, three, soldiers fell, and then Tarble was back in the air, grimacing and white faced, but still able to help Goku finish off the last four. Goku was reasonably certain that most of them were only knocked out, but there was no time for finesse.

As the last one fell to the edge of the clifftop, Goku looked up at the three soldiers with the hostages. They looked nervous, but not as nervous as the Namekians they gripped in neckholds. There was an old, a young and a kid Namekian. The skinny young one yelled out, 'Help us!'

Goku was about to go after them, but Tarble grabbed his arm.

'They're getting the upper hand!' he yelled.

Switching focus, Goku became aware of Dodoria's cries and curses.

Raditz got Dodoria a good one in the chest, and then Nappa hit him from behind with a knee to the spine while he was going after Raditz. Dodoria gave a strangled scream and continued fighting, but Krillin landed another kick in the back of his head. Dodoria slipped a bit in the air, then flew back towards the cliff and it looked as if he was trying to get away from the trio. Goku started to flush red with the shame of what he was seeing, even from his own friend.

'Hey, this isn't right, guys!' he yelled, but no one could or would stop. 'This isn't a fair fight!'

'This is life or death, kiddo!' said Nappa.

Krillin grimaced. 'But there's no way any one of us could defeat him alone!'

Tarble joined in again, hitting the General with another series of Scallion Shots, which he was able to deflect though he looked dazed with pain, but it distracted him long enough for Raditz to come down on him from above, his foot smashing into his collarbone. They all heard the crunch, and Dodoria fell, plummeting earthwards. Instead of hitting the hill or the water, he landed on the very edge of the cliff, throwing his arms out to stop himself going over. He let out a yell of agony.

'Stop!' yelled Goku as they all flocked to surround their prey again. 'We defeated him already!'

'No, we didn't!' replied Nappa. 'He's still alive!'

'No!' shouted Goku. 'Where is the honour in fighting a man who can't even defend himself any longer?'

To their surprise Dodoria moaned and tried to speak, fingers scrabbling in the dirt as he tried to pull himself onto the clifftop. 'If you let me go, I…I _promise_ I won't fight anymore. I won't help Frieza.'

'See?' said Goku.

'Yeah, he's right,' said Krillin, finally looking ashamed of himself. 'We can't kill him in cold blood. Then we'd be no better than Frieza.'

'You're idiots,' said Nappa flatly. 'You can't leave a dangerous, lying bastard like the General here to see the light or whatever it is you're proposing.'

Dodoria made it onto the cliff finally by rolling his bulk over the edge. He moaned again when he landed on his back, and then made it up to his knees, still breathing hard. He was streaked with purple blood, grazed, scorched, and covered with dust from the cliff.

'I say kill him while we have the chance,' said Raditz.

Tarble looked across at Goku and then flushed pink, looking like he might be regretting that last Scallion Shot. 'I'm with Goku,' he said. 'I don't like it, but it does feel wrong to just…kill him.'

'Three against two,' said Krillin.

'It's not a fucking poll,' said Nappa.

'Please!' said Dodoria. He looked up the hill at the three soldiers who were shifting nervously.

'We'll let you go if you and your men leave, and let those Namekians go,' Goku offered.

Dodoria's bloodied face looked surprised, and then he grinned, showing off broken teeth. 'No deal.'

'W-what should we do, General?' one of the soldiers stammered out.

'Stay there,' said Dodoria. 'If any one of these Namek-loving monkeys touches me, kill the Nameks.'

The Namekians made piteous whimpers.

Goku went froze, as did Krillin and Tarble. Not so much Nappa though.

'You think I care about some snivelling plant-people?' he said as Dodoria began crawling away. Dodoria didn't answer though, and he struggled on, finally making it to his feet to climb the small incline to his men. 'You fat bastard!' yelled Nappa. 'I hated taking every order from you!' Then he turned to Raditz. 'You know he's just going to get into some regen tank somewhere and continue to be a bad smell hanging about the Galaxy, right?'

'Yeah,' said Raditz.

Goku felt the sudden spike of chi, and he rushed forward with a yell, but he wasn't fast enough to stop Nappa as he leapt forward and hit Dodoria with a huge blast right between the shoulder blades. It went straight through him, into the hill, cracking the rise that the soldiers were standing atop. In the second of confusion that followed, the soldier with the older Namek froze in place, the one with the kid bolted and the one with the young Namek sent a blast of chi in one of the boy's ears, splattering his brains out the other.

Goku froze, a feeling like an electric shock travelling every nerve to the end of his fingers, toes and tail.

And then his body moved, feeling electrified and hypercharged, seeing red as he went into action, time slowing down and the air feeling like syrup as he charged the last soldier with a hostage. The soldier lifted his hand, oh so slowly, his mouth coming open with fright as he saw Goku on his way, his palm filling with a ball of chi as he angled his wrist at the hostage…

And then Goku hit, both fists held in front of him like a battering ram to the chestplate of the soldier. The armour shattered, bits scratching Goku's face as his fists sunk deeper, below the ribcage and by that time it was too late to curb the blow, as his fists went _through_ the soldier, and a sickening feeling of heat and wetness, and bones shattering over his knuckles as he turned his face away, lodged shoulder deep in the man's gut. The three of them skidded across the ground with the impact, the Namekian rolling free, and Goku pulling away from the soldier's body in disgust.

His eyes landed on the one who had killed his hostage. The bat-earred man looked terrified now, and leapt into the air, but time was still moving slowly for Goku. He put an arm out, throwing his essence, his chi, almost instinctively. The golden light arced out and pierced the soldier's armour. He exploded.

The cries of shock came from behind him.

'Oh, my god, Goku!'

'Hell's breath, brother!'

Nappa laughed like he'd just heard the funniest joke ever. 'Kakarott, you little hypocrite!'

Still breathing hard with rage, Goku began to come down and feel the reality of what he'd done. Blood coated his arms – it was dark maroon blood, but it was undeniably blood; it smelt, felt and - Goku spat - tasted like blood. He knelt down on the grass to wipe the worst of it off, and found the body of the young Namek staring at him a few metres away. The old Namek was staggering toward him.

'Oh, Caraco!' he wept. 'Caraco!'

Goku began to shake, tears flooding his eyes. He never cried, but he could feel he was close to it now. That innocent Namek was tall and gangly like Brolly, and probably their age too, and this old man cared for him. None of them deserved what happened to them. Blinking, he wiped his eyes on the shoulder of his training suit and stood up again. Krillin rushed up to him but as he saw Goku's blood-coated front he flinched away, going pale. He looked like he didn't know what to do or say. Goku didn't know either.

'I had to do something,' he said.

'Yeah, I know,' replied Krillin. The real question was, did he have to do _that?_

'I'm sorry I couldn't save him too,' he said to the Namek.

The old man shook his head. 'It wasn't your fault. Poor Caraco! But maybe it's better that he's dead than making Frieza's wish for him.'

'What?' asked Krillin. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean…' Suddenly the Namek stopped and started looking around wildly. 'Where is little Lomnenke?'

'Who?'

'Lomnenke – the sproutling!'

Goku looked up too, self-absorption melting away again. He'd forgotten about the third hostage for a moment.

'He'll be taken to Frieza to help him make his wish for immortality!' screamed the Namek. 'No! You must find him!'

Goku jumped into the air, as did Krillin, Tarble and Raditz, looking around. One of the PTO's shore ships was over a hill in a shallow valley, and here and there, just barely visible in the distance, were _dozens_ of flying figures.

He reached out with his chi sense, and after trying to block out the noise of Vegeta and Frieza's battle, looked for smaller energies, but there were so many.

'It's like a needle in a haystack!' said Krillin. 'What are we going to do?'

'Only one thing to do,' said Raditz. 'Hunt them all down. We'll split up to cover more ground.' He looked below them at the ground.

'Hey, Nappa!'

Nappa was at Dodoria's perforated body, rolling it over. As Goku watched he sent a beam of chi between Dodoria's eyes and then jumped up to join them. Goku's stomach turned.

'Just finishing the job,' Nappa said.

The ground was littered with bodies.

'If you hadn't have killed Dodoria this wouldn't have happened!' he accused Nappa.

Nappa's brows went up. 'Suck that attitude back up, you stupid brat. If you're talking about the worthless dead turnips that's on you.'

'What do you mean?'

'You were the one that told Dodoria exactly what you cared about!' roared Nappa. 'I doubt he'd have thought to use them as leverage without you opening your big mouth. Now you're all, boo-hoo, the Namek is dead!'

Goku was struck silent by a horrible mix of rage and guilt. He went to rub his hands across his face and stopped when he saw the wet blood smears all over himself. For a moment he saw himself from above; a boy covered in blood, his victims scattered below, and wondered who this person was. Then with a jarring snap he was back inside himself, frightened by a strange sense that he didn't know himself. There wasn't time to ponder it though.

'They mostly seem to be in that direction,' said Raditz, waving towards the ship. 'Let's fan out and go hunting!'

* * *

'Ah!' Vegeta uttered, the exclamation tumbling out as doubt suddenly assailed him. Where the familiar form of Frieza had been there was now a creature almost twice as tall, muscles bulging, horns long and wicked looking. Whereas Frieza always appeared a little childlike, this form was terrifyingly adult. However, his appearance was not as terrifying as the power that now blossomed from him.

'You should feel privileged,' said Frieza, wearing a smirk of absolute confidence. Even his voice had changed. 'It's a mark of how powerful you have become; not many people have seen me in my second form.'

' _Second_ form?'

Frieza's laugh was rich and deep now. 'Yes! I'll let you in on a little secret as you are going to be dead very soon anyway. I have _four_ forms, the fourth one being the one I was born in. Maybe a handful of warriors I have encountered in my years have required me to stretch myself this far, and none have ever required me to use my third form. I am simply that powerful.'

Vegeta battled the urge to fly away. Sweat was trickling down his temples. He had to keep himself and his focus together. Yes, this was unexpected and intimidating, but he hadn't yet scaled the heights of his new power. The fight could go either way.

Frieza frowned now, casting a hard eye over him. 'Well, you certainly have grown into yourself, haven't you? The littlest prince is practically a man now.'

Vegeta said nothing, biting down on his anger just like the many other times Frieza had patronised him when he was younger.

'I am surprised at the progress of your power though. Nothing about you suggested you would be capable of this level of combat. I find it suspicious. Have you already made a wish?'

Vegeta was insulted by the accusation. 'No! I can promise you this is all me!' But as he said it, part of him felt like a liar. He'd needed Guru's help to get him this far. _But it was all inside me, right? I just needed it unlocked_. 'Are you going to fight me or talk me to death?'

Frieza crossed his arms, looking even less like he was about to fight.

'After all this time I think that I deserve some explanations before you die. Don't you?'

'What explanations?'

Frieza's fury surfaced, distorting his face with a snarl. 'Like why you tried to kill me, you traitor!'

Vegeta stared. Was he serious? 'Why do you _think?_ '

Frieza took a moment and then a deep breath in. 'Ambition! Coupled with stupidity and lack of gratitude.'

' _Gratitude?_ ' hissed Vegeta. 'What do I have to be grateful for?'

'For the charity and honour I showed to your dead father by keeping my promise to him. I told him I would keep you safe as long as you were obedient, and even after he died I kept that promise!'

'After he _died?_ ' snarled Vegeta. 'After you killed him, you mean!'

'Oh, so you know about that?' said Frieza, not even shocked at the revelation. 'Yes, I _had_ to kill him, Vegeta, because it turned out he was a traitorous bastard like someone else I know. We had an agreement – I would look after you in return for the Saiyans' continued loyalty. And look how long that lasted – barely two weeks before he stormed my ship, hoping to murder me. It was pathetic, but it was a bald-faced betrayal. I had no choice but to kill him for his insurrection. So yes, I do think it was charitable of me to keep you alive after that. After all, your _father_ was the one that broke our contract. I was well within my rights to destroy you in return.'

Vegeta felt chills travel down his spine at Frieza's cold logic. 'Maybe I should be grateful that you spared me, but you left out that you also destroyed my planet! All my people!'

Frieza's stern face broke into a smile at those words, and he actually chuckled.

'You're laughing at that?' Vegeta roared. 'What's so funny about destroying _everything that was mine?_ '

'Oh, Vegeta, you should have seen the show! All those fireworks, all those stupid monkeys thinking they were there for a celebration and then roasting to death in the blast!'

That was too much for Vegeta. He'd blown planets up himself and laughed with the same sentiments towards the pathetic creatures whose security had just been obliterated by his unimaginable power over their lives and deaths, but to listen to Frieza laugh at his own people? The humiliation of it burned like acid!

Power began flooding up into him, filling his chest, burning into his muscles. 'I hate you!' he shouted, launching himself towards Frieza. 'I HATE YOU!'

Frieza was still laughing as he lifted an arm to deflect Vegeta, but his smarmy expression disappeared when instead of wiping aside Vegeta's blow, he was thrown back and tumbled away to splash-land in the shallow waters. Vegeta followed through swiftly, zeroing in on the lizard's chi, his breath hissing from him in rage. Frieza exploded back out of the water, arms outreached for Vegeta, snarling, but Vegeta had already anticipated that move. He loosed his Galik Gun directly in Frieza's upturned face.

The whole world was lit with the intense purple light of the blast. It shot down into the water, taking his enemy with it. There was a flash and an explosion, then steam, mud and bedrock erupted back up. Vegeta had to shield himself from the outfall of his own attack, hiding his face from the light and the debris. For a moment he was afraid he'd gone too far and maybe shot a hole through to the core of the planet, but when his eyesight recovered enough to see the deep crater below him, it didn't _look_ like it had cracked the planet. Frieza's form could be seen, tiny, in the pit. Then the waters of the lagoon recoiled and began to fill in the crater. Vegeta stared down at it all, in awe of his own power.

* * *

'Oh jeez, oh JEEZ!' screeched Bulma, throwing herself into Brolly's arms. Puar grabbed on too, claws digging in as Brolly rocketed upwards over the tsunami that rolled out from the centre of the lagoon. A six metre wall of water rushed up the bay, snapping the Ajisa trees and surging over the cliffs behind it. From their position above it all Bulma saw some of the water wash over the back of the hill while the rest peaked and then dropped back, starting to be sucked back into the lagoon.

'If you hadn't been there, we would have died for sure!' Puar said to Brolly. Bulma felt Brolly's arms tighten around her.

'Then it's a really good thing I found you,' he said.

'That was Vegeta's blast, wasn't it?' Bulma asked, her voice shaking. She wasn't sure if she was guessing or if she could really tell.

'Yes,' replied Brolly. 'And he almost killed _you_ with it.'

Bulma said nothing. She knew that Vegeta wasn't thinking about her and probably didn't even know she was out here. His power was awe-inspiring and dangerous, but it wasn't his fault it had almost killed her. Obviously she was far too close to this fight for someone without super-speed and the power of flight. The last two balls were out somewhere in the midst of it though.

Suddenly Brolly turned in the air to face along the shore that Puar and Bulma had made their way along.

'Brolly!' she heard, and then clapped eyes on a tiny, green dot of a Namek flying towards them.

'Nail!' yelled Brolly. The Namekian zoomed towards them, and actually didn't get much bigger. Bulma found herself looking at a pint-sized cutie-pie of a Namek in a torn-up, purple stained tunic, regarding them with an expression of utmost urgency.

'Brolly, I tried to find the wish orbs that we hid over there, but the areas they were in have been obliterated!' he blurted out. 'Can your people find them again? You have those devices for finding them, right?'

'Who are you?' asked Bulma.

Nail glanced at her for just a moment. 'I'm Nail, Grand Elder Guru's body guard. Brolly, can you?'

'I don't have a radar,' Brolly said, 'but we do have those dragonballs.'

'You do?' said Nail. 'Wow, you were fast!'

'Actually, Puar and I collected them,' said Bulma.

'Huh?' said the kid. 'But how? Surely you can't even fly?'

'We did it the old fashioned way,' she said with annoyance. 'Flying isn't everything, you know!'

The Nail kid looked a trifle embarrassed. 'Oh, of course.'

'I'm Bulma, by the way, not that you asked.'

'Um, pleased to meet you.'

'And I'm Puar!' interjected the cat.

'Sorry, there isn't much time for polite introductions! Brolly, how many balls do we need now?'

'Only the two balls that Frieza has,' answered Brolly, without hesitation. The two seemed rather chummy, and that ticked Bulma off when so much was on the line.

'Who is this little guy, Brolly? Can we trust him?'

Brolly hesitated before nodding. 'Yes. Nail is the strongest of the Namekian warriors.'

'What?' she replied, disbelieving. 'But he doesn't look more than four years old!'

'I'm seven!' objected Nail, breaking back into the conversation.

'Seven still makes you a little kid,' she said, and then she recalled a similarly baffling conversation. 'Wait a minute - how long is a Namekian year?'

'Six months,' replied Nail.

'And how long is a month in Galactic time?'

'Slightly longer a galactic month I believe.'

Bulma's jaw hinged open. That was even younger than she'd thought!

'He's like two and a half years old! Or not even two in Galactic years! He's a toddler!'

Brolly frowned; it appeared he hadn't known that.

'He is very strong though – I've seen him in action. He can help us get the last two balls.'

'And he'd do that just to help us?'

Brolly shook his head. 'He'll use some of the wishes to send all the outsiders away from Planet Namek.'

'I need a wish for Earth!' she said, looking at Nail in alarm.

'I know,' replied Nail. 'The Grand Elder says you can have that wish, but I will make the rest for the sake of my own people.'

Bulma cringed - she had _promised_ Vegeta and they would both get a wish and she didn't want to betray him all over again. 'We need two wishes though – one for Earth and one for our friend Vegeta.'

Nail looked horrified. 'So that he can wish for his immortality? That can't be! Not when I can use the last wish to make my people safe!'

Bulma glanced up at Brolly. This Nail boy seemed to know all about them and their aims. Brolly just looked back at her, his expression was helpless.

'Vegeta's not here,' he said.

Bulma made a face, about to propose ditching Nail, but almost as if reading her mind Nail said, 'You need me to make your wish! The wishes have to be made in Ancient Namekian, and I don't think you know that language, do you?'

Bulma was unable to totally hide the dismay on her face. Tsuno hadn't mentioned a language barrier to making a wish! She swallowed her guilt and turned to Nail with false brightness.

'Well, it's a good job we're sticking together, then!'

Vegeta was going to be really, really pissed, but only if he survived. She pulled herself up in Brolly's arms to look out over the lagoon. Lights began to flash again, glittering on the huge waves rolling back and forth in what was left of the lagoon. He was still alive. They were _both_ still alive.

* * *

Frieza was not dead. Though he'd lain still as the waters poured over him, now that he was hidden from sight, Vegeta could feel his unmissable chi darting about under the water. He caught a streak of movement and flew down closer to the water, stalking Frieza from above. He took a pot shot, and then another with no result. Back and forth Frieza's chi went, and Vegeta followed, growing more and more confused. Why wouldn't he come out and fight? He took a few more shots, trying to divine Frieza's position accurately with his chi sense, but only put more craters in the lakebed before he gave up. He considered going down there but he didn't like the look of the angry water. He'd wait up here. Frieza would have to come out sometime.

'Do we know where the wish orbs are?' asked Nail.

'Somewhere out there towards the middle,' replied Bulma. She couldn't even pick out the island they'd seen before. The water level of the lagoon had dropped, plus with the enormous waves sloshing back and forth, islands of rock were revealed only to be submerged a moment later. 'I _do_ have a radar though.' She dug it out of her pocket, turned it on, orientated it and pointed. Brolly turned to face where she was pointing – slightly to the North of where the fighting was, just as a white hot bolt of chi slammed down into the area. Brolly flinched, Puar began trembling, and Bulma's own heart quailed.

' _There?_ ' whispered Puar.

'You don't need to come,' Bulma said, feeling terribly noble for it. 'It would be dumb for both of us to risk it. You've got another dragon radar if...the worst happens.'

'Good idea,' said Nail. 'One of us should remain here, too, Brolly.'

'I could stay here with Bulma,' said Brolly. Puar whimpered.

'No, I'm going, Puar is the back up,' said Bulma. She'd already offered Puar to stay, plus it might almost be worse to watch someone else sticking their neck out there.

They all looked at Brolly expectantly. Brolly clenched his jaw but said nothing.

'I will take Bulma,' said Nail at last.

'No!' said Brolly quickly. 'I'll do it.' To Bulma's surprise she felt him start to shake too.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes. Let's just go.'

Puar floated away to hang beside Nail.

'Keep low, go slow and keep your energy down,' Nail suggested to Brolly. 'There's less chance of being noticed that way.'

'Put me on your back,' Bulma ordered. 'So you have your arms free.'

There was a bit of a struggle as Brolly gently hoisted her over his shoulder and she tried to turn and get her legs round without falling off his skinny shoulders a hundred metres in the air. Nail ended up holding her steady, but she got settled.

'Ready?' asked Brolly.

'Ready.'

* * *

Something out over the edge of what used to be the shore caught Vegeta's eye and he noticed for the first time distant figures in the air. Who was that? He reached out, wondering if he could sense lesser energies than Frieza's at such a distance. Was it Nappa and Raditz and the brats arrived at last? He could feel…Brolly and someone else and…more a hunch than a real sensing, Bulma. _That's too close_ , he thought darkly. _She's going to get herself killed._

In that moment of distraction, Frieza shot from the water directly at Vegeta. Like an idiot Vegeta instinctually tried to back away from the lizard, going upwards when it would have made more sense to go sideways, but before he could correct himself Frieza caught him, his hard head ramming into Vegeta's stomach. Vegeta was winded for real this time, and his side gashed by one of Frieza's horns. He kneed Frieza in the face for his effort, then as Frieza cried out and stopped, he grabbed one horn in each hand and held on tight, driving a toe into Frieza's eye socket, making him howl. The big hands came up to grab him, and though he tried to evade him, Frieza did get one hand on an ankle and pulled; the other, he had to use to fend his face as Vegeta didn't let up kicking him in the eyes. Vegeta pulled back against the hand, hauling in with his biceps and stomach muscles for all he was worth to stop himself from being stretched out by the ice lizard.

'Get off!' yelled Frieza. 'Are you trying to fight me or annoy me to death?'

Anger lanced through Vegeta at that, and with a burst of effort he slammed his free foot into the hand that was holding him, and used the moment of pain he caused to tear his foot free, then leapt off the back of Frieza's skull, flipping in the air to slam an energy wave into the back of said skull mid-somersault. Frieza turned too quickly though, and instead of getting him in the nape of the neck, Vegeta's attack sliced across his cheek, scorching a wound across it.

'Hahh-ah!' gasped Frieza. He shot away from Vegeta, pushing distance between them as he reached up to touch his face. Vegeta's own hand twitched as he resisted touching the gash in the skin where Frieza's horn had caught him. It burned.

'Did I give you a good one?' he asked Frieza. 'If you'd been a fraction of a second faster, I'd have taken your nose off. It would have matched your tail.'

Frieza growled with rage. 'At least _I'm_ not bleeding.'

Vegeta looked down at his already-tattered new battlesuit. It was black and didn't show blood well, but it was torn as much as his skin was.

'Don't worry, you'll get your turn,' he assured Frieza.

'Stop it!' snarled Frieza.

'Stop what?'

'Stop talking like this! How dare you act so arrogantly! Don't you know I'm going to kill you? I _know_ you're scared, Vegeta! Plead for your life! Bow down and beg for my forgiveness!'

'Never!' Vegeta shouted back. He was not going to do that even if he lost! 'I will never bow to you again, not for any reason! I'd rather die!'

Frieza made a sound of disgust. 'Always so prideful! Your bad attitude made you very unpopular in my Frieza Force, but you always showed the proper respect to me so I let your behaviour go uncurbed. Is this my punishment for lax discipline? To have you turn on me like a knave?'

'No. This is your punishment for enslaving the Saiyan race… and then destroying it!' Vegeta almost choked on the anger as he spat the words. The shame he felt at having worked for the bane of the Saiyans made him flush red with fury, but the words came forth with the force of a dam breaking; how long had he been waiting to throw those words in Frieza's face?

Frieza said nothing for a moment, long enough for Vegeta to realise that he'd been distracted from the actual fight, but so, it seemed, was Frieza. Still, he needed to say these words. He needed Frieza to know why he had to kill him.

'Who told you that?' Frieza asked at last.

'What does it matter?' asked Vegeta, and then, 'Zarbon did.'

Frieza's glare became even angrier. 'What a little canary my dear Zarbon has been.'

'I'd have figured it out sooner or later. Some of those in the lower ranks remembered the day that Planet Vegeta has destroyed, because so many of their rank we killed either on the surface or in the airspace above it. You were there in your ship. What a coincidence that a massive meteor storm rolled though while you were an innocent spectator!'

Frieza's expression flattened out into something sly. 'I forgot; you're not completely stupid, though apparently you _are_ stupid enough rebel against me and discard the place I made for you in the galaxy. What was the problem, Vegeta? Were you too proud to serve even one person loyally?'

'The place you made for me?' echoed Vegeta. 'The place you made for me as your puppet and tool? To dance around on the end of your rope as a massive joke – the prince doing the dirty work of the one who destroyed his kingdom?'

'Ha! So it _was_ pride!' crowed Frieza. 'Too proud to submit yourself to even _me!_ How like your father! How like him to not know when you had it so _good_. I offered you so much, my little prince. So much _more_ than you ever had among the Saiyans. When I took you in, you were living in a cave! A prince in a cave - have you ever heard of anything so pathetic?'

Vegeta simmered, torn between wanting to defend the mountain fortress he'd been born in and feeling shame at what he now knew were primitive standards, so he held his tongue as Frieza went on.

'Your species had barely heard of _space travel_ when I encountered them! Ignorant savages, and I raised you up beyond the mire of your inheritance! I taught you business, diplomacy, strategy, manners! Did I not show you the Galaxy? Did I not give you every chance to shine?'

Vegeta felt himself shining now; like a dark star, his chi bursting out of him and being sucked back in before it could escape. It flared with Vegeta's anger at Frieza's laundry list of gifts. Frieza didn't give _gifts_.

'You gave me every chance to make you money is what you did! You made an idiot of me, toiling away for you when you'd destroyed everything I'd ever wanted!'

Frieza scoffed. 'Of course I made money from you! What other reason would I keep people around me for? I can't believe how much naivety you still harbour after all you were taught! You were good, Vegeta. Your name was already known around the civilised planets as someone to be feared. You would never have had that as some tribal king in the middle of nowhere. Look at you – so young and yet so strong already. You would have been the second most powerful being in the Galaxy - all you had to do was continue to be loyal to me, serve me well.'

'I was never born to serve you, or anyone!'

'Then you will die!'

Frieza made like he was coming straight towards Vegeta but then disappeared, and Vegeta was not surprised when the attack come from behind him. He darted forward, and with Frieza still bearing down on him, drove an elbow back, hoping to hit something. He only got Frieza's hand though, and then found his elbow clamped in his old liege's grip. Working on instinct he raised his other wrist up just in time to stop Frieza's other arm closing around his throat. Without letting the lizard settle his grip, Vegeta did the first thing that came to mind – he bit down as hard as he could on the salmon-coloured bicep that was trying to curl around him. Frieza cried out in pain, but didn't desist, or at least not right away. Frieza's flesh was fucking _tough_ , but Vegeta gave it his all, using the strength of Frieza's own hold to push against, digging in with his teeth and then when he had a firm mouthful, twisting his face.

Frieza roared with pain that time and pulled his arm away. Vegeta was ready, pushing off from Frieza stomach and tearing away from the weaker hold on his elbow.

'Savage!' cried Frieza. 'I'm… _bleeding!_ '

Vegeta could tell – the taste of burnt electrical smoke in his mouth was like no other blood he'd tasted (completely foul), but he knew that was what it must be. He turned, ready to gloat and perhaps spit Frieza's own blood in his eye, but it turned out that Frieza was not much incapacitated by the injury. As Vegeta turned he slammed into him at top speed, tackling him around the middle.

There was nothing to bite now, and he tried to pull himself free, but Frieza wrapped his arms around his legs and gripped tight. Bearing his struggling burden, the lizard arced in the air to fly downwards, and a fraction of a second later they slammed back into the water.

The lagoon was murky and dark with the mud and rock stirred up by their fight. Bits got in Vegeta's eyes as he blinked and tried to kick himself free. Frieza took him all the way down to the bottom then stopped there, holding him down. A burbling noise reached Vegeta's ears, but the water was so filthy he couldn't even see Frieza's face right above him. Frieza was laughing, and words reached him, distorted and gurgling.

'Saiyans share that weakness of so many species – a terrible dependency on oxygen at all times. Drowning is an unspectacular form of execution, but you are just a _nasty,_ biting monkey after all.'

Adrenalin shot through Vegeta, the realisation catching up to him that Frieza only needed to keep him down another few minutes and he'd be dead.

He shoved his legs against Frieza's chest and pushed up to tear his hold away from him, but Frieza's arms in this form were longer than Vegeta's legs. He battered at the wrists that held him down, already feeling his lungs starting to burn. He got one hand free from his chest only to find it replaced by a clawed foot. Frieza laughed again. Vegeta gathered his chi instead, lighting up the depths of the lagoon with eerie purple light. Frieza's face leered over him. He sent one bolt at it, but Frieza's free arm swiped it away. It didn't go far, boiling the water behind Frieza. Vegeta tried again, shooting beams up at Frieza's armpit, then his groin. He could tell the hits landed as Frieza flinched and the water about them frothed and bubbled, but though Frieza almost lost control of him he writhed about to resettle his hold.

 _I need to go bigger!_ Vegeta realised. If he was a match for Frieza at all, the lizard wouldn't be able absorb a full strength energy attack.

Vegeta went limp for a second, letting Frieza firm his grip again, pulling in his all for a desperate attempt to free himself, waiting as long as he dared to pool the chi he needed. Then he slowly brought his hands together, slow enough that Frieza didn't notice the movement in the darkness. He built the chi in his core, and then as quickly as possible, directed it out to his hands, loosing a double-handed energy cannon right into Frieza's stomach.

It was massive, and this time Frieza's hands and feet were ripped away, and Frieza himself was blasted upwards with it. Vegeta was pressed back into the mud before he rolled to his feet and pushed off from the bottom, heading up after his attack. He'd just broke the surface when the amorphous ball of purple-tinted energy doubled back on him, suddenly bearing down from above, pushed by another wave of pink – Frieza was sending it back down with his own attack. With only one fresh breath in his lungs Vegeta got his arms above him and threw more energy into it. He couldn't just dodge this one – it was too big. If he let it go there would be no planet to stand on. _Was Frieza insane?_ No. Being stranded in space was just an inconvenience for Frieza, not a death sentence; he'd already proven that.

He strained with the effort, was almost pushed back under the water. If only he hadn't put so much of his all in that first cannon! The stream of chi above him bulged, becoming unstable with its squeezing. The white hot lobe in the centre dropped lower towards the water, making it steam, and then as Vegeta began to shake with effort, it slipped even lower and the water began to boil. He had to divert chi and concentration into forming a shield around himself to protect from the murderous heat.

_Fuck, fuck…_

His thoughts were becoming incoherent, narrowing down to the urgent need to overcome this energy wave. Deeper and deeper he dug, his body burning with the effort of putting out so much chi. _Please!_ he begged. The merged energies wobbled again, growing as wide as one of the small islands in the lagoon. Vegeta widened his chi shield in response, and then had an idea. If it didn't work they were all dead, but it was the only way he could think of out of this corner.

He dropped the beam of energy going into holding off the attack and immediately put everything he had into his shield, and flew straight into the unstable bulge of energy. He was brought to a standstill by the flow, but it split as it passed over his wide shield, peeling off in fat, lazy beams to splatter the landscape with detonations. The destruction lit the world like lightning strikes, troughs and craters appearing wherever it touched down, but none of the split beams were direct enough to pierce to the planet's core.

* * *

One of them sailed past Brolly and Bulma. Brolly swerved, diving into a trough between massive waves.

'Oh my god!'

Bulma's hand was slick with the sweat of fear and spray from the waves, but she kept a death grip on the radar, doggedly checking it again, because this was their way out.

'I think we just flew over them!' she cried. The wind had picked up and the clouds had closed in even more, making the chaotic lake-scape even gloomier. Brolly doubled back, slowing.

'Stop!' she ordered and they stared down into the rushing water. Another wave passed, exposing rock as it sank down, and with it, two golden orbs.

'Hold on!' said Brolly.

Down he dove, Bulma gripping as hard as she could and screaming as they went down like the big dipper. Approaching the first, Brolly slowed, righting himself so sharply that Bulma was torn from his back, although she still managed to keep a grip around his neck. Letting go, she staggered and fell onto the wet, muddy rock while Brolly scooped the ball up. Suddenly Bulma found she was sitting in water, and the water swiftly rose, lifting her up away.

'Brolly!'

He burst from the water next to her.

'Are you okay?'

Bulma looked around wildly, but all she could see was swelling water and clouds lurching overhead.

'Yes, just get the other ball as quick as possible!'

He put an arm around her instead, holding her steady as the water ebbed again and then dropped them back to the rocks. They cast about, searching the lagoon-bed for the ball, and when they found it Bulma gripped Brolly's shoulder tight in excitement.

'Oh my god, we've done it!' she screamed. Brolly grinned for a second, but there wasn't time for any more celebration and the water was rising again, rising about their legs as he picked it up. She jumped onto his back again, holding on tight because both his arms were full of dragonball now.

'Get us out of here!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: They have all seven dragonballs! Tune in soon for chapter 50! Don't forget to feed the author with tasty, tasty review snacks to keep her going. Chapter 51 won't write itself!
> 
> Hey, for those of you who are reading here but don't have an account, do you realise that it you do make yourself an account you can get email notifications sent to you when a story you are subscribed to gets a new chapter added? Just sign in and hit the "subscribe" button at the top of the story's options area!


	50. Summoning the Dragon

Vegeta hung over what was left of the turbulent waters, catching his breath. Frieza was right; he was going to have to stay out of the water, because the lizard had a natural advantage there. Up above him Frieza also paused.

'What next?' he muttered aloud. He thought it possible Frieza might just try the same trick again.

The Ice Lizard suddenly disappeared from view, and Vegeta moved as swiftly as he could, too, out, away from the lagoon and over the mainland. Sensing something coming from his left side he curved away and rolled his body to face it. Frieza was coming at him, knee jabbing out to catch him. Vegeta turned his roll right over, barrelling away from the attack and putting himself above his opponent. While Frieza was still trying to recover, Vegeta came down on his side, swinging a two-handed hit into Frieza's kidney area. Who knew if that's where he kept his kidneys, but Frieza gave a satisfying grunt of pain, which was what Vegeta was after. Frieza retaliated with his fists, but Vegeta managed to block the punches until the lizard flipped over in the air too, mimicking Vegeta's move a moment earlier. Vegeta turned again to keep himself still facing him, and now they were shooting through the air, locked into a revolving corkscrew while trading blows.

Vegeta was amazed – he could keep up with and give as good as he got, even against this transformed Frieza.

_I have done it! I had achieved the greatest Saiyan potential!_

Then something hard wrapped around his thigh and jerked him up against the hard, white and purple torso. Before he knew it Frieza's arms were around him in an unwelcome bear hug, pinning Vegeta's arms to his sides. The thing around his thigh didn't let go, and Vegeta realised it was Frieza's tail.

Nestled against Frieza's bosom he looked up and found the creature smiling, chuckling. The arms around him, already tight, became crushing. Vegeta felt some of the air squeezed out of him in a cough.

'Hush, now, little one!' Frieza crooned in a mockery of a mother's gentling. 'Just go to sleep.'

The landscape around them stilled as Frieza halted their flight. Desperately, Vegeta kicked back with his one free leg. Frieza flinched with each contact, but then he wrapped one of his legs around Vegeta's pinning that, too.

Frieza looked down, his smile twitching and becoming more of a snarl of bitter pain. 'This will be the last time I let you get so close to my heart, Vegeta.'

'What – tck! – heart?' Vegeta struggled to retort; incidentally, even with his cheek smooshed against Frieza's chest plate he could feel no beat. He tried to divert some chi to his fingers to zap Frieza with, but he needed everything he had to resist the crushing power of Frieza's embrace. He even released his tail from around his waist, risking it to try and pull Frieza's off of him, but though it was strong, it was no match for Frieza's deadly weapon of a tail. Every limb pushed against its bonds and a tremor ran through him. At first Vegeta thought it was himself, shaking with the effort of keeping the tiniest bit of air going in and out of his lungs, but then he saw the shaking in Frieza's arms. Frieza was giving all he had to contain him.

'If I had a heart, then,' said Frieza, his breath nearly as laboured as Vegeta's. 'You would have _broken_ it.'

'Liar! You didn't…care…about me!'

'How could I…not care for something…I spent so long crafting?'

For some reason this incensed Vegeta beyond anything Frieza had said until then. From deep within him a second wave of chi exploded. He didn't even direct it, he was so mindless with rage for a moment; it just flooded his muscles, flaring his aura, and he suddenly found the strength to wrench his arms out wide and break Frieza's hold. The chi kept coming, almost as hot as his rage as he used the space between them to slam handful after handful into Frieza. The lizard had to use his arms to deflect it, and he gave up trying to hold onto the Saiyan, Then he started to scream with each landed attack and he let go with his leg and tail, too, fleeing back toward the lagoon to get away from Vegeta.

Vegeta gave chase, feeling incandescent with power and fury. He had Frieza on the ropes! He would fry that bastard!

* * *

Bulma's heart nearly stopped for a moment – Puar and Nail weren't where they left them.

'Where have they gone?' she screamed. 'We've been double crossed!'

'No, I sense them further back from the shore,' said Brolly. 'They must have moved to safety.'

He flew over the low hills going inland, their valleys still flooded by the tsunami earlier, and then angled down towards a high point with a copse of Ajisa trees in front of a cliff. Bulma didn't spot Puar or Nail until they had landed and their small figures appeared out of the Ajisa tufts and dropped to the ground.

'Did you-'

'YES!'

Puar laughed and popped her capsule of dragonballs open on the moss for them to add the two last dragonballs to the collection, and Brolly dumped them onto the mat. Immediately the seven massive orbs pulsed with energy that she could feel thrumming in her bones. Brolly fell back against a tree, as if he was exhausted by their feat. Nail stared down in awe at the golden light that lanced through the heart of the orbs.

'I didn't know they did that,' he said.

'Have you never seen them used before?' Bulma asked, surprised.

Nail shook his head. 'There has never been a need.'

'You know how to summon the dragon though, right?' she asked.

'Oh, yes!' he said. 'Takora te pa Porunga-'

'Wait!' she cried.

'-popura pyro!'

But nothing happened to the balls.

'Phew!' said Bulma. 'I thought for a second that you'd just summoned him _now_.'

Nail looked over at her, suddenly wary.

'But I did. Should I have not?'

She gaped at him and then the balls suddenly glowed brightly with golden light.

'Oh, _fuck!_ ' Bulma swore.

'What's wrong?' cried Nail, switching his gaze to the balls as they faded and then lit up again, almost too bright to look at. Puar knew what was up and she was looking back and forth between Bulma and the balls in panic.

'We're too close!' said Bulma. 'Frieza will SEE it!'

'But we're a long way back!'

She shook her head and then looked up, seeing the sky was swiftly going dark, and the clouds above were ripping themselves to shreds as they swirled in a circle above them. 'If your Eternal dragon is anything like the size of Earth's, no one in a hundred miles is going to miss him.'

Nail threw her a look of utter horror.

'I – I didn't know he was that big.'

Hell, they were going to have to be _so_ fast and hope that Frieza was too tied up in his fight with Vegeta to do anything about the giant dragon that was about to appear. And vice versa for that matter!

Golden light exploded up and out of the gathered balls, roaring as it rushed and cracked through the air. It was as if the balls were a portal to another realm, and air rushed from them with the light, making them all turn their faces and stagger back. The Ajisa trees thrashed around and bent away from the emerging dragon and they all cried out in terror. Even Bulma and Puar, who had seen something similar before were terrified by the raw magical power in front of them.

'Bulma, what should we do?' asked Brolly.

'We'll have to make the wishes as quick as possible!' was all she could come up with. 'Damn it, Nail, be ready to make those wishes!'

* * *

It seemed like the world was going dark, lit only by the light of Vegeta's attacks, his perception as focused as his intentions.

One blast caught Frieza in the back, and he tumbled in the air, dropping almost down to the lagoon shoreline before recovering. He turned to defend himself, and Vegeta dropped lower too, enough reason left to know that he didn't want to be shooting wildly downwards into the heart of the planet. His next blast Frieza tried to deflect, but it exploded on him anyway, and knocked him back over the water. Even at this distance Vegeta could see Frieza breathing hard, and feel his weakening chi.

He didn't give his old master a chance to recover, sending wave after wave at him. Frieza didn't even try to deflect the blasts now, only dodge them, his cry of alarm was music to Vegeta's ears. One wasted shot crashed into something, but he paid it no heed until he heard a voice, in his head, knocking him out of his trance of vengeance.

' _Vegeta!_ '

This was no time to be chatting to Guru though.

' _VEGETA!_ '

* * *

The golden column of light began to twist violently like it was alive.

'Guru!' cried Nail.

The boy looked away from the light and into the gloom of the lagoon. The spire of Guru's tower could be seen a long way off, wavering.

Without another word he shot into the sky.

'Nail!' she screamed. 'Our wishes!'

'Guru's up there!' cried Brolly.

'The guy that made the dragonballs?' She saw the top of the tower falling already and her heart leapt into her throat. 'Oh my god, he'll never make it!'

Brolly took off then too, the sound of him tearing the air loud even over the wind of the dragon's entrance. She and Puar were left alone to witness the light swell, bigger and bigger, forming a head and arms and a barrel chest.

'He doesn't look like Shenron at all!' said Puar.

The light still continued to grow.

'How damn big is this thing?' asked Bulma, her voice trembling. Much bigger than Earth's dragon, that was for sure.

* * *

Brolly overtook Nail and got there first, but still half a second _after_ the house disappeared into dust atop the massive pile of rubble.

'No!'

But then he saw something hanging like a blob in the air, something small he thought at first, but as he came closer and closer he could see it was actually quite large and quite Guru shaped, and descending gently to the top of the pile. He flew down to join him, thinking that maybe Nail's alarm was for nothing because Guru seemed to be able to fly, but then something smaller underneath Guru shifted his wide bulk and rolled him off into the debris. Nail arrived at his side just in time to see Vegeta stand, coughing. Guru let out a long groan and then began coughing, too, the rock dust in the air choking them both.

'You saved our elder!' Nail cried.

'At my inconvenience,' snarled Vegeta. 'Where were _you_ , bodyguard?'

'Summoning the dragon,' said Nail plainly, leaping to Guru's side.

Vegeta's head snapped up, giving attention to the great golden light to the west for the first time.

'You little bastard!'

* * *

Frieza had been left wondering why Vegeta had suddenly sailed over his head at top speed, and had turned, ready to shoot the vermin in the back, when he saw the great golden thing to the West lighting the mysterious darkness.

Glancing back to where Vegeta had headed, all he seen was the odd rock formation crumbling, and one of those primitive habitations perched on top, surely about to be crushed as the base fell in chunks of rock and dust.

Now he looked back at the light – it had a shape almost like the torso of a person, and then the light faded and left the most stunningly large creature Frieza had ever seen, his green hide gleaming with scales.

Wait, a minute! Where were his dragonballs? Could this possibly be the dragon?

'MY WISH!' screamed Frieza, forgetting about Vegeta for now.

He flew as fast as he was able to the dragon, which wasn't that fast with his injuries. It pained him to admit it, but he was going to have to transform _again_ to beat Vegeta. It was unbelievable; he'd never actually had to fight in that form before!

The dragon was brutish looking, with a wide, very toothy mouth, red glowing eyes and black horns. The massive body twisted and tapered to a point where golden light was still spilling from amongst a grouping of trees, and it curled over, bending to look down there.

'YOU WHO HAVE GATHERED THE SEVEN WISH ORBS, SPEAK YOUR FIRST WISH.'

Frieza felt the voice in his bones, and felt, for the first time in his life, small.

Down he swooped amongst the trees, and there to his surprise was the Bulma girl! She screamed and ran, some kind of smaller creature clinging to her shoulder. Frieza used his chi to move the air, forming a blast of wind that caught her fleeing back and took her off her feet, slamming her into a tree trunk. She fell there and didn't move. He'd deal with her later as long as she wasn't dead.

He looked up.

'I gathered the seven balls,' he lied. Well, he'd gathered _some_ of them. 'I thought the wish needed to be made in ancient Namekian, but you speak Galactic after all.'

'I CARRY THE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL NAMEKIANS, INCLUDING ALL THEIR KNOWN LANGUAGES, BUT I WAS CREATED TO ONLY GRANT WISHES SPOKEN IN THE ANCIENT TONGUE OF THE NAMEKS. WHAT IS YOUR WISH?'

'I wish for immortality!'

The dragon said nothing. Frieza reached for his scouter to contact Dodoria and the translators, but it wasn't there. Damn it! It had been destroyed! And Vegeta was sure to be here any second. He decided to use what time he had to transform again. What a surprise that would be for the monkey!

* * *

It _was_ a surprise, and an unwelcome one.

Vegeta was frantic as he landed in the dragon's shadow, just in time to see Frieza's head elongate into some disturbingly non-Saiyanoid shape. Frieza had double spikes protruding from his skull and more on his back, no nose and just a wide, beaklike mouth.

Vegeta touched down in the Ajisa trees before him.

'What have you become now? You're hideous.'

The Frieza-thing chuckled, and its voice was chillingly sibilant and layered, like he had two larynx. 'You may have had some cause to be arrogant earlier, but not anymore. My strength in this form is far greater than the last, and this isn't even my final form.'

Vegeta glanced up at the dragon. He'd heard the dragon's words to Frieza, and realised that Guru had held out on that little gotcha about the Ancient Namekian. Well, he was sure Nail would turn up soon enough and when he did he'd force him to make his wish for him.

He'd only taken his eyes off Frieza for a fraction of a second, but when he looked back Frieza was gone. Immediately he tensed, searching with his chi, but that was as far as he got before something slammed down on his shoulders, so hard he was driven into the rock up to his neck.

'Argh!'

Frieza laughed above him, hopping off his shoulders to land before him. 'Oh, this reminds me of one of those ball games the weakling races play. What is it usually called?' He charged, his leg coming back and then striking forward to take Vegeta's head off with a powerful kick. Vegeta flared his chi though, sending it out explosively in all directions, and rock, moss and Frieza were all thrown away. It bought him less than a seconds reprieve though, as Frieza pounced, one punch bowling Vegeta though the copse and smashing down half the Ajisa trees before embedding deep in the cliff behind them. He was stuck there, stunned for a moment before Frieza blasted away the rest of the cliff, hot chi burning at Vegeta as his resting place was destroyed. He was hard pushed to control his chi enough to protect himself. As soon as the blast ended he shot from the rubble, but Frieza came from nowhere, spinning and hitting Vegeta with his tail – now longer and thicker than ever. Vegeta sailed through the sky, not able to gather himself before Frieza hit him again, this time with his fist. Dismay and pain blossomed inside him. He was being utterly dominated. Frieza overtook him and hit him again and then again.

'I think in some places this game is called "Tennis",' said Frieza.

Finally, Frieza hit him and decided not to keep him airborne. Vegeta crashed into the ground, taking out a couple more trees and rolling along the ground until he finally fetched up against a trunk. Groaning he struggled to lift his head. This couldn't be happening, not if he was the Super Saiyan!

The first person he saw when he raised his head was not Frieza though, but Bulma, her body sprawled on the ground, pale-faced, and Puar weeping quietly beside her. Cold shock shot through his stomach. Was she dead?

Then cruel talons raised him up and his next terrified thought was that he might also soon be joining her.

* * *

'Grand Elder, are you okay?'

'I am-' But the old Namek gave way to coughing.

'We need to move him,' said Nail. 'We should take him away to safety. Will you help me?'

Brolly looked over at the dragon. 'What about the wishes? Frieza is over there with the dragon!'

'It's okay, he can't make a wish if he doesn't know ancient Namekian. But if Guru dies, no one gets to wish anything!'

'Okay, then,' Brolly agreed, not happy about it, but seeing it as necessary.

They each got under one of Guru's giant arms and hauled him up, sagging between them.

'To the far side of the lagoon,' said Nail. 'There's less damage there and I know a cave where we can hide him.'

'No, you mustn't waste your time one me,' wheezed Guru.

'It's not a waste!' said Nail. 'You're the most important of us! Without you alive there's no way to end this scourge on our people!'

* * *

Frieza flicked him up to face upwards, then laced his long tail around Vegeta's throat. This time Vegeta was too dazed to react fast enough, and his hands scrabbled uselessly at the grip the tail had on him. While he was dangling, Frieza punched him once then twice in his defenceless midriff. Vegeta felt ribs snap for the second time that day, and he would have vomited from the blow to the stomach had the grip around his throat not been so tight. He dropped his hands to defend himself as Frieza hit him again, but he could hardly see where the next hit was coming from and soon he had a broken arm too. He cried out in pain, but it only came out as a gurgle.

'How sad that you should come so far only to fail now!' said Frieza. 'If only you had remained my loyal servant.'

He raised Vegeta by the neck. Vegeta's heart raced, and his feet cycled in the air, trying to reach anything of Frieza's to kick to no avail.

'But you couldn't, you couldn't.'

Though Frieza's face was huge and completely distorted now, his eyes were unchanged. They were narrowed in bitterness.

'Something is amiss here,' his tormentor said, and Vegeta felt a hand grip his tail. It squeezed, and spine-weaking pain lanced up his back. 'You've got something more than you deserve,' said Frieza, and then he yanked Vegeta's tail. The pain blinded him for a moment before slowly receding, and Frieza gave a forced laugh.

'Well, look at that. I didn't mean to pull the _whole_ thing off, but it looks like your tail was never that firmly attached.'

He dangled the severed end of Vegeta's tail in front of him and weakness and sickness soaked through the prince. His tail; the last remaining item of his Saiyan inheritance was taken from him.

' _Vegeta_ ,' Frieza breathed, quiet now that they were so close. 'It seems so strange that this should be the last time I say your name. The last time that I should speak to you. I don't think…there has ever been anyone that I've ever felt more passionate about killing. It _pains_ me to do so and yet I want it so at the same time! And you _must_ die, you simply must.'

Vegeta's terror was absolute. The tail squeezed tighter and Vegeta's eyes bulged, his tongue pushed up and out of his mouth. Oh gods, this was it! He was dying! His limbs were starting to go weak as all the oxygen in his blood stream was used up. Stars were dancing on the edges of his vision, and Frieza's voice seemed to recede. Tears welled up and he was unable to stop them. He knew that as a Saiyan he should not fear death, but he did. Ignominious death was the ultimate horror, and it would be one thing if he believed completely in the Saiyan legends of Hell, and that all his Saiyan brethren waited there for him. He was afraid that the common atheist philosophy held by most of the PTO rank and file would prove true; that death was simply not existing. His entire collection of Vegeta-ness might evanesce into nothingness, never to know itself again. His soul shrank in terror from the possibility of its own transience.

'Soon, very soon,' Frieza promised. 'But first...'

He felt the ground beneath his feet then, and his knees folded as Frieza deposited him on the dirt. Mostly unconscious, Vegeta slumped forward until his head touched the moss. When the tail came off his neck he whooped in breath, feeling like he couldn't get enough air down his damaged throat, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

'There, that is what I wanted to see. You on your knees before me, begging for forgiveness, weeping for mercy.'

Vegeta groaned in protest but couldn't say a thing. He wasn't _begging_. He wouldn't beg for mercy he knew wouldn't be given. He was dead-meat, but like a cat, Frieza wouldn't just kill him. He sobbed at his utter helplessness and tried to push up with his unbroken hand. He just managed to raise his head and shoulders enough to look Frieza in the face, though his eyelids fluttered and threatened to close on consciousness.

Frieza bent down. 'Is there something you wanted to say? If you beg, if you plead for mercy now, maybe, _maybe_ , I would take you back.'

Some foolish part of Vegeta jumped at the false hope, but he knew Frieza better than that. There was no going back from here, and he would sure as hell not beg.

He flipped his middle finger at Frieza.

' _What?_ ' roared Frieza. And then he stamped on Vegeta's hand, his clawed foot crushing his whole forearm into the ground.

The lights went out entirely for Vegeta.

* * *

Frieza glared down at Vegeta's still form. He appeared to be alive still, but quite unconscious. It would be no fun to torture him further and he would not let him go out on that defiant note. There was something more of Vegeta to be broken, and he would do that before granting the vermin death if he could.

'SPEAK YOUR WISH OR RELEASE ME FROM THIS PLANE,' commanded the dragon from above. Recalled to that purpose, Frieza picked his erstwhile protégé up with his tail around his middle. He would not make the mistake of leaving Vegeta somewhere that one of his friends could aid him, and the monkey was not above fakery either.

He levitated up closer to the dragon's face.

'I need more time,' he told it. 'If I ask you to return to those dragonballs and then come forth in a short amount of time, would that be possible?' Frieza was not used to _asking_ for anything, but this was magic and he knew the line of his knowledge and influence was drawn at magic.

The dragon growled in irritation. 'NO. ONCE I RETURN I MAY NOT BE SUMMONED FOR ANOTHER YEAR.'

Frieza shuddered, glad that he had asked. 'Then we must wait for my translator to arrive.' He assumed that somewhere Dodoria was still on his way. Surely even that imbecile would see the giant dragon and think to see if Frieza had summoned it?

* * *

Bulma moaned and rolled over, feeling sick with the mixture of dull and sharp pains in her chest and shoulder.

'You're okay!' cried Puar, launching herself onto Bulma's neck, which made the girl cry out in pain.

'Ow! No, Puar!' She absolutely wasn't okay. She hadn't passed out, but for a while there the world had been quite fuzzy beyond the pain. Despite the sounds and quaking ground around her she hadn't been able to raise herself until now, with the pain receding into something manageable.

That cat backed off. 'Sorry, sorry! What's wrong?'

Bulma's woozy gaze attached itself to the dragon's tail and followed its body upwards until it got to its massive face. Some ghastly shaped creature was hanging in the air before it, with something that looked a lot like Vegeta dangling from its tail.

'No!' she said.

Puar turned and looked, too, and Bulma saw that she had been crying.

'What is _that_?' Bulma asked.

'That's Frieza,' replied the cat. 'I saw him change shapes. He has Vegeta...' She gave way to tears of despair and Bulma joined her, the pain of her chest giving way to the tearing pain of her heart. Bulma put her hand to her capsule kit, trying to think if she had something, anything that could help, but there was nothing that would magically help her to speak Ancient Namekian, and the motorhomes and sporting equipment and even light explosives in the kit weren't going to be any use.

They were on the verge of losing everything - even Vegeta - and she was all out of ideas.

* * *

Frieza ventured out further form the dragon's shadow. He was afraid to go too far from it in case some lucky, lucky Namek snuck up and stole the wish out from under him, but he couldn't see well under the darkened sky. There did seem to be small movements in the far distance, and even the occasional pinprick of chi attack. _Something_ was going on near the lagoon.

As his exploration took him high enough to see over the crest of a tall hill a flurry of movement caught his eye. Four figures leapt into the air, turned tail and fled from him. Frieza almost gave chase, but then when he recognised one of the figures he _did_ give chase.

'Halt!'

He used his incredible speed and appeared before them. All four cried out in fear, including Zarbon who was held up in the air, supported by some lousy foot soldier. The look on their faces was indescribably funny in their panic, and he realised that of course they didn't recognise him. Then his eyes alighted on a wonderful thing. One of the soldiers, that now he realized he recognised from earlier that day, was holding his littlest translator! The Namek boy was clutched in his arms, mutely weeping. The sight of a child weeping while making no snivelling sounds was quite picturesque to Frieza.

'Calm yourselves, men, and marvel that you should be the first in centuries to behold me in this form!'

They stared blankly.

'I am Frieza, your master!'

Zarbon looked at him doubtfully. 'I know my master's transformation, and this is not it.'

'You don't know everything about me, Zarbon. I see you brought me one of my translators. Where are the rest? Where is Dodoria? He was the one that was supposed to be bringing them.'

'Dodoria is dead, my Lord, if you really are my Lord.'

Frieza blinked with shock. That was a blow, and one that he didn't expect. Dodoria, that usually dependable, stalwart, if uncultured and sometimes dim General of his - he'd somehow grown used to the idea of him always being around. Every time Frieza had sent him into some situation or other that was bound to kill him, he always managed to survive. In this way he had risen through the ranks to his position, not through Frieza's careful nurture but by blunt indestructibility and power. Even though Frieza had wished the idiot would die several times, now that he had, the lizard felt a certain unnerving pang.

'How did he die?'

'Saiyans, my Lord,' said the soldier holding the Namekian. 'They swarmed him. I was the only one that managed to get away, as I knew your lordship would need a translator. I came looking for you straight away, although that was difficult due to your scouter being inoperable.'

Zarbon finished his tale for him. 'I came across him, and when the dragon appeared in the sky we came to see if you, or rather, Lord Frieza, was there.'

'Good. You did well. Now, give me the child.'

'Don't!' said Zarbon, as the soldier prepared to throw the kid to him. 'We don't know that this is Frieza. It could be the shapeshifter. Perhaps he doesn't know what Frieza actually looks like.'

'I don't have time for such nonsense,' complained Frieza. 'Do you have the translation notes you made? Give them to me, and the child.'

The soldier looked back and forth between Zarbon and Frieza.

'Sir?'

Frieza was losing his temper. 'Private, Zarbon may or may not punish you for disobeying him, but I will _definitely_ kill you if you don't hand me the notes and the child at once!'

The fool hesitated again, eyes on Zarbon, but then slowly reached inside his armour and drew out the notebook. Frieza snatched it and the Namekian too, then for his slowness, he fired a bolt of chi through the irritating soldier. He fell away, disappearing down a gully with a crash. The child screamed and Zarbon and the other two soldiers carefully made no other move.

'It's me, Zarbon,' warned Frieza. 'You're already in my bad graces today, and if you get in my way again we'll see if I can do without _both_ my Generals.'

Zarbon looked appalled, apparently now convinced. 'Yes, my Lord. I'm sorry; I was only being cautious.'

Frieza didn't stick around to listen though, taking off back towards the dragon.

'Dragon, listen up! I'm here with my interpreter!'

The dragon growled in answer.

Frieza brandished the child before him with one hand and held the notebook up in the other. Now that his immortality was practically a reality he began to feel excited again.

'Say the words,' he muttered in the Namek's ear. 'I have our notes, so I'll know if you go off-script - if you do and I'll kill you and destroy your entire planet, do you hear?'

The child wasn't crying so silently now. He was sobbing so hard that the words were hard to make out.

'Tenomora p-pa dengo te d-dynoma pongura, ma.'

The dragon's huge red eyes closed for a moment and when he opened them he pronounced, 'IT IS DONE!'

Frieza felt something like an electric shock pass through him from the severed tip of his tail to the ends of his fingertips and the crown of his head. He jerked, losing his hold upon both the child and Vegeta, but neither hardly mattered now! The shock left him feeling positively buoyant with life – he had done it! It was his! Immortality! He would rule not only this Galaxy but the entire Empire! No, he had enough time now that he could be the master of the entire Universe! He would be unassailable!

Joy pulsed through him, and chi, cracking at his form. Suddenly Frieza felt that he couldn't be contained any longer. With a rush of pink energy he let himself go, transforming before the dragon into his final form.

'Yes, yes, YES!' he cried as the final restraints on his power fell away. Oh, it was amazing! He felt more alive than he had done in centuries! And he would be alive for centuries! For countless millennia!

'I am a god! I am a GOD!'

* * *

Vegeta hit the ground, his fall unbroken by anyone or anything. Bulma and Puar screamed and hid the sight of his discarded body with their hands over their eyes.

'No! No!' they both cried in futile denial, for how could everything be going so wrong? How could this be happening?

* * *

'What just got wished for?' cried Krillin as the echoes of the Dragon's voice faded. Tarble was not far away, but of course didn't know the answer either. They had been fighting their way closer to the dragon ever since the sky had gone dark, but now they raced, abandoning the pursuit of enemy soldiers.

'Hurry!' said Nappa over comms. 'Forget the translator for now, get to the dragon!'

But then, when it hardly seemed possible it could get any worse, Frieza's monumental life force increased and by not a little, or even ten. It felt infinite, it felt…

Krillin clenched his bladder hard, as he realised he'd been just about to let it go in fear. Beside him Tarble turned and Krillin saw his disbelief echoed there.

'I think he's done it,' said Tarble. 'Frieza, I mean. Got his immortality.'

* * *

Nail and Brolly stopped in the act of settling Guru in a cave as the rumble of the dragon's voice rolled across the land.

'No!' said Guru. 'Someone has made a wish, and I fear it was not any friend of ours!'

The two boys turned and took off as fast as they could back to the dragon.

* * *

Bulma looked up when the pink light grew intense, wondering what the hell else could be happening. _Was this not enough?_ She was crying so hard she could barely see. Apparently not - lightning flashed, and a fork struck a tree nearby, exploding it and leaving the split trunk burning. Wind rushed down after it, whipping at her hair and Puar's fur and sending every bit of loose dirt and leaf litter airborne. They were both screaming, and Bulma looked down again, hiding her face from it, which was when her eyes fell on the thing she'd been trying not to see.

Vegeta's corpse moved. He lifted one broken hand and let it drop again.

'Ugh!' he said.

'Puar, he's not dead!'

The two looked at one another and then as one, scrambled across the tree littered wasteland to where he lay.

'Vegeta!'

Until then she couldn't bring herself to look at him more than through a crack in her fingers, unable to face the sight of him dead, but though he was still alive the sight was still terrible. Lit by the steady golden glow of the dragonballs and the flickering pink light from above, she could see that the front of his training suit was covered in blood, one of his arms broken and the other one _mangled_. There were red and purple bruises around his throat and blood on his face. His eyes were half open and red with broken blood vessels and he gave no sign that he could see them.

'Oh, no, oh, no,' Bulma cried, now that she was there, unsure of what she could do for him. Her first aid, her serums and sedatives were no use for injuries like this. He needed a full emergency ward and a team of doctors, or better yet, a regen tank! His eyes slid closed again and he fell limp, and she and Puar both screamed in panic. Bulma reached for the pulse in his neck.

'His heart's still beating,' she said, feeling like she was about to barf with relief or fear or pain. The wind and the light were dying down again.

Puar leapt into the air. 'I just heard Nappa over the comms!' she cried.

It took Bulma a second to work out what Puar was talking about. Her earpiece must've finally dried out enough to work.

'Puar! Speak to them!'

Puar touched her transponder disk. 'Guys, can anyone hear us? We're underneath the dragon and Vegeta is really hurt bad! Frieza just got his wish!'

Bulma was almost beside herself with desperation to hear the replies.

Puar looked up at her and grasped Bulma's finger with her paw. 'They heard us! They're on their way!'

Bulma hiccupped out a strange moan of anxiety. Someone had to do something, but could they be enough when Vegeta had failed? If Frieza took the last two wishes...

* * *

'Vegeta is done?' said Nappa, coming to a stop, shocked. Raditz and Kakarott overtook him. 'Don't you realise we're fucked?'

The others kept going. Kakarott shouted back over his shoulder.

'There are still two wishes left!'

Nappa planted his face in his palm for a moment, but then he was off again after them. Hadn't he always known that this was the best death his life could offer? In a blaze of glory and blood, losing against some magnificent foe? Funny how it didn't seem such an attractive prospect from up close.

'What the Hell…' he muttered to himself. He'd be there soon, with the King, with the Elites, with Vegeta and Raditz, and fuck, even these brats…

* * *

From up high a small, chubby, green figure floated down between the trees.

'Nail!' called Bulma.

The kid looked over at them and yelped, his eyes wide with fear. Then he flew away at speed.

'That wasn't Nail,' observed Puar.

'Well, where the hell is he and Brolly?' Bulma despaired, remembering how they'd abandoned them here to face Frieza alone. 'There are still two wishes left and they're our last chances!' Not that there was anything much any of them could do about that while Frieza was in the vicinity.

That thought apparently conjured the devil himself, and Bulma forgot her despair in favour of flat fear as she saw the figure descending like an angel to the clearing made by Vegeta being tossed around. Puar squealed and they both backed away, hoping vainly that Frieza hadn't seen them. He looked completely different than he had as the monster, slightly closer to his old self, but they could tell it was him. Though he was pure white apart from plates of shining purple on his head, chest and shoulders, the doll-like face was definitely Frieza's, and Bulma could _feel_ it was him. Maybe she would never be able to sense chi well, but she could sense _something_ from him, and not just the electric crackle of free chi that made the hair all over her body stand up.

He hovered a foot before the ground, the air around him seeming to pulse.

His eyes found hers.

'Oh, you _are_ alive.'

Bulma said nothing, only stared back, shaking. Frieza's mouth twitching into a preening grin

'Do you have nothing to say to your new _god?_ '

'New god?' Bulma echoed dumbly. That was a statement she hadn't been expecting, and Bulma found her mouth saying, 'You're the opposite of a god, asshole!'

'Bulma!' shrieked Puar.

Frieza face became thunderous, and whatever purpose he had saved her for before appeared to go out of the window as he raised his hand, purple lightning dancing over his fingers.

'For that you'll d-'

His words were lost in a tremendous crack; light flashed and the remaining trees rocked back on their roots. Bulma blinked the brightness out of her eyes, and when she could see clearly, Frieza was gone. There was a sound of a second impact and the ground shook. Brolly hung in the air with his back to her, looking over the top of the rubble of the cliff. His hair looked like he'd had a purple rinse. She couldn't make any sense of what she saw.

'Brolly?'

He turned and swooped down to her, picking her up so abruptly that her teeth clacked together and pain shot through her chest and shoulder. Puar leapt onto Bulma's stomach and then they were airborne, Bulma in too much pain to scream and feeling sick with the speed of acceleration.

'There's no time to lose!' Brolly shouted, zooming away from the dragon, the balls and their last hope.

'No, Brolly, the wishes!' she struggled to protest.

He shook his head. 'He'll be after me any second! We've got to get away!'

* * *

Frieza growled, seethed, bared his teeth and roared. Who? _What_ had struck him? Had he let his attention waver so much that he'd become vulnerable to a lesser being?

He leapt up from the debris of the hillside he had found himself landed in, throwing off boulders the size of houses like a kitten leaping from a box of packing peanuts. His eyes searched the sky, but there was too much going on. Zarbon and the two sorry crew members were being chased by Vegeta's entourage; more soldiers were making their way after then in pursuit and the dragon hovered over all. He expected that it was somehow Vegeta who had hit him, and he headed back towards the dragon to see if his prize was still there.

'I GROW TIRED OF THIS WAITING. MAKE YOUR SECOND WISH OR RETURN ME TO MY REST,' the dragon complained.

Wait, _another_ wish? No one had mentioned that!

Frieza's heart contracted with sudden fear. If someone else took the wish he could find his immortality wished away as easily as it had been granted. He got back to the clearing again, spied Vegeta still prone of the ground, and hastened to gather him up in his tail's grasp again. Should he send the dragon away? Or claim the second wish? Wait, _could_ he claim the second wish? Where was his translator?

'Namek! Come here!'

He looked around and then saw it zipping through the trees, attempting to stay undercover.

'Nice try, kid.'

He appeared before the tyke, surprising him and wrapping him in an unbreakable grip. It shouted and struggled, but it was no use.

'Now, now, you've been very helpful once before and I need you to be so again.'

Just as quickly, he reappeared before the dragon. He was so fast now, it really was almost instantaneous, but as someone who ruled over an area as vast as a galaxy, there had always been one fantastical skill he'd wished he had. He knew he was taking a risk by asking for another wish – this translation wouldn't be verified like the other one – but the child was so timid, Frieza felt he was liable to be too scared to defy him. However, the pay-off would be considerable.

To the dragon he said, 'Just how many wishes do you grant?'

'UP TO THREE, IF REQUIRED,' the dragon replied. 'DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER WISH FOR ME?'

'Yes!' He turned the child in his arms to face the dragon. Suddenly the struggle went out of it. 'Now, just like before, I want you to translate my wish and ask it for me. Remember that I reward those who help me, and I punish those who disobey me, and I will know very quickly if you have spoken the wrong words, understand? A wonderful reward awaits you if you get this right. If not; _death_.'

The kid nodded.

'Good, then, we understand each other. Now here is what I want you to wish for me. I wish to have the power of _teleportation!_ Instant travel, understand?'

'I understand.'

'Then repeat my wish to the dragon.'

In his arms, unseen by Frieza, Nail couldn't stop a smile of blazing hope spreading across his face. Frieza had mistaken him for someone else, and it was a fortunate mistake indeed.

'Te lomonoro Porunga, lo tekengo no pyloha mora ne kressa ponya, tina mei lomne ulitna pa Nameka ula, ma!'

'IT IS DONE.'

* * *

The words boomed over the sound of the wind in Bulma's ears as she tried to see back towards the dragon.

'No!'

And then it was gone.

It was all gone.

She was lying on the floor of the bathroom of their ship.

Immediately she sat upright, sending pain through her again, her breathing becoming frantic with shock and incomprehension. Outside the window was stars and nothing else, and there was a strange whistling sound.

_What? How? Have I lost my mind?_

She heard a yell from another part of the ship.

'What the bleeding gods is going on?' Evidently Nappa was on board too.

She leapt to her feet and to the bathroom door, tearing into the corridor and colliding straight into Tarble who was running towards the bedroom. Nappa burst out the bedroom door, and there were the sounds of more voices and confusion from different areas of the ship. In the lounge the whistling was louder, and Puar, Krillin and Goku staring around in confusion. Brolly appeared for the kitchen and Raditz from down the stairs. Vegeta lay on one of the couches.

'What happened?'

'Why are we here?'

'How?'

For a more than a second Bulma doubted her own reality.

'Did I die?' asked Raditz. 'And this is Hell?'

'We're in space!' said Nappa. 'How the fuck did that happen?'

Krillin ran across the lounge towards her, and Goku began to follow before his eyes found Vegeta on the couch. He just stopped still, and alarm jolted through Bulma. She hurried over, everyone else having pretty much the same idea, and they crushed together around him on the couch. They couldn't be dead if Vegeta was still in the process of dying!

'We need to get him in the tank!' she said.

'No shit!' said Raditz, already lifting Vegeta's unconscious form. Bulma rushed ahead to open the door of the tank, and was joined by Nappa, who hauled forth the electrodes and mask.

Suddenly the whistle was joined by an ear splitting alarm blaring. The lights around the side of the room flashed an ominous red.

'What the heck is that?' asked Krillin.

'Oh, _fuck_ ,' said Nappa, looking up at Bulma.

This time the ship's builders had considered the occasion serious enough to warrant a pre-recorded message, and an oddly accented female voice spoke over the hidden speakers in the lounge.

'Hull breach. Cabin depressurisation. Seal breach immediately or abandon ship.'

Raditz practically dropped Vegeta in the tank.

'We don't have any pods left to escape in! Do we?'

While he rushed off to the airlock to check, Nappa picked up where Raditz left off, stripping away what was left of Vegeta's battlesuit top and revealing purple contusions and scary swelling.

Bulma's limbs felt rubbery and all she wanted to do was collapse on the floor. She tried to will herself to act, to think about what the blaring warning was telling her, but instead she was mentally scattered to the four winds. What happened to the wishes? What happened full stop? Vegeta was before her, curled awkwardly in the base of the tank and needing help, and the only course of action that would occur to her was to reach for an electrode and to place it over his heart. Nappa took it from her.

'I'll handle him. You get the ship's tools!'

'The what?' she said dumbly.

'The _ship's tools!_ You're the fucking back-stabbing ship's mechanic, aren't you? Go and mechanic!'

'There's no escape!' cried Raditz, skidding back into the room. 'Bulma! How do we fix it?'

Whimpering and standing, Bulma beat her brow, trying to get things moving again. A breach, a hole...she had read in the ship's manual that there was an emergency hull patching kit somewhere for use on minor cracks and punctures.

'Find where it's leaking from!' she ordered him.

'It's somewhere over the entrance,' yelled Nappa, not looking up from his task. 'A wild chi blast clipped the outside of the ship - musta left a hole!'

Bulma ran for the section of floor that she knew the tools were under, scattering the dazed boys as she went.

'Is there anything we can do?' asked Goku.

'Yes!' she replied, lifting the edge of the flooring section before being helped by Tarble. 'Find the emergency hull breach kit! It's in one of these compartments.'

One of her arms didn't seem to be working properly, and Tarble lifted the tool bag out of the cavity for her, and she rummaged around for the patch kit but couldn't see it. Looking up towards Raditz who had his ear up against the upper curve of the ceiling she shouted out.

'I need that ceiling panel off!'

The other boys were hauling up sections of flooring and knocking them together in their haste.

'What does it look like?' asked Krillin.

'I have no idea!' she admitted. 'Hopefully it's labelled.'

Raditz ripped the cladding down, no doubt shearing the attachments points, not that aesthetics mattered at this moment. The whisper became a raw sucking sound.

'It's only a crack!' he said, obviously relieved.

'It doesn't matter if it's just a crack!' she said, rooting through the tools for a worklamp. 'With the pressure difference between the inside and the outside it could become a tear at any moment! And even if it doesn't it's only a matter of time before we run out of air to breathe.'

Tarble found the kit and Bulma spilled out the contents, reading the instructions as fast as she could. The patch was a thin, malleable metal plate, a thick rubbery sheet with glue to go over it, and another thin metal plate to be soldered over the top. One armed, as she was, she got Raditz to place and hammer the first sheet flat with his fist. Straining to see, Nappa lifted her up without her asking, and Goku held the tasklamp to shine into the narrow wedge-shaped space. Krillin prepped the rubber sheet with the glue and Raditz placed that, too, accepting Bulma's barked orders to place it higher and hold it longer. Bulma took responsibility of the soldering, not trusting the others to do it, and she struggled, sweat standing out on her brow from the effort of holding up the soldering gun above her head one handed, but at last it was done and she lowered her arm, almost toppling out of Nappa's hold with exhaustion.

She'd been surprised when he'd picked her up, and she would have suspected he was up to no good except for the seriousness of the situation. He put her on the floor now, not super-gently, and she collapsed against the wall while he took a seat on the lower stairs leading up to the flight deck. He and everyone else looked ready to drop, and all looked ragged, dirty and covered in various shades of blood. The sight of Goku's clothes almost drenched shoulder to ankle in blood, with heavy smears on his arms, neck and face was particularly nauseating.

'Someone explain to me what we're doing up here in space,' Nappa moaned.

They all looked around rather blankly except for Brolly. He was looking at Tarble and Krillin and back to Nappa as if he expected them to say something.

'What is it?' asked Nappa.

Brolly turned to him looking nervous and Bulma saw the colour drain from Nappa's face.

'Oh gods,' he muttered, 'Brolly…'

Brolly's face transformed in an instant. 'I'm okay!' he snapped, almost angry sounding. 'I don't know what you all thought was wrong with me before, but Guru said he healed me!'

Nappa flinched and raised his hands. 'Sure, sure, son. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you, but let's just calm down a bit.'

'But Guru did heal him!' said Goku.

Nappa held a cautionary finger up to Goku and said gently, 'I've no idea what you're talking about, Kakarott, but let's just be _calm_ , okay?'

Brolly's face started to flush pink and he scowled. 'You're talking to me like I'm…' Words apparently failed him, and seeking to save him further suffering and dispel Nappa's impression that Brolly was a danger, Bulma stepped alongside Brolly and patted his arm.

'It's true. Brolly's okay. Guru, the Grand Elder of the Namekians really did heal him.'

Brolly looked at her, his face losing a little of its angry set as he accepted the support.

Nappa made a face of obvious scepticism. 'Who _is_ this old fart you've all been going on about? Unlocking this and healing that! Sounds like mumbo jumbo.'

'This is the same guy that made the dragonballs,' Bulma reminded him. 'Still think those were mumbo jumbo?'

Nappa glared at her and she gave it right back.

Brolly was giving Nappa his own stony glare. 'I was gonna say, when I came to save Bulma, Nail was right behind me. He must have had the chance to make his wish that all the aliens be far away from Planet Namek.'

As he said it, Bulma realised that Brolly must be right. Frieza would not wish them to be on their ship, _alive_. Raditz and the boys made exclamations of realisation, too.

'Move over,' said Raditz, stepping over Nappa awkwardly in his haste to get up to the flight deck. Nappa snarled but followed him, and the others swarmed up behind.

Upstairs, Raditz took a pilot's seat and Nappa perched on the other one while the rest of them crowded around. Raditz was pressing buttons.

'Where are we, then?' he asked as the holographic diagram of the galaxy appeared over the console and over the map table. The little red arrow took it's time appearing, but when it did even Bulma could see that something was way off.

'What the…!' cried Raditz.

'Isn't that the opposite side of the galaxy from where we were?' she asked.

'Just about!'

'Well,' said Nappa. 'Guess we won't be getting that third wish then.'

A peculiar coldness washed over Bulma, and suddenly she was having to swallow saliva that flooded her mouth, gulping down on the feeling she was about to throw up. She gripped the back of Nappa's chair to keep steady. She heard a high pitched moan and thought it was herself for a second before she recognised it as Puar. The cat fell off the headrest of Raditz's chair and landed in his lap.

'Are you all right?' Tarble asked Bulma. He looked scared, so she figured she looked terrible. She shook her head, shying away from putting her realisation into thoughts, because she would lose her shit.

'That can't be it!' said Goku.

'No, there's got to be something more we can do!' said Krillin.

'We can't give up!'

Krillin grabbed her hand. 'Think, Bulma! There must be some way out of this! We can't just have…lost everyone for good!'

Bulma's throat closed up, but instead of crying she began hyperventilating. 'Don't say that!' she squeaked out.

'Please, Bulma!' said Krillin, squeezing her hand between both of his. 'There has to be a way around this!'

'We'll come up with something,' said Goku, his voice hoarse with emotion.

Nappa rolled his eyes. 'Earthling drama.'

Raditz watched them with more sympathy. The sight of them panicking over the fate of their planet reminded him of his own reaction when Nappa told him that Planet Vegeta was no more. He'd been brand new to Frieza's ship and already hating it, and he'd never even been properly introduced to Nappa and the prince. The news of the meteorite strike devastated him.

He hadn't thought of that time for years and tried not to, but now he remembered irrationally arguing with Nappa that there must be something they could do to undo what had already happened. He'd wanted Nappa to tell Frieza to turn the ship around so that he could see for himself, just in case it was all a mistake.

' _There's nothing to see, you idiot! It's gone!_ '

_But how would he ever get home again if his home was gone? His mother would be so angry if he didn't come home one day!_

Raditz flinched, shaking himself out of the eerily vivid recollection. Nappa was squinting at him.

'What is it?' he asked.

Raditz searched for something more acceptable to explain whatever his face had been doing. 'Wait until Vegeta wakes up - then we'll get a treat of some real Saiyan drama.'

Nappa let out a long moan. 'Oh gods, can we just fast forward through the next couple of months?'

'Months!' cried Bulma, her memory jogged into spitting forth a Hail Mary.

'What?' cried the boys.

'We've got another chance!' she told them. 'Even two!'

'How?' asked Puar. It seemed she had come round from her faint and started up at Bulma in hope.

'Nail told me that Namekian years are only about six Galactic months long. That's like, what? Four and a bit Earth months? So though we've only got a year from when Frieza arrived on Earth to wish Kami back to life, the Namekian dragonballs will be ready to be used again in four and a bit months!'

Puar, Goku and Krillin screamed with joy, and so did Tarble, but luckily the older Saiyans didn't seem to notice in the general din. Raditz smiled and added an, 'Oh, shit,' to the mix of celebration, but Nappa groaned.

'Fuck, Vegeta's going to make us go back there!'

Brolly grinned at her.

'You're so clever,' he said.

'That's not clever,' she said, grinning with relief herself. 'That's just remembering the right thing at the right time. We're not in the clear yet though.' She turned to Raditz. 'We need to get back to Planet Namek first. How long will that take from here?'

'Let me look it up,' Raditz said, obliging.

'You're assuming that we're going back and that Frieza doesn't have exactly the same idea and get there first,' said Nappa harshly. 'Not to rain on your little festivities, but we'd still be in competition with the most powerful being in the Galaxy, who, by the way, is now a freaking _immortal_.'

Bulma went cold at Nappa's words. He was right, of course. If Frieza decided to head back to Namek, assuming he was drifting in his spaceship out in space like they were, he would perhaps take more wishes, but he would _definitely_ destroy the planet.

'Huh?' said Raditz. 'Am I crazy?'

'What?' asked Nappa, focusing on his subordinate again.

Raditz leaned away from his screen so Nappa could see. 'This is how you spell "Namek", right? It's not "Namik" or "Nermek"?'

'No. Weren't you the one that first found the planet in the database? How did you spell it last time?'

'This way, I thought.'

Bulma leaned over Nappa's shoulder. 'Why?'

'Because it's not showing up in the directory.'

'What?'

They all watched in silence while Raditz typed in several close phenomes into the directory but came up with nothing.

'Surely our last destination is in the ship's computer?' she said. 'Just recall it from that.'

'Probably,' he said. Then he began laboriously perusing the menus of the ships computer and she realised he had no clue how.

'Out of the way!' she said, shoving him out of the seat, though it hurt her arm and chest badly. He rolled aside, letting her have it, and she took to the controls, knowing exactly where she was heading after her weeks with the ship's computer being her primary source of entertainment and comfort.

'Here it is. Planet N-A-M-E-K.' Strangely the sector entry was missing, but she took the entry and entered that into the directory call.

 _'No entry with designation "Planet Namek",_ ' the computer dialogue told her.

'What?' The cold feeling grew and Bulma stilled, crouched over the console.

'Did you find it?' asked Krillin.

She shook her head. 'It's not there...'

'It's been destroyed?' cried Goku.

She shook her head again, and Raditz answered for her. 'It's not a live feed. It's the information that's not there. How is that possible?'

'Wishes,' replied Bulma, shrivelling inside, feeling her hope cave in again. She quickly looked up their flight path from the planet they'd stopped on to revive Brolly and it was blank too. All reference to Planet Namek's location was gone from the computer.

'That was the Grand Elder's suggestion, remember?' Krillin spoke. 'He said that the Nameks should use one wish to wish all the aliens off Namek and another so that Planet Namek couldn't be found again.'

'I think that's what Nail planned to wish for,' said Brolly. 'He must've used the third wish for it.'

'But we can find our way back though, right?' insisted Goku. 'We've been there before – we can always retrace our steps. Go back to Grenouillea and head out from there in about the right direction.'

Bulma's head sank until her forehead rested on the console, breathing deep as panic tried to take her. 'Space is _big_ , Goku! You really have no concept of how big. We could do that a million times and not hit the exact correct angle that we need to find the Namek system!'

'Well, we could _try!_ '

They _could_ try. It wouldn't work, but they could try.

Silence descended on the flight deck. After a tense minute Raditz leaned over Nappa to use that console and made up a flight plan. 'From here to that last stop before Namek, it's going to take us around six months of straight flight.'

'Six months!' the others cried.

'That'll use up a whole dragonball cycle just getting there!' Bulma's despair deepened.

'Unless we take the Frieza Centennial Wormhole trade route,' Raditz added. 'That'll take three months off.'

'Then we'll do that!' Bulma said, wondering why he hadn't suggested that first.

'No, we can't!' Nappa immediately shot her down. 'That wormhole is completely controlled by the PTO space stations at either end. We'd be shot down the instant we rocked up there. Or else they'd impound the ship as soon as we docked for inspection!'

She gaped at him, and then when she couldn't take it anymore she felt the crushing power of _nothing_ roll over her. It was a heavy, dead feeling. It was awful, it was painful, but she was grateful it wasn't the insane grief that she'd been teetering on the edge of.

'Is that the only way?' asked Krillin.

'No,' Raditz answered him. 'But the alternative is just as impossible; using one of the wormholes owned by the privateering companies.'

'What's so impossible about that?'

'Only that it'll cost us about five million credits in bribe money! Those guys don't always operate a hundred percent under the law, but they also don't break it for cheap!'

'You're Saiyans aren't you?' Krillin began to flush red. 'How about we just overpower them and _take_ their wormhole?' For once, Bulma agreed. Saiyans storming space stations using brutal and maybe even lethal force no longer seemed like such a bad thing.

'Because...there's technology...' Raditz floundered. 'I don't know how wormholes work, do you? Normally ships are guided through them on remote operation by the station!'

'We'll do that,' said Bulma, each word feeling like an immense effort to say.

'Do _what?_ '

'We'll either find several million credits or we'll highjack a wormhole.'

' _How?_ '

'We'll figure it out!' she snapped. 'You're basically pirates already, aren't you? And you have the galaxy's second strongest warrior on board, and you have _me!_ What are you scared of?'

'Woah!' objected Nappa. 'We're not scared of nothing, but we don't know that we're going _anywhere_ yet, Princess. Let's wait until the Galaxy's second strongest wakes up before throwing around proclamations.'

Bulma closed her mouth. What would Vegeta do or say when he woke up? She wanted to think that he'd see things her way and immediately head back to Planet Namek with her and the other Earthlings on board, but she really wasn't sure.

'If we use the wormhole how long will that give us to find Planet Namek?' asked Krillin.

Bulma made the quick calculation in her head. 'About eight Earth months.' That wasn't long considering their plan was to cast about aimlessly for it. They were going to have to come up with something better than that or they would fail. First things first though.

'We need to find somewhere to land. Where's close?'

She brought the drive online and entered the password she'd locked it with. It felt like a week ago that she'd created it, but it was only one, very long, Namekian day.

'What're you doing?' said Nappa, hauling her out of the seat by a fistful of her clothing, leaving her half crouched between the two pilot chairs. 'Do you think you can claim control of this ship for your own ends just because Vegeta is in the tank?'

She twisted away from him, tearing her already torn training suit some more.

'Fine, one of you do it!' she yelled. 'But we have a very pressing issue right now!' She looked around at the assembled men and boys, and none of them looked like they had a clue what she was talking about. 'That patch we put on is an _emergency_ patch only. It could go at any moment, the hull with it. We need to get to the nearest place we can swap ships or make proper repairs.'

The silence was stunned. Even Nappa was wordless for the space of two breaths.

'How long will it last?' he asked.

'How long is a piece of string?' she replied. 'It could last weeks or it could fail in the next second. There's no way for us to know.'

Raditz began frantically searching the navigation system again, and Nappa moved aside so that he could have the seat. He was breathing raggedly, exhibiting a panic that Bulma no longer felt.

'The nearest planet is two days away but it's a PTO outpost.'

'Well, that's not going to fucking do, then, is it?' said Nappa.

'I know. We're way off the trade routes… There's this uninhabited one a bit further away.'

'We need _civilisation_ ,' insisted Bulma. 'I doubt I can fix the ship with the tools and materials we have.'

'Well, then, five days away in the other direction. Baccanelli. It's Cold aligned, but it's a free planet.'

'Civilised?'

Raditz popped up the directory, and the page for Baccanelli displayed, flashing with colours, large, gorgeous pictures and a sales line – Baccanelli: Where Dreams Become Reality.

'I'd say so. It's a brand-new pleasure planet.' He turned to Nappa. 'Have we been there before? The name sounds familiar.'

'Yes,' replied Nappa, and then he huffed with laughter, as if anything could be funny at a time like this. 'It was one of the first purge jobs we three did together, when you were still just a brat and Vegeta was only knee-high.'

'Huh. Really?'

A chill ran up Bulma's spine. To hear about the Saiyans' epically genocidal past was one thing, but to drop in on the results of it?

'Yeah. Set a course for that one,' commanded Nappa. 'It'll be interesting to see what they've done with the place.' Then he smirked. 'And maybe get a good time while we're at it.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Here Endeth Book Two.
> 
> Book Three will commence in several weeks hopefully. This story is a lot of fun to write. I only regret that it takes so long to write and that I can't quit my job to write fan fiction full time. I do keep playing the lottery though, so if lady luck comes through I will be able to spend all the time I like on this hobby.


	51. The Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hi guys. Now, where were we? Things went all to shit on Namek, and though everyone got out alive (well, except for Dodoria, some PTO personnel and an unfortunate number of Namekians), Frieza wished for immortality and the Saiyans and Earthlings got no wishes! Nail got two though, and wished all the aliens to the other side of the galaxy and removed all trace of Planet Namek from their ship's computer and the Galactic Directory.
> 
> With a punctured hull the gang are heading to the nearest safe planet for repairs.

'Why not?'

'Because I don't like you that way!'

'So you _do_ like me?'

'I was just being polite. No, and I think you'd make a terrible husband!'

'Hey, how do you know? You been married before? You been married to _me_? No. Well, I think I'd make a good husband. Don't knock it till you've tried it.'

'Well, I'm not going to try it! And you seem to have forgotten that I'm promised to another!'

'You realise he's dead, right?'

'No! _He's_ alive, _we're_ the dead ones.'

'Splitting hairs. What counts is that you're in different dimensions.'

'We'll be in the same one sometime, one way or another!'

'Yeah, and how are you going to find each other? He could be dead already and you'd never know. Maybe he's down there in Hell.'

'How dare you say that! My Goku would never be caught dead in Heck!'

'He could also be in heaven, but it wouldn't matter because we'll still be following this road for the next thousand years.'

'Yajirobe, I will never marry you even if we're stuck here for the next million years!'

'Jeez, keep your hair on, Cream Puff. I don't want to marry you either.'

'But you just asked me-'

'No, I only asked what it would take for you to consider my marrying me. There's a difference.'

'No, there-'

'Shut it, you two!' yelled Yamcha. The last days, weeks, or maybe it was even months now were filled with these pointless circular arguments between Chichi and Yajirobe, and if he let himself be drawn into Yajirobe's game the three of them could go on for hours.

'Can't we just fly in peace for a while?'

'Absolutely!' replied Chichi. 'If we could just get this meanie-mouth to zip it!'

' _I'm_ the meanie-mouth?' protested Yajirobe. 'You're the mean one, Ice Princess!'

'I'm only mean because-'

'Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!' roared Yamcha, but they paid him no attention, too tied up in their bickering.

'...when you called me a...B, I, T, C-'

'I am NOT fat, I'm solidly built; get your eyes examined!'

'Well you don't show me any respect!'

Oh god, he was going to hit them. He was going to hit them!

The younger two stopped in the air so they could get in each other's faces all the better.

'Well maybe if you weren't such a pushover!'

Yajirobe demonstrated by shoving Chichi. She instantly retaliated by slapping the side of his head.

'Ow!'

The two started scrapping; slapping and kicking at each other more like irritable children than warriors, which Yamcha supposed they were right about now. He watched them for half a minute before losing his temper.

'Hey, playtime's over, guys! Or have you forgotten we're here to do a job?'

' _I_ haven't forgotten!' cried Chichi, and then squealed as Yajirobe caught both her wrists. The two rolled around in the air until Yajirobe's wide butt was presented to Yamcha, and this proved too much of a temptation to his own sour mood; he planted a boot on it and shoved, shunting them both along in the air. The next part wasn't planned though; the kids tumbled through the air together and fell into the clouds, screaming.

'Shit!' cried Yamcha, and rushed after them. Chichi disappeared, but Yajirobe seemed to get held up for a second, jammed in the clouds like they were solid, with his legs waving frantically in the air.

Yamcha grabbed both of the thick ankles before they could slip under the surface and hauled, and hauled harder. He'd expected the weight of two kids, but it felt like more, or like they were being sucked down there by force. He pulled until Yajirobe's belly could be seen and he could just hear Yajirobe's muffled cries, and then with a pop, like a seal had been broken, Yamcha shot upwards, towing a yelling Yajirobe with a screaming Chichi dangling from his arms.

He dropped them on Snake Way, both gasping for breath and covered with pastel pink foam. Whatever these clouds were made of, it wasn't the usual water vapour.

'You idiot!' were Yajirobe's first coherent words. 'You nearly sent us both to Hell! What'd'ya think you're playing at?'

' _He_ pushed us?' said Chichi, rising to her feet. 'Yamcha, how could you?'

'I'm really sorry,' said Yamcha. 'I really didn't mean for that to happen.'

'I should hope you didn't! What were you thinking? We almost got sucked into Heck!'

'I don't think he was thinking anything,' suggested Yajirobe, scowling at him.

Shame coloured Yamcha's cheeks, but he felt this level of criticism was unwarranted, especially from Yajirobe. 'I said I was sorry, but if you two hadn't been driving me insane with your endless squabbling you mightn't have pushed me into doing something hasty!'

'Hasty!' exclaimed Chichi, pausing in flicking the foam off her to stare at Yamcha in disbelief.

'Irresponsible is more like it,' said Yajirobe, backing her up. 'Just because you don't get along with someone is no reason to go kicking them in the butt and sending them down into purgatory.'

'You need to think about the things you're doing!' said Chichi.

'Yeah, grow up, dude,' added Yajirobe.

Yamcha scoffed at the injustice of that. 'This from the pair who were slapping at each other and arguing non-stop for the last…month!'

'At least we can put aside our differences,' said Yajirobe, turning to Chichi. 'Come on, Chich, let's go.'

With an 'Hmm!' of disapproval in Yamcha's direction she took off into the air, closely followed by Yajirobe. Yamcha trailed them, pissed off and unable to believe that _he_ was now in _their_ bad books.

Yajirobe pulled a blob of foam out of his hair and was about to flick it away when he hesitated and sniffed at the stuff instead.

'Does this kind of smell like strawberries to you?' he asked Chichi.

'A little, I guess.'

So Yajirobe licked it.

'It's sweet!' he announced in surprise, and then took a mouthful. 'Oh! Food!' he cried, and dipped back down to the clouds to scoop up double handfuls of the stuff and immediately slurped one right down. 'Yummy!'

Curious, Chichi tasted a bit that was still clinging to the back of her arm. 'Mmm.'

'Just because it tastes sweet doesn't mean it's edible!' Yamcha warned them.

'Fine – you don't have to have any,' said Yajirobe shortly. 'What's it gonna do anyway? Kill me?' He gave a throaty laugh, and Chichi even giggled a little. Yamcha glowered at the backs of them. He supposed he should be grateful that they were temporarily united, even if it was in their scorn of him, but he just wasn't feeling it. His stomach growled for the first time in days.

For what felt like the rest of the day they flew on, the two younger ones up ahead, sometimes chatting, sometimes not, and Yamcha bringing up the rear, but yet again the sun didn't set. He _yearned_ for night. He missed the dark. He missed the stars and any sense of time passing normally.

How he hated this place! It might seem strange that someone who spent so many years in the desert would find a relatively short time in this place boring, but it was amazingly and relentlessly boring in a way that the plains, ravines and mesa of the desert could never compete with. He couldn't even change the direction of travel. It was just the same view, on and on. Ever since the start of Snake Way fell out of sight there was nothing to mark their progress. He had no idea how far they'd come or how much further there was to go, and sometimes he suffered the illusion that they weren't moving at all, and that the road beneath them was just an endless loop that they would follow for eternity.

'I'd trade a sand storm for this any day,' he muttered aloud and suffered a particularly sharp pain of loss when he realised who he wished he was speaking to. He missed Puar. He missed her more than anyone, even Bulma. He hadn't been alone since the day he'd found her crying in the desert, a runaway like him. Now he felt almost as alone as the day he'd found her, even though he wasn't.

'I wonder if you're okay,' he said to the empty space on his shoulder. 'Do you miss me as much as I miss you?' There was no answer, just the ever present whistle of the warm evening air in his ears as he flew through it.

He slowed to a standstill, his heart feeling like it weighed a thousand tons.

 _I don't know that I can do this anymore_ , he admitted to himself. _But what choice do I have?_ Falling into Hell didn't sound like it would be a better option, and then he would let everyone down.

Still in conversation, Chichi looked back over her shoulder and spotted him way behind. She stuck out her hand to halt Yajirobe and then started flying back to him.

Embarrassed to be caught in despair he hurried on to meet her.

'Hey, are you okay?' she asked him as he caught up.

'I'm- Yeah,' he lied.

She cast him a worried glance. 'You're not tired?'

'Nope.'

'Are you still feeling bad about before?'

He was still miffed about it, but he pretended he wasn't. 'No, it's fine.'

They caught up to Yajirobe and he fell into formation with them.

'Something up, man?'

'Nah. I just needed a moment.'

'Well, I suppose that's okay, but don't go dropping away like that. You made Chichi worry.'

She reached out and gave Yamcha a friendly fist-bump on the shoulder. 'We three have got to stick together! We're the only friends we've got right now.'

A weak flutter of gratitude stirred his heart an inch or two higher than from his boots where it had settled. Yeah, even though these two drove him crazy at least half the time, they could be his friends.

'You're right,' he said, surprising himself by succeeding in smiling back at her. She beamed, and it was strange how seeing that expression lifted his heart a little more. He turned the other way and asked more playfully, 'Yo, Yajirobe, are we friends?'

'Suppose so,' muttered Yajirobe. 'Don't go telling anyone about it though. I don't want the word to get out that I'm going soft. I got a reputation to live up to.'

* * *

BOOK III

* * *

Bulma didn't think she was going to be able to eat the meal that Raditz dropped in her lap, but it turned out that her body didn't share quite the same sense of hopeless surrender as her mind, and she chomped through it, barely tasting it (which was probably a good thing considering that it was a reheated Grenouillean frozen dinner) until she was surprised to find the plastic tray empty.

She was slumped on the couch between Puar and Tarble, and though she intended to get up and put her cutlery and tray in the kitchen, her arms fell to her sides and the tray and fork balanced precariously on her stomach. Her eyelids were threatening to follow suit and take her directly into blessed slumber. She welcomed it as an escape from her thoughts and her pain. Her chest, collarbone and shoulder all hurt with the tiniest movement, even breathing. Perhaps she should get her first aid capsule out and take some pain killers? Then she really would sleep.

'Suppose we should get ready for bed,' said Raditz, stepping heavily down the steps into the sunken lounge. 'Kakarott, you need a shower and to burn those clothes or something!'

Bulma pried her eyes back open again.

'We all need to clean up,' declared Nappa, standing up from the dining table. 'Kakarott first, though. He's completely covered in war paint.'

'It's not paint, it's blood,' Goku pointed out sullenly.

Nappa rolled his eyes and said nothing, and Goku trudged away to the bathroom with barely a trace of his usual vim.

Bulma raised herself a little. If anything sounded as good as sleep and pain relief right now, it was a shower.

'I'm after Goku!' she declared.

'Third!' said Krillin, quickly.

'Fourth!' said Raditz.

'Don't be so childish,' huffed Nappa. 'I'm going in after Kakarott, because I said so. Baldie, what's wrong with your arm?'

Krillin had been sitting on the other couch, eating with his left hand while he cradled the other. Bulma realised she hadn't even noticed he was hurt.

'It got hit during the fight with Dodoria,' Krillin replied.

Nappa crouched down to examine it; running his big fingers down Krillin's forearm and wrist. Krillin yelped a little and went pale, but didn't pull away as Nappa squeezed over it.

'It's probably a fracture,' he announced. 'Just keep as you are, don't use it until we can get you in the regen tank. Anyone else got any injuries?'

Tarble spoke up, and Nappa had a look at the burn and bruising on his back, even going as far as scrubbing it clean with a dishtowel wetted in the kitchen sink. Tarble grit his teeth throughout, but Nappa's prognosis was, 'Aw, you'll be fine. If it's still an issue when the tank's free we'll toss you in. Who's left? Raditz, are you carrying anything? You've got a bruise in the middle of your forehead.'

Raditz fingered the small-foot-shaped bruise delicately, but said, 'Nah, nothing that won't sort itself out.'

Bulma wondered if she should mention her own injury, but held her tongue. She wasn't sure if she wanted Nappa examining her, but he stopped before her anyway.

'Princess?' He tone was slightly mocking. 'I _know you're_ carrying an injury. Let's see it.'

'It's okay. I'll just put myself in the tank after Krillin.'

'Let's see it,' he repeated, kneeling in front of the couch. 'Turning all stoic at a time like this isn't doing the rest of us any favours.'

Bulma's brain was too tired to make sense of that statement, but she sat as straight as she could, flinching a little, and brought her good hand up and waved it over her injured parts. 'I got thrown against a tree by Frieza. I hit the trunk down this side of me.'

'And you're still alive. I am amazed,' said Nappa. He immediately reached out to touch her shoulder, and she pulled away, but his arms were way too long to be avoided. His giant fingers squeezed and she screamed, then choked on the scream as she held her breath against the pain, going rigid all over.

Puar leapt to her aid. 'Stop it! You're hurting her!'

The pressure from his fingers eased off right away. 'Sorry, I forgot I was handling the marshmallow girl,' he said, continuing to poke around, feeling her collarbone and her ribs through her clothes, but gentler now. It still hurt, and Bulma did not like that his hand was so close to her breast, but everyone else minus Goku and Vegeta (who was in the tank) was watching, so she figured it was unlikely that he would do anything disgusting. Besides, taking tiny shallow breaths didn't leave much air for objecting.

'You been coughing at all?' he asked.

She shook her head.

'Open your mouth. Stick out your tongue.'

She did.

'Well, it doesn't seem like you've punctured a lung, but I think you've probably cracked a rib or two, maybe fractured that collarbone again. What's with you and trees, huh?'

She shrugged her good shoulder, not at all interested in joking about it.

'Well, when Vegeta gets out, you need to go in next.'

Bulma's head swam for a moment, not understanding the apparent kindness he was showing her. She would have expected that he decreed she got her tank treatment last, if at all.

'Why me next?' she asked as he stood up again.

'Because who's going to need to act fastest if that patch starts failing?'

That made a bit more sense, but…

'I won't be able to react very fast if I'm in the tank,' she pointed out.

'No,' agreed Nappa, 'but I figure that the more time passes the more chance there is that something will go wrong with it, so I'd rather have you fixed up asap than leave you injured until later.'

'Uh.' So it _was_ self-preservation motivating him. Or was it? She considered his argument. 'That's actually pretty sound logic, Nappa.'

Instantly she regretted that phrasing. Nappa wheeled around again, looking over her as he snarled out, 'Well, wha'd'ya know, us dumb monkeys can get some thinking done, too!'

She shrank away from his vicious sarcasm, feeling small and remorseful. She did consider Nappa a bit stupid at times, but she hadn't meant to insult his intelligence right then.

'I'm s-sorry.' She almost stumbled over the unfamiliar phrase. 'I didn't mean it that way.'

Nappa's scowl twitched, but he said nothing. Brolly appeared by the side of the couch.

'She said sorry,' he pointed out to Nappa.

'I know.' Then Nappa rolled his eyes and walked away.

 _Well, at least that's an improvement over smacking me in the face_ , she thought to herself.

The floor-bed was arranged, and one by one they processed through the shower. Bulma administered painkillers to anyone who wanted them, including herself, but not the sedative spray this time. It was more than half gone, and not knowing when their mission might be over now, she decided to save the rest for urgent, serious occasions.

Moving slowly, and with quiet voices, they exchanged snippets of their different experiences on Planet Namek, but it was obvious that so much had gone down it would be impossible to get a clear picture before bedtime. She was yawning continually by the time she dried herself and was allowed to settle on the cushions and furs of the bed. Brolly settled himself where Vegeta usually slept and she was pleased about that – he formed the safety barrier between her and early-morning-Nappa's impulses that would otherwise be missing while Vegeta was healing. Barely able to think straight, she was asleep before the holographic fire was off.

* * *

She woke up several times in the night when some movement or another caused her ribs and collar bone to hurt more, but always fell asleep quickly. Even once the lights of the ship said it was morning she shut her eyes again and dozed off.

Eventually the muttering of voices pulled her up from sleep and she opened her eyes, looking around the room. Raditz and Nappa were up, and Krillin and Goku were awake but still in bed, sitting close together and whispering to one another. She had a mild shock to find Brolly's still slumbering face close to hers instead of Vegeta's, but then she remembered that the prince was in the tank and looked over towards it.

A bigger jolt of shock went through her. He wasn't there!

Her heart started racing and she sat up slowly, looking around for him. He didn't appear to be in the living quarters. Of course, she'd known he'd be waking up some time, but she wasn't ready for it. She had no idea what she would say to him, nor he to her, or how he would take the news… Oh, jeez. She'd been so caught up in her own reaction she'd forgotten that his might be just as bad or worse.

'Where is Vegeta?' she asked quietly. Nappa and Raditz looked over at her, then at each other.

'He's having some quiet time,' said Raditz.

She struggled up, wincing at the renewed pain, and headed for the corridor to see if he was in that part of the ship, but Nappa crossed the room to block her way.

'You need to get in the tank.'

'Right now?'

'Right now, girl.'

She glared at him, hating to be told what to do by him, but perhaps it was best if she did what he said. Being in the tank would give Vegeta a few more hours to calm down before she had to face him, and she wouldn't have to do it with cracked ribs. She was concerned for him, but running to see if he was okay probably wasn't the best idea right now.

'Alright.'

She put herself in the tank, still clad in her nightie, and waited patiently while the fluid filled it up and her worries faded away back into oblivion.

* * *

He'd awoken in the night, lulled at first by the warmth and the darkness and the pleasant fogginess of the tank's chemicals lingering in his system. But then once the water had drained and he'd pushed the door open, confusion and dismay piled up.

They were on the ship! The "where" was obvious, but the "why" and "how" were different matters. There was just a hole in his memory where an explanation ought to be. He had racked his brain for his last memory, his breathing kicking up as he recalled the disastrous end of the fight with Frieza. How much time had passed since Frieza had been torturing him and his awakening here? What had happened?

Heart pounding, he had stood for a few long minutes, dripping on the parquet floor while he looked down at the sleeping forms of his crew, as if their still bodies could give him clues. They had looked clean, relaxed and innocent, as if the trip to Namek had just been one big, bad dream of Vegeta's. Bulma was among them, and it was only as he saw her that he remembered that he'd thought she might be dead. He just stared, relief added to the mix of the geyser of feelings that was rising up through him as the memories and realisations burst forth one after another. He had been losing. He had been dying. He had been taunted and humiliated and tortured. Had he heard Frieza have his wish granted, or was that part just a nightmare? A nightmare that had formed as a perfect dream unspooled in his hands. He remembered the dragon looming over all, looming over him, looking into him like he was a tiny insect, all but squashed. That part probably hadn't happened, had it? Could he hope that the rest hadn't?

No. At least this much was true: he had failed.

Again.

 _Failed_.

They must have dragged his near-dead carcass back to the ship somehow before Frieza could kill him, and escaped. The humiliation of it made him feel sick. He couldn't feel grateful for their efforts. He wished that they hadn't bothered.

He made to wrap his tail around his waist before walking to the bathroom, but he felt nothing touch him. Cold horror zipped down his spine and then just ended at the small of his back, and he felt ill as he realised what it indicated. Still, his hand moved by itself to touch the tail that wasn't there, and encountering nothing but a smooth weal on the skin through the tail-hole in the back of his suit he felt his stomach lurch, remembering the bloody end of his own tail brandished in his face.

He stumbled to the bathroom, feeling clumsy and uncoordinated, and stopped in front of the vanity, gripping the basin with trembling hands. No tail. Frieza's laughing face flashed before him, and he retched, his knees almost buckling as he leant over the sink. His stomach heaved painfully, over and over. His empty stomach only ejected a small amount of bile, but the visceral misery of the dry heaving did eventually start to block out the thoughts that triggered it.

He eased down from the precipice of shock, and once his stomach finally stilled he forced himself into the shower, shaking, sniffing and eyes streaming, but then found very little motivation to wash himself. He could feel the water running though the hair of his tail, and the rest of his skin scrawled at the phantom sensation. He felt compelled but too terrified to reach back again because he knew he would not find it. It wasn't there. Instead he stood with his eyes and fists screwed tight, just trying to remain standing while the walls inside him came crumbling down.

He stayed under the hot spray until the lights began to turn up for morning, and Nappa walked in on him.

'Your Highness, are you-'

Vegeta turned to face the wall of the shower. 'Leave me alone.'

Nappa had withdrawn without another word.

He'd then forced himself out, dried and went to the linen cupboard for clothes before retreating to the bathroom again. Even the act of drawing on pants was deeply unsettling.

 _Even dressing is an endurance_ , he thought to himself, looking at his shirt but finding no will to actually pull it over his head. Instead he sank to the damp marble tiles in front of the window, feeling how his newly-disfigured body felt to bend and sit, and wondering if after such a failure he would ever have a reason to stand again. No further course of action presented itself to him. He had no plan for what to do after being defeated by Frieza and _living_. What did he have left to do now? What aim remained?

The stars were streaking by. They were moving, on the run again. What was the point? Nappa and Raditz and the others must have set a course to save their own skins, he supposed. He himself had nothing to save himself for.

Slowly, his despair began to heat up.

_I have failed myself. I was everything I could be and I still wasn't enough!_

Had he really become a Super Sayain? He now doubted that he had. Or if he had it hadn't been enough to defeat Frieza, and he refused to accept that. He'd made a fool of himself making that proclamation before Frieza.

He could hear voices outside and feel people creeping through the ship. His crew. What must they think of him now? He'd failed them also. Shame manifested as anger. _They_ had failed him just as much! And Bulma! She had not just let him down but betrayed him! Somehow it seemed obscene that they all go on living after such a defeat.

Finally, morbid curiosity got him to his feet. He needed to fill the blanks. Perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought.

Perhaps they were worse.

He left the bathroom, and stomped out of the corridor into the lounge.

'Raditz! Nappa! Upstairs, now!'

He didn't stop as he continued to the stairs, conscious that his lack of tail must be apparent, but he saw Raditz flinch and the new destruction to the ceiling over the entranceway. From the corner of his eye he saw something white in the regen tank, and as he climbed the curve of the stairs he looked back and saw it was Bulma's nightdress floating up about her thighs. The sight almost stopped him for a moment, but didn't, and he made it to the top, somehow even angrier.

Nappa dutifully followed, not looking thrilled about it, but plodding onwards anyway. Raditz dithered a moment, looking all kinds of unhappy.

'Are you going to debrief?' Tarble asked him in a low voice.

'I don't know!' he replied. 'You know as much as I do.' He finally made to follow Nappa, and Tarble skipped along nervously beside him.

'What are you going to say about…?' he whispered.

'About what?'

'About…going to Guru's?'

Understanding flashed in Raditz's eyes and he stared down at the younger Saiyan with his cheeks reddening. Tarble held his breath, knowing that if Raditz told Vegeta that he had switched sides on Namek, Vegeta would very likely kill him.

'I know what I _should_ say,' he whispered back.

'That we overpowered you and you got knocked out by a little-boy Namekian?'

Raditz scowled and then hissed between his teeth, 'Of course not. We all decided to keep searching for the dragonballs and go to Guru's together, and then I persuaded you all to try and rescue Vegeta and Bulma. You guys couldn't have done anything without me.'

'Raditz!' Vegeta snapped from above, and the Saiyan put his head down and rushed up the stairs to meet the storm that awaited. The door was slammed behind him and Tarble breathed easier than he had since they landed on Namek. Apparently Raditz's pride would be sufficient shield against Vegeta's wrath. He went to keep vigil with Brolly, Goku, Krillin and Puar who had packed up the bed again and were sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couches and the steps.

'Vegeta is really upset,' Puar said, which none of them could hardly have missed, but Tarble was surprised that the cat seemed close to tears about it.

'You'd be too if you lost a fight like that one,' said Krillin.

'I wish I knew what was going to happen next,' said Goku. 'I hate being on this ship. I hate being trapped like this. We can't just leave Vegeta and the others if he gets really angry with us, and we can't fight him, either.'

'Fight him?' Krillin said incredulously. 'Did you see the same fight I did outside Guru's place?'

'I hope Bulma isn't in the tank for long,' said Puar. 'She knows what's going on with the ship and the dragonballs better than anyone.'

'She's better off in the tank,' said Tarble, feeling worried for her because he knew that she would have to get out sometime. 'I bet anything that Vegeta is still furious with her.'

'Furious?' said Brolly, coming completely alert. 'Why?'

'Because she _drugged_ him,' Tarble said. 'Don't you remember? Krillin told us.'

Brolly stared back at him for a long moment before remembrance caught up to him. 'I forgot. I guess I wasn't paying much attention before…'

Tarble watched Brolly as his gaze became distant. It was still so strange to him that his dull, taciturn companion of the last year and a half had been transformed into someone else. Suddenly those dark eyes snapped back to him.

'Tarble, what was I like before? What was it that you all think Guru healed?'

Tarble was a little speechless. 'Er… Um, you were… You used to get really angry and do crazy things.'

Brolly looked genuinely surprised. 'No, I didn't!'

'You did, sometimes.'

'Like when?'

'Like when you tried to attack my friend Chichi,' said Goku quickly.

Brolly frowned. 'She kicked me, but I wasn't that angry.'

'You were,' insisted Krillin. 'Believe me.'

'I barely remember being angry,' he said. 'Annoyed, maybe.' His eyes flicked up to the regen tank. 'Was I ever angry with Bulma?'

'No, you were really nice to Bulma,' Tarble told him, and he looked relieved.

'Oh. Good.'

They fell silent for a minute and then they heard Vegeta's raised voice, the muffled rage filtering down through the closed door.

'Maybe Guru should have healed Vegeta's anger, not just mine?' suggested Brolly. No one replied.

* * *

When Bulma awoke in the tank this time it wasn't long before nervousness assailed her. She spent a minute wringing out the hem of her soaked nightie before stepping out timidly, dripping wet, and Brolly and Tarble stood up, both apparently waiting on her, and Brolly handed her a towel.

'Thank you.'

She tiptoed away to the bathroom without spying Vegeta, showered and dressed and then after spending a ridiculous amount of time combing her wet, tangled hair out, she crept back into the lounge. Movement caught her eye in the kitchen, and she caught a glimpse of Vegeta's back as he whirled away into the corridor holding a tray of food. Her heart leapt, raced and sank all in the space of a second.

Krillin was already in the tank, so she hunkered down on the couch between Goku and Raditz, trying to make herself as small and as unobjectionable as possible. The guys were watching nature documentaries again. It was pretty much the only form of entertainment on the holographic unit that bore watching.

Nappa sat with one leg crossed over his knee, taking up even more space than he needed to, crowding Tarble and Brolly into the corner. After waiting a while to see if Vegeta was coming back she asked quietly, 'So, how did he take the news?'

'As well as expected,' said Nappa. 'Why don't you go ask him yourself?'

She wondered for a moment if he was serious, but then Raditz followed with his own assessment.

'I think he _might_ not kill you on sight.'

Nappa chuckled and Bulma groaned, distress flaring into irritation.

'Ha-ha. Now tell me what he said about going back to Namek.'

'He didn't say anything about going back,' replied Nappa.

'Did you _tell_ him what happened?'

' _Yes._ '

Unease, concern, fear and unhappiness made a horrible soup in her stomach. She stared unseeingly at the creatures in the air of the lounge for a minute while it curdled some more. She had to go talk to him. She _had_ to.

'How can you guys be watching television at a time like this?' she suddenly burst forth, her distress seeking some release. 'Our lives have fallen apart and you're just watching critters mating in the rainforest!'

'My life has fallen apart many times,' was Nappa's reply. 'I'm used to it by now.'

Raditz grimaced down at her. 'I'd weep and moan, but then I'd have to turn in my Saiyan club card.'

She huffed and shook her head.

'I'm not really watching,' said Goku. 'I'm thinking about what we need to do.'

'What _can_ we do?' asked Brolly, sitting forward so that he could see Goku.

She supposed he had a point. Other than those couple of points of business that absolutely must be talked over with Vegeta, there wasn't much _to_ do. Her stomach knotted itself again.

 _Maybe I'll wait until dinner time before going to see him_ , she thought. _Best to give us both some time to calm down._

* * *

Vegeta's thoughts alternated between turning over the events of the day before and Raditz and Nappa's report, and black, wordless rage and despair that felt like he was sinking to the bottom of the deepest quagmire.

Nappa had suspected Krillin of turning Tarble against them, but Raditz was adamant that that wasn't the case. Guru had unlocked the potential of Raditz, Tarble, Kakarott and Krillin. That might be potentially useful, but Vegeta found he didn't care. Guru had unlocked his potential and what had that achieved? He had lasted longer against Frieza than he otherwise would have, but apparently that was still nowhere near enough. If he was destined to become the Legendary Super Saiyan shouldn't that have that done the trick?

'I guess this means this is all you'll ever be,' he had told Raditz cruelly, feeling bitter about his own lackingness.

Raditz had glowered but then told him primly, 'Actually, no. Kakarott asked Guru if this was the maximum power level we could ever reach and Guru said that it was just the full potential of what we are now. If we train our potential will go up, and if we slack off it'll go down.'

So maybe there was still hope?

_Who are you trying to fool?_

He shoved the voice away, the one that sounded suspiciously like Zarbon.

'I'll kill _you_ at least, if I ever see you again,' he muttered aloud. Locked in the bedroom, with only Nappa's discarded socks and smelly T-shirts for company no one could hear him.

Actually, he wasn't sure if Zarbon was still alive. That Namekian Ngata had outclassed him. Maybe he'd finished the perfumed prick off? Dodoria was gone, killed by Nappa and the others – that was unbelievable! But he didn't feel glad or proud, he felt jealous. He had defeated precisely _no one_ on Planet Namek. When he was finally able to destroy Dodoria and Zarbon, others had defeated them instead. Meanwhile he'd had his ass handed to him a third time by Frieza. How was that fair? He supposed he had only been saved by Nail's timely wish.

_Utter, utter, utter defeat._

* * *

Things were kind of tense in the lounge. It wasn't hostility for once, only Raditz and Nappa oozing agitation over Vegeta's withdrawal. There was no plan beyond getting to Baccanelli; Vegeta had made no decision and the Earthlings hadn't had access to him to plead their case. At Raditz's prodding, Puar shared the tale of how she got captured and then escaped, freed Vegeta and their failed attempt to free Bulma. Bulma gave her own, very patchy account. Nappa simmered and provided vicious commentary as she told the tale of the three trials that she passed with the assistance of an inebriated Vegeta. She didn't mention of course how she had managed to get a needle in him. She gave a fuller account of her time on Frieza's ship. The boys were very impressed.

'You _met_ Frieza?' asked Tarble.

'Yes. He wanted to keep me as one of his technologists and make capsules for him.'

She and Puar took turns sketching out events up to the point that the dragon was summoned.

Krillin cringed. 'Oh, Nail! He screwed it up for everyone!' Bulma was of the same opinion. If only Nail had not been in such a rush to summon the dragon they might not be in this mess right now.

'He also saved us all,' Goku pointed out.

'Yes, after fucking it up,' she said flatly, and then regretted being so harsh. Her time amongst the older Saiyans was really starting to show on her vocabulary choices, and Nail was just a toddler after all. She rolled her eyes – no, she _wasn't_ going to forgive the twerp – not yet anyway.

Puar offered the rest as far as she knew it. She described what she saw of Frieza's second transformation and what happened when Vegeta showed up. The cat broke down and became nearly incomprehensible due to blubbing over the memory of Vegeta's vicious beating, and Bulma teared up too, but bit her lip and blinked the tears away, hoping no one would notice. She'd seen the aftermath of that beating, and the grief and fear she'd felt would not be easily forgotten. Puar finished the tale of Frieza getting his wish, dropping Vegeta to the ground and reappearing in yet another form before Brolly saved them.

'And what did you do while you were off the leash, son?' asked Nappa curiously.

'You mean what I did after I left Guru's?'

'Yeah. Tell us about that.'

Brolly looked perplexed and began to regurgitate his story in a hesitant fashion, seeming uncomfortable under everyone's undivided attention. Bulma couldn't look away, and it seemed like no one else could either, maybe because it was just so odd to hear him speak at length. He took long pauses at points, as if he was not sure what to say or how to say it, and at times summed up big events with a sparse sentence. Raditz and Nappa were stunned that he'd tangled with Frieza near the Namekian village. When he got to the end of his account everyone but Bulma and Puar, who had been there at the time, were floored with surprise.

'I couldn't let him hurt the girls, so I flew in and kicked him in the face. He was knocked away through a hill and I had a chance to rescue them.'

'What?' the other boys cried, almost in unison.

'You kicked Frieza through a _hill_?' gawped Raditz. 'In his final form?'

Nappa's mouth was just open in shock.

'Yeah,' said Brolly, uncertainly. 'But he didn't see me coming and only went down for a few seconds. I had to get out of there.'

'Shee-it!' breathed Raditz. 'Boy, you are one lucky bastard. He could've killed you!'

'Huh, yeah,' agreed Nappa. 'You got real lucky, son. Real lucky! But perhaps don't mention it to Vegeta right now.'

'Why not?' asked Brolly, frowning.

'Because Frieza was his fish to fry,' replied Nappa cryptically.

Brolly looked confused but didn't argue. Bulma frowned too. That was a point – how did Brolly get a shot in on Frieza's final form when Vegeta had been no match for his third form? Was it just a lucky shot?

Dinner time arrived, but Vegeta didn't, at least not at first. Raditz went to tap on the bedroom door and let him know very meekly that dinner was ready, and sometime later Vegeta reappeared to dump an empty tray in the kitchen and collect his lukewarm dinner from the dining table. Bulma's eyes were glued to him. His face was like stone; like it had never smiled before and never would again. As he turned his back and started to leave again without having made eye contact with anyone she saw that his shoulders were hunched. A muscle popped in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.

She got to her feet and opened her mouth to say his name, but her tongue seemed to get tangled up. He was almost in the corridor before she began to stammer out, 'V-Veg-' and then he was gone, and if he heard her he ignored her.

Dammit.

Well, at bed time he would be unable to avoid her. Unless he decided to sleep upstairs. _Hmm._

Time was ticking, though, so to get things underway, and perhaps also to camp out and prevent Vegeta locking himself up there, she went up to the flight deck. She hauled out her boxes of electronics and added Brolly's broken diadem and useless earrings to the mess. Though they weren't needed any more they were well worth hanging onto – for parts, or perhaps even to sell as just a pieces of jewellery. Then she began picking over the contents of her boxes, picking out rolls of wire to use as antennae, various amps and capacitors and blank circuits boards. While she worked, her mind turned over her various problems and how to broach the subjects with Vegeta.

She sighed.

Though part of her was desperate to mend things between them, and even concerned about Vegeta's state of mind, another part of her wanted to run and hide and maybe write a nice letter to him from a safe distance, but circumstances wouldn't allow for that kind of cowardice.

It was getting late when she heard footsteps on the stairs, and somehow she could tell it was going to be him. She looked up in anticipation, and he appeared, holding his blue fur and blanket, gaze glued to the floor. It seemed like her prediction was accurate.

He sat in one of the pilot chairs with his back to her.

'Leave. I wish to sleep.'

Wow, he was rude when he was sulking!

'Not yet,' she said. 'We need to talk, Vegeta.'

'We _do not_ ,' he replied.

'Yes. We do.'

Vegeta half turned the chair her way, but didn't go quite as far as look her in the eye before yelling at her.

'The only reason you are still on this ship is because there's a hole in it!'

Okay, he was still angry, still really fucking angry, and maybe he had good reason to be, so she made a great effort to keep hold of her own temper even though this treatment just pressed all her meltdown buttons.

'So you'd be _airlocking_ me right now if wasn't for my expertise?'

'Congratulations for working it out – I guess you are a genius after all!'

Bulma grit her teeth, starting to get hot and bothered with anger. 'Well, that shows how much _you_ know. You need me for a lot more than fixing the ship, and if you would listen to what I have to say instead of spewing attitude everywhere, you would know that.'

He finally looked her in the eye and the windows to that soul were as black and as hot as the pit of hell.

'Shall I listen to you in order to let you lie and ensnare me once again? You must think me an idiot,' he hissed.

'I don't think you're an idiot and I'm not trying to trick you!' she said, frustration adding more sting to the words than she'd meant. Vegeta gave her a look of contempt and turned away again. Damn it – if she kept on going this way she would make things worse. More calmly she went to the door, but if Vegeta thought she was about to leave he was wrong. She closed and locked it, and hearing Vegeta spring from his seat she whirled around and leant against it, shielding the lock from him with her body. She knew that wouldn't do much good if he was determined, but at least he'd have to look at her first.

 _Oh, Lordy_.

Vegeta had his teeth bared and his brows down so that they must have been impeding his vision. As she was leaning back against the door he had enough height to loom over her, and he did, though he didn't touch her.

'What part of "leave" did you not understand?'

'The part where you kick me out even though we have some really fucking important things to talk about,' she said, still trying to control her own ire. 'Look, I know you don't want to, and I know you have a right to be angry with me, but we're going to have to get past that if we're going to work together again.'

'We are _not_ working together again!'

'Would you hear me out?'

'Will you prick me with another vial of poison if I don't?' His face was twisted up in the most vicious, black humour Bulma had ever seen. She quailed.

'It wasn't poison! It was only sedative!'

'Sedatives are poison if used in high enough doses – we both saw what it was doing to Brolly! Were you trying to kill me, or did you just not _care_ if you did?'

'No! How could you think I didn't care if you lived or died?' The idea was awful. All her anguish about drugging him returned; the memory of him going limp and collapsing in her arms and her terror that his heart might stop beating. 'I didn't even want to _drug_ you!' she cried, and then she was trembling, her eyes filling up. 'Vegeta, please believe me that I didn't want to hurt you!'

He must've seen the tears because he made a sound of disgust and wheeled away, returning to his chair and throwing himself in it.

'I didn't see anyone forcing your hand.'

'I just didn't see any other way,' she said, her voice warbling now. She tried to speak again but only sobs came out.

'And while I was unconscious our enemies moved against us. If you hadn't done that then maybe we'd both have our wishes!'

'I know, and I'm...' She couldn't bring herself to say sorry, because if circumstances had been how she thought they were she wouldn't have changed what she'd done, though she'd still feel bad about it. She sank down the door, brushing tears away on the sleeve of her hoodie only for them to be replaced by fresh ones.

'If I could take it back I would! If I'd known that Frieza was on Namek or that there was more than one wish, I'd never have done it! I thought it was just me versus you. You would have done the same! Don't tell me that if you thought knocking me unconscious was the only way to get your wish that you wouldn't have done it!'

'I _didn't_ do that, though!' he snarled.

'You tied my wrists! You had all of us on leashes! If I hadn't made the dragon radars unreadable to you Saiyans, you would have bound us and left us on the ship! Probably knocked out! Don't deny it!'

'It's not the same!' Vegeta roared. He watched as her head came up, pink and wet from crying and shouted back at him.

' _How_ is it not the same?'

But Vegeta couldn't say. All he knew was this bitter, twisted feeling in his stomach and the shame. It was the way he'd untied her wrists and then he'd left her alone and thought that he was getting somewhere with her, then she repaid these freedoms with treachery. 'You took advantage,' he said eventually. 'I _trusted_ you.'

'You _trusted_ me?' she squawked, rearing up onto her knees. 'Yes, trusted me so much I had to beg for you to untie me to use the little girl's room!'

'You mean so that you could scheme against me.'

'Yes!' she said. 'Because that's all you allowed me. I asked for the first wish then we were on Grenouillea! I tried to bargain with you for it, but you wouldn't accept anything but a head-to-head competition for the dragonballs. I had my whole planet's population riding on that wish! You FORCED me to go against you!'

Vegeta's mouth came open. 'You're saying that it was somehow my own fault?'

'Yes!'

'You're insane!'

She screamed through clenched teeth before sobbing some more. 'I am not!' she choked out. 'Did you _forget_ about the agreement we made on Grenouillea? I did nothing outside the terms of it! It's not my fault if you were so sure that you Saiyans were going to win our competition that you weren't taking it seriously!'

'Taking it seriously?' echoed Vegeta. 'You were the one that proposed this as a _game!_ For _fun!_ That doesn't sound like you were taking it _that_ seriously.'

'Oh, come on!' she cried. 'You know we both had really big stakes riding on the outcome! It was _never_ really a game!'

'Then why did you call it one?' Vegeta knew he was clutching at straws now. What she said was right – the stakes had been very high and he hadn't taken the Earthlings' threat seriously enough. He'd been too caught up in thoughts about getting in her pants instead.

'I called it a game to get you to buy into the idea of not killing us! To get even a _chance_ of saving my family and my planet from you! You were going to _kill_ me if I defied you, remember? Before we made our agreement?' She collapsed into tears again. 'How is what I did worse than that? It isn't!'

That's right – he had said that. He knew now that he hadn't truly meant it, but he had said it to scare her into co-operation.

'There is a difference,' he insisted. Looking back all he could see were his own warped decisions, foolish concessions and irrational softness towards this girl. But she…she had kept her head every step of the way. Why couldn't he have?

 _'What_ is the difference?' she demanded.

She had used his feelings against him. But he couldn't say that, not without admitting that he'd _had_ feelings for her. It was so humiliating! He turned away from her again, alarmed to feel moistness prickle his eyes. Fucking, what? He was not going to cry over _hurt feelings_ _!_ Over the manipulation of a useless desire that should never have been allowed to take root! Oh, how he should pity himself! He suddenly recalled Nappa's words to him in this very place, lecturing him about what he should and shouldn't be doing about Bulma.

_I am a fool! I should have just…_

He couldn't finish the thought. He couldn't have brought himself to force himself on her, couldn't have brought himself to ask her, and he'd proven that he couldn't seduce her without making himself her victim.

For a moment the vision he'd had under Guru's influence returned; an alarming flash of shock and shame and disorientation as he saw a sight he hadn't understood but now did. Though far less visually appealing and more banal than the pornographic holo-vids he'd been subjected to from time to time, he recognised that his father was in the midst of bedding some woman. How clearly he remembered the feeling of the cold metal door handles in his hands and the weight of the doors and the horrible sense that his perfect father was doing something _wrong_.

_Did that actually happen? Was that a vision or a memory?_

Bulma stirred behind him, shuffling closer on her knees.

'Vegeta?' She was kneeling at the side of his chair.

He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands, trying to hide as much evidence of emotion as he could. What was he going to do? What was _he_ going to do about _her?_ They needed her right now, and maybe they would continue to need her, or that warped part of himself would find a reason why they still needed her, but perhaps the wisest course of action was to leave her on this Baccanelli planet they were heading to after she had repaired the ship. What was the clear headed thing to do? Even though he was angry with her, something inside him roared in pain at the thought. He'd lost everything else – why should he have to also give her up?

 _I'm an idiot!_ Gods, he was so angry with himself!

When he didn't answer she began to cry softly again; a sound that picked at his soul and filled him with an urgent need to make it stop. He sucked in a breath, felt it catching at his throat and his clenched fists, pushing them into his eye sockets.

'Vegeta,' she tried again, her voice reedy and sounding like it might give way at any second. 'It sucks; what we did to each other. You threatened me, I drugged you, you pushed me off a _cliff_ , which really hurt a lot, by the way, and you could have just as easily _killed me_ at that point. We can't take it back, but we have to get past it!'

Vegeta snorted, despite his misery. _Get past it_. He knew she was talking of forgiveness, but he could not forgive on demand and only a fool would.

'It wasn't a cliff, it was a hill,' he said. 'Exaggerating your injuries won't even the score.'

'A really _steep_ hill! And they had to put me in the regeneration tank afterwards, I was that hurt. I'd say we are even!'

He took a deep breath and raised his head from his fists again, blinking to clear his bleary vision. Now his eyes had an excuse for being red.

'Why do you think we need to "get past it"?' He risked looking down at her, expecting a pathetic sight, but it wasn't. She was on her knees, but didn't cower. Her face was wet with tear tracks, but she didn't look scared. Her wet eyes shone bright with a certainty that Vegeta lacked right now.

'So we can work together to get back to Planet Namek and get what we both need.'

Vegeta stared at her.

'You're unbelievable,' he said.

'Unbelievable good, or unbelievable bad?'

'Unbelievable stupid! We can't get back to Namek - that ship has sailed!'

'No, it hasn't!' she said excitedly, and she shuffled even closer, resting one hand on the console and one on his armrest. He leant back from the closeness, uncomfortable with her pleasant clean smell while he was still pissed at her. A glitter of red caught his eye - she was wearing the colour-changing alexandrite ring today, which was another reminder of his folly. He'd bought the ring to turn credit into asset, but he'd bought it with her hand in mind and given it to her for lame reasons that ultimately boiled down to wanting to see her reaction to the gift.

Bulma noticed him drop his eyes and slump back into the chair, but paid it no heed. Vegeta was actually ready to listen to her now, and if she had him a little cornered, so much the better.

'The Namekian dragonballs will be ready to be used again in about six galactic months. We get back there, use one to wish for immortality for you and another to bring back Kami, the Guardian of Earth, back to life, and then everyone is happy!'

Vegeta rolled his eyes insultingly. 'And what is the point of that? For that matter, how the hell do you think we will get to Planet Namek without a map, co-ordinates or _anything_ that might help us find the way?'

'What do you mean, what is the point?' She felt the point was obvious.

'Frieza can't be killed if he is immortal,' he pointed out. 'And no man or beast this side of the universe could be strong enough even if he wasn't!'

That took Bulma back a bit. Not so much the immortal part, but the no-defeating-him part. What happened to Vegeta's conviction that he would be the one to destroy his old master? It was gone.

Her heart suddenly slumped as a crutch she hadn't realised she'd been relying on disappeared. Vegeta couldn't give up! She looked at him again, seeing the slouched posture, the angry, mocking defiance, and now realised that he was not just angry with the way things turned out, but was masking a mortal wound to his ego, or a gaping hole where his grand aspirations used to reside. God, Frieza mightn't have killed him, but he'd sure knocked him down a few pegs. The last of her anger drained away. She remembered how she felt when she'd thought he was dead. Maybe he'd thought he was as good as, too. Maybe he was terrified now at the thought of facing Frieza again? She felt the prickle of more tears on the way.

He scowled at her.

'Why are you looking at me like that?'

'Like what?'

'Like you... Like you...' But he didn't seem to be able to say what it was. He looked away out the window again. 'You need to put aside childish dreams of unattainable wishes and accept what life has offered you in reality,' he said bitterly. 'Your case is more pitiful than mine could ever be, so don't you _dare_ look at me like that.'

That hurt to hear, but Bulma guessed where it was coming from now. Slowly she stood up and took the other chair.

'Maybe I'd have to do that if there was no chance of success, but there is a chance – a pretty good one,' she said, watching his face as first hope crossed it and then sneering cynicism.

'There _is no_ reasonable chance of finding the blasted planet again,' he said, 'and no chance at all of defeating Frieza!'

'Well, he doesn't have to remain immortal - that's easily solved. With the last wish we can wish away his immortality. And about getting there... I've been thinking.' She got up again, crossing to the table to pick up a dragon radar that lay there and came back, dropping it in his hands. Vegeta looked up at her in surprise.

'This has that kind of range?'

'No. But I could make a radar that did. It wouldn't be hand held, but it wouldn't need to be. We know enough of the location of Planet Namek to get ourselves within a week's travel of it and then we can use a ship-mounted dragon radar to hone in the rest of the way. I don't even think it would be that hard to build.'

He looked up at her in surprise. Not happiness. She could see the war going on behind those eyes – the struggle not to surrender resignation to a possibly naïve hope once again. She was familiar with the struggle because she'd had been going through the same since yesterday, but she was becoming more and more convinced that their hope was more than just a fool's.

But then the spark dimmed in his eyes again.

' _Wonderful_ ,' was his reply. 'That only leaves the _most_ impossible task.'

Bulma sat down again, seeing through his sarcasm to his pain.

'Do you really not think you can beat him?'

His expression became thunderous and he swivelled his chair around to look over the console out of the window. Cheeks pinkening, his voice was hoarse when he finally spoke.

'I didn't say that. But it would be foolish to think that I could in the near future.'

'What about that Zenkai thing?' she asked. 'Didn't you say that you Saiyans get stronger after you're badly beaten in battle?'

'Yes, but that won't be enough.'

'What about…if you train? We've got some time before we need to go back. You can spend some of it in training.'

She could see she was not moving him.

'I think it would take more than a few months training to defeat Frieza. You can't sense chi, so you have no idea how ridiculously powerful he is in his final form.'

Truthfully, Vegeta didn't really know either. He'd been mostly unconscious while Frieza was in his final form, but Raditz had called it "the most shit-squirting fear I've ever felt." Third-form Frieza was bad enough.

'Well…what about…with a training device? Or even more time? I mean, I need to get back to Namek either this cycle or the next. There's a time limit for me, but there's no reason why we can't go there then leave again for you to train some more, or even for you to train there before facing Frieza again.'

He frowned in confusion. 'You'd stay with me beyond getting your own wish?'

She nodded solemnly. 'I'm sure Goku, Krillin and Puar would agree to stay and help, too.'

Vegeta was too weary to argue that Kakarott had no choice. The thought of Puar returning to Earth was an unexpectedly bitter one.

'Why?'

'Because while he's alive, Earth is still on the auctioneer's block. I think I want to see Frieza dead almost as much as you do.' She took a deep breath. 'And I think that _you_ are the one who is going to end him.'

Those words were like power, flooding Vegeta's heart with some momentary golden flash of pride, and trying to jump start it. And then it fizzled away to a ghost of a glow, but it left him feeling minutely stronger and more hopeful than a moment ago. _Bulma_ thought that he would beat Frieza. She could well be a fool, but it was still something.

'Why?' he asked her, suspiciously. She hadn't taken her eyes off him, and he was almost starting to feel exposed under that earnest blue gaze.

'Aren't you the second strongest in the Galaxy?'

He knew was stronger than Zarbon now, and estimated that he was probably stronger than all of Captain Ginyu's team, so he supposed that was probably true.

'That I know of. Frieza seemed to think so.'

'All right – so you are. Plus you're a Saiyan, and a Super Saiyan is meant to be what kills Frieza, right?'

He felt the golden glow slipping further away. 'I am not a Super Saiyan,' he said stonily.

'Yet,' Bulma amended. 'This is good though, because if I understand the story right you get stronger when you cross that threshold. So if you cross it you'll gain all that! And even if you don't become a Super Saiyan, I think you could probably beat him anyway just by getting stronger.'

Vegeta sighed at her forced optimism. 'Long shot. But perhaps.'

'A long shot is enough for me.'

_Of course it was._

'And what sort of training device do you propose for getting me strong enough for a fight with that demon?'

'Well, I know that Goku and Krillin have used weighted clothes and trained with large rocks on their backs and things like that, so I was riffing along those lines.'

'Weighted clothes?' he scoffed. 'Training aids like that aren't much use outside of the nursery!'

She looked annoyed at his dismissal. 'I didn't say my idea _was_ weighed clothes, I said it was inspired by it! Look, I've only had a few hours thought on this! I'll come up with something. You've got some time, and you've got me. We'll get this figured out.' She slid to the edge of her seat, eyes imploring. 'It's worth a try, right?'

Vegeta stared back, not giving anything away. He was sure Nappa would say that it was foolish to keep trying to defeat Frieza, but it was all he'd wanted for a long time. Frieza wouldn't stop coming for him either, so he might just end up in a confrontation with an immortal Frieza even if he ran away and hid somewhere. Also, he just didn't know what else to do with his life. The Saiyan breeding scheme had pretty much bit the dust, and probably had even less chance of success than what Bulma was proposing… Unless he used wishes to find or resurrect some Saiyan females? Food for thought, though somehow the whole idea wasn't as appealing as it used to be.

He paused, taking the opportunity to take in Bulma. She was motivated, yes, but could he trust that she was sincere? She was also beautiful, her lips just parted, waiting on his words, all her attention focused on him. He remembered what those lips felt like and what fierce joy it had been to be pressed against her, and the feel of her hands touching him, and _that_ knife twisted again. He grimaced.

'Don't you think?' she prompted, starting to frown.

'I guess it is,' he admitted. 'But there is still the fact that I will never trust you or the other Earthlings again.'

'Did you honestly trust us before?' she asked with surprise.

 _Hmm, a point_. 'Well, I trust you less now.'

Unexpectedly she grinned. 'Don't you see though? Before when we thought we only had one wish and one chance we were forced to be in opposition to each other. Now with more chances and more wishes we can help each other out! We can help each other get what the other wants! We can be allies!'

Allies! Vegeta laughed, she then she started laughing too, apparently with happiness, and he laughed harder.

'Are you serious?' he asked.

Bulma's laughter died off. 'What? Yes, of course!'

'Saiyans allied with Earthlings?' he asked incredulously.

'Isn't that what I said? I don't see what's funny about that.'

'It's not funny, it's pathetic,' replied Vegeta. 'What you just suggested is like a lion allying with a mouse.'

Bulma's face got all sucked up with offence. 'Now you're just being racist!' she exploded. 'Excuse me, but who has it been assisting you this last month? Who's been hauling your ass out of the fire every ten minutes, huh?'

He scowled at her, not appreciating the reminder at this time. 'Another exaggeration! But I'm not denying your usefulness, only the protesting a _partnership_.'

Bulma saw the distaste in his expression and couldn't quite believe it.

'And what's wrong with being partners?'

'The last of the Saiyans will never be beholden to another race again. You may join my crew, but I won't be entertaining orders from you or anyone.'

She felt her temper start to be tested again. 'Are you for real? I'm not talking about me ordering you about, I'm talking about joint decision making!'

'Exactly!'

'Well, I'm not accepting some subordinate position for the Earthlings! You need us as much as we need you, so we'll be equal partners or nothing!'

He glowered up at her. 'Sharing power is a mark of weakness.'

'No, it's a mark of getting shit done that wouldn't get done any other way!'

He opened his mouth and Bulma anticipated the next argument from his lips.

'Don't even think about threats of violence and other bullshit like that! That's the same crap that got us turning against one another. This is another way – a better one!'

He pursed his lips but didn't argue - yet. While he was gathering his thoughts Bulma pushed her argument.

'If you want to go on being a tyrant, go ahead. We Earthlings will ditch you on this Baccanelli planet and find some other ship that can take us back to Namek. We'll get our wish one way or another, but _you_ won't because _you_ won't be able to find the damn place. Meanwhile, Frieza will track you down in months or weeks, though if he's close by right now, it could just be a matter of days.'

The idea of being ditched by the Earthlings and not the other way around caused Vegeta an unpleasant fright-like sensation. He'd never considered that they might be able to get along without the Saiyans, but now he was confronted with the idea he realised that with Krillin and Kakarott's improved abilities, Puar's talents and Bulma's brain, they could easily steal or highjack a ship and navigate it themselves. However, it might not be as easy as she made it sound, and she was oddly overstating the threat from Frieza.

'You still don't have enough knowledge of this galaxy to do without me, and though I'm sure that Frieza will keep hunting me, he has no way of tracking me and no clue yet where to look. I'll have some time to breathe.'

'That's what we _thought_ ,' she said, mysteriously. 'While I was shut up in Frieza's brig, Zarbon told me that you have a tracker _inside_ you. _That's_ how they've been finding you.'

The unpleasant fright-like sensation was back, tenfold. Okay, maybe it was just straight fright – the fucking thing was _inside_ him?

'Zarbon could have been lying,' he said, expecting to see some smirk of triumph on her face, but it wasn't there. Instead there was that damn expression of pity again.

'I don't think he was,' she replied. 'He was mocking us for not figuring out that you had the tracker inside you. He said that I would get one next – that Frieza kept tabs on all his high-risk assets that way.'

Cold was sweeping down Vegeta's nerves, leaving his hair standing on end as it passed. It made sense! Why hadn't he thought of that before? How many scores of times had he been in one of Frieza's med labs, in his tanks, unconscious? Frieza had had so many opportunities to inject some tracking device into him! He shuddered, feeling his dark mood threatening to roll over him once more.

'So I'm doomed to have him constantly at my back?'

'Not if I have something to do about it,' replied Bulma. She stood up, hands on her hips and Vegeta joined her, not wanting to give her the advantage of altitude over him. She looked him in the eye, no fear again, only pleading and hope. He remembered how he'd once lamented that she'd lost her fear of him, and now it looked like she'd never fear him again.

_She knows I'll never kill her now. Knows that I probably won't even hurt her. She can't be intimidated._

With a surge of anger at himself he shot out a hand, reaching for her throat, but at the last fraction of a second before his hand gripped her airway tight, it diverted to the collar of her hoodie, grabbing it roughly, knocking her in the chest and making her take half a step back. _Dammit!_ It was as if he couldn't even force myself to hurt her, not properly! He'd been going easy on her for so long it was like it was instinctual now!

She gasped and her eyes _did_ go wide with fear for a moment, but whatever she saw in his face made the shock fade into a frown and then relative calm again. He'd lost that control over her. She put her hand over his fist, and he immediately stopped pushing her, but didn't want to drop his hand for fear of looking weak.

'I know you don't want to have to trust an Earthling or share control with one, but I'm not going to take a back seat on decisions around here! I can get that tracker out of you, and if we stick together, I will. I can help you, and you can help me!'

 _Share control? Share? Cooperate?_ But to secure his revenge and destiny it would surely be worth it? If it was just himself and Bulma he would agree, but it wasn't. He had men under his command that would balk at the thought of allying with these weaklings. Would he not seem weak to them?

Her eyes bored into his, intense with conviction.

'I know we can do this together, Vegeta! Instead of struggling against each other, we can…we can share the load.'

His grip on her hoodie was only a limp fist over her breast bone now, covered with the warmth of her hand. _Share the load._ He hadn't thought of it that way. Sharing decisions would also mean dispersing responsibility; having two heads. And if he were to have a spare head to discuss his decisions with, he would prefer it to be Bulma's ingenious one rather Nappa or Raditz's, whose advice he was currently stuck with.

Her hand squeezed his a little. 'I'll do _everything_ I can to get you ready to beat Frieza if you do everything you can to get me that one wish. We'll promise not to do anything that screws the other person over; to make each other's aim as important as our own.'

'Do you expect me to believe that?' he scoffed.

Bulma pressed her lips together and then relented. 'Okay, I guess each other's aims would remain in second place on the priorities list, but a close second! Most importantly, we help each other and don't just fuck things up for the other half of the team!'

Vegeta snorted with laughter despite himself. Other half of the team, indeed! His eyes dropped to her fingers, wrapped around his own. He was starting to become unbearably conscious of the heat of her hand. Gently he let go of her clothes and dropped his arm, parting their hands.

'What do you think?' she asked.

He was silent, turning it over. There was a lot to be gained, but still some concessions that he was reluctant to make.

'I'm still not sure I trust you Earthlings.'

'I'm not totally sure I trust you Saiyans either, but if we make this alliance you won't have to worry about looking over your shoulder for the next knife in the back.' Her mouth twitched into a little smile, as if she was pleased with what she'd just said.

He curled his lip in distaste at the reminder and stepped away, throwing his fur and blanket down on the curved sofa on the other side of the circular deck.

'I'll think about it.'

'Don't think too long,' she warned him. 'I'd like to get that transmitter out of you before we land on Baccanelli.'

He walked over to join his bedding, hiding his face from her.

'I'll let you know my decision in the morning.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I thought I'd have this chapter out before now, so sorry about that. The last week and a half has been one of those ones where the best that can be said about it is that at least no one died. Yet.
> 
> Thanks for everyone's reviews, by the way. You know I love it! It seems that opinion is split on whether the best bits are when there's a lot of action like on Namek or the end of the Grenouillea arc, or the quiet bits in space. I like both, and how could I not, being the author or both?


	52. Coming to Terms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thanks again to Adli for beta-magic and dedication! I have the best beta, I swear.
> 
> Thanks all you readers for your comments and reviews, too! Without readers reviewing there would be no fan fictions.
> 
> Last time on Never Ever Land: The crew got their feet under them after the disaster on Namek and Bulma and Vegeta had some things to say to each other. We pick up right where we left off.

Bulma left Vegeta to make his lonely bed and found Puar and the boys all awake still, apparently waiting for her.

'Are you okay?' Krillin asked, leaping to his feet.

'Yes,' she replied. 'Why?'

'We heard you guys yelling.'

'Did you hear what we were yelling?' she asked, embarrassed by the thought.

'No, it was too muffled.'

'I told you she was okay,' Goku said to Krillin. 'Vegeta's chi was low the whole time.'

'It's not like he'd have to power up to hurt her. And I wasn't only worried about him beating her,' replied Krillin darkly. Bulma glanced over at him. What did Krillin think was going on?

'We were just talking,' she said. 'Vigorously.'

'What did he say?' Brolly asked her as she crossed the room to the corner where she kept her capsules, including the one that held her wardrobe.

She didn't want to answer that right then. 'About what I expected.'

'And what did you say?' asked Puar.

'Some things that needed to be said.'

'Wow. Enlightening,' Raditz quipped, but Bulma didn't take the bait.

'I'm not in the mood right now, guys. I just want to do my teeth and go to bed.'

'You're not going to tell us?' asked Puar.

'I'll tell you more in the morning.'

* * *

Sleep was slow to come to Bulma that night. Her mind was still a jumbled mess, and even once she edged close to sleep her dreamlike-thoughts took off at a million miles an hour, as if her brain was still racing against the clock. Eventually the thoughts deepened into actual dreams, still frantic in pace and deeply uneasy. She crept about a supermarket, trying to stock a trolley as swiftly and quietly as she could, meanwhile wolves stalked her through the aisles. She would catch sight of a tail disappearing past the rack of flatbreads or hear the click of lupine toe nails in the next aisle over, and sometimes jump with shock when a yip or a bark rang around the empty market. Making it at last to the checkout, a slow and unruffled Namekian dutifully checked her items one by one while the wolves spotted her and attacked. She desperately fended off the snarling maws full of sharp teeth with the trolley and when the Namekian was done totalling the shop she realised that she had no money and her panic was absolute. Life depended on these groceries!

'I need to go home to get my wallet - I'll be back as soon as I can!' she told the cashier. With an extra hard shove of the trolley she knocked the wolves back and then ran into the street, wondering if she could thumb a ride or maybe flag down a taxi that would allow her to pay once she found her wallet, but there were no cars on the street and no people on the sidewalks. There was no one.

_She'd forgotten they were all dead._

The wolves made it out onto the street, barking, and she took off running even as she knew it was useless. They were on her in a second, nipping at her elbows, biting at her ankles…

She jerked awake at a tug on her ankle.

'Huh?'

Her eyes opened to the sight of Brolly's sweetly slumbering face in the dim blue light that counted as pre-dawn on the ship, adrenalin rushing around her body – Nappa!

She sat straight up, heart racing, but it's wasn't Nappa crouched at the foot of the couch-cushion bed. It was Vegeta.

'We need to discuss terms,' he said quietly, and stood, making his way back to the stairs. She took a few moments to get over her fright and process what he'd just said. Discuss terms? Did that mean he was going to agree?

Heart racing for a different reason now, she rolled to her feet and darted after him, practically dancing up the stairs in joy. As soon as she was through the door, Vegeta closed it, locked it and turned.

She felt a tiny bit nervous then, retreating to the end of the map table. She had locked them in here the night before for privacy, but now that it was Vegeta doing the locking she felt apprehensive.

 _Shit, we really do have some trust issues_ , she admitted to herself.

He walked a few steps towards her, not looking nearly as happy about things as she felt. In response she tried to hammer her smile down into an expression of sober inquiry. It didn't help that Vegeta was only wearing the undershorts that he slept in. She'd seen those pects and abs via sidelong glances lots of times, though she tended to feign disinterest or distraction when they were full frontal, but having to look at his face was challenging her ability to refrain from checking him out. Her eyes swooped down and back up, down and back up…Dammit!

_He's only taken five steps and I've already checked what he's packing in those shorts twice! I wonder if he noticed?_

Then it occurred to her that she'd seen him completely naked once, when he was stuck in the regeneration tank on Frieza's ship. It hadn't been a time to appreciate it then, but now her memory furnished her with the remaining piece of the picture and she turned bright red.

She looked up through the glass ceiling in order to wrestle her thoughts back on topic.

'So, you're taking up my proposal, huh?' she asked him.

He stopped at the other end of the map table and leant against it, turning side-on so that he wasn't looking directly at her either. His voice was a soft burr as he answered.

'With conditions.'

'Oh. Okay. So, what are the conditions?'

He paused, considering his words.

'We may share decision making, but I remain captain of this ship.'

'How does _that_ work?'

'While we remain on board this ship I am the ultimate authority, and you are still the mechanic. We'll decide together where we're going and what we do when we get there, but a ship can't have more than one master.'

'O-kay,' said Bulma, doubtfully. That sounded like logic backed by old-fashioned conventions rather than actual evidence that co-captaining didn't work, but she suspected that the Captain title was more symbolic than practical.

'Should we have a difference of opinion you will not argue me down in front of my men, nor the Earthlings for that matter.'

Bulma's cheer began to wear off. 'And when am I meant to argue with you about it?'

'In private, if you must,' he replied. She looked up at him sharply.

'And where exactly is the line between discussion and argument?'

'Where I say it is.'

'Well, I like a robust discussion.'

'I've noticed!' he snapped back, gracing her with a direct look for a moment.

Bulma almost snorted. Vegeta's conditions were all about maintaining face and keeping the illusion of absolute authority.

'For that matter,' he continued, 'if we are unable to reach agreement I will have the final say.'

'Hey! No deal!' she said, standing straight and rounding on him. 'Do you think I'm a ninny? If I agree to that, then all you have to do to win an argument is to hold out until you decree that no resolution can be agreed, and then get to do whatever you want!'

He glowered at her. 'Well, how else are we supposed to settle disputes? With _you_ getting what you want?'

'Okay, then.'

'Huh! And why should I ever agree to that?'

'I was _kidding_ ,' she explained. 'But now you see why _I_ will never agree to that.'

He wasn't impressed and only continued to seethe, arms crossed before him.

'How are we meant to resolve major disagreements, then?' he snarled.

'I don't know,' she admitted. 'Let's wait and see if we actually have one, first.'

'Your solution is to ignore the problem?'

'Yes. After all, it's not really a problem yet – unless of course we can't agree on this one point.'

He narrowed his eyes. He looked tired, and she wondered if he'd actually slept much. She looked over his shoulder at the sofa on the far side of the room and saw his fur still laid out, the blanket rumpled atop it and Vegeta's journal on top of that. His reply pulled her attention back to him.

'Fine, we'll agree to have no plan to settle disagreements. Not that it will probably matter if we do or not, as I am fairly certain that whatever we arrange now, it would not alter your behaviour in the event of a disagreement. Nor would it change mine.'

She smirked at him. 'How very honest of you to say so.'

He apparently didn't see the humour in it and turned his face away from her again.

'I will remain in control of disciplinary action for both Saiyans and Earthlings.'

'Huh? What do you mean?'

'I mean, should someone do something against orders or amazingly stupid, I will determine, and if necessary, _administer_ the punishment.'

Bulma suddenly recalled the "disciplinary session" on the desolate planet where Brolly was awakened, and the swift justice that Nappa had received for striking her. She had hated it, but Goku and Krillin didn't seem to be as fazed about it as she had been. Goku had practically _enjoyed_ it.

'And who decides who needs punishing?'

Vegeta brought his hand to his chin and thought for a few moments. 'If someone on either side does something that would obviously compromise either of our aims or threaten the cohesion of our alliance it would be grounds for discipline. You would of course have a say should a Saiyan endanger your aims, and if you need me to, I can discipline one of your own if you feel they need it.'

Bulma's mind exploded trying to imagine asking Vegeta to beat the ever-living-snot out of Goku or Krillin for any reason at all.

'You are a barbarian,' she murmured. 'What else warrants _discipline_ as you call it? What about simple disrespect for instance?' After all, that was the reason he'd turned Raditz into pudding after their trip to Grenouillea II.

He looked back at her, his lips curling in a sneer. 'Well, if I had to punish an Earthling every time they showed disrespect I'd never get anything else done. You yourself would never be out of the tank!'

'What!'

Finally his mouth untwisted itself into a wicked smile, and Bulma felt herself back on familiar ground with him.

'Oh, really? And how would you punish me, Vegeta? Take me outside of a bit of biffo?'

His smile faded. 'I already said I wouldn't punish you for disrespect.'

'Then what happens if I'm the transgressor? Or you for that matter?'

'You mean if one of we two do something that scuppers the aim of the other group?'

'Yeah.'

'As primary signatories, I would assume that we would know better. Should one of us break terms then it would be considered to nullify the agreement.'

A shiver went up her spine. 'You mean we'd be enemies again – no holds barred.'

'Exactly.'

Well, this proposal was _her_ idea, and she supposed that they couldn't make an ally without making themselves vulnerable to that ally. She looked into his eyes and held that stern gaze for just a second before he wrenched away from it, pushing himself away from the map table and walking away.

'Agreed,' she said to his back.

'Good.'

'So that's all your conditions, then?'

'No.' He turned around again and from the safety of the far side of the room he said, 'You will offer reparations for your treatment of me on Planet Namek.'

'What!' she cried, and then remembered that everyone downstairs was still asleep. She lowered her voice to a hiss. 'What're you talking about? You pushed me off a cliff – I consider that tit-for-tat, so we're even!'

'It is not the same,' he growled back softly.

' _How?_ '

He glared, refusing to say. She suspected how it was different – her drugging him had been a blow to his ego, and maybe he thought his standing in the eyes of Nappa and Raditz had fallen because of it. Vegeta pushing her off a cliff had been painful and dangerous, but her bruises had only been physical. Still, she wasn't going to agree to some unknown "reparation" to coddle his fragile alpha-male pride. It was about time Vegeta swallowed some humble pie!

'You are insufferable!' he said, deflecting the question. 'I will write up the terms and then we can tell the others what we have agreed to.'

Bulma snorted as Vegeta made his way to the journal sitting on the blanket. 'You're literally going to draw up a contract?' she asked.

'Only an idiot wouldn't put such an agreement in writing.'

'We could just shake on it!'

'I prefer having a signed document as reference and evidence,' he replied, picking up the journal. 'Memory is a conveniently malleable thing.'

'Did Frieza teach you that in PTO business school?' she asked acidly, then instantly wished she hadn't. Vegeta looked up at her sharply.

'Not everything he taught was without value. In fact, every lesson had its purpose.'

Feeling contrite but not wanting to actually apologise, Bulma took the dining chair that was still sitting at the map table and sat down to the array of wires and circuits there.

'Can we get the lights up in here so I can see what I'm doing?' she asked.

'Yes,' replied Vegeta. 'I believe you know the command.'

'Lights up to seventy five percent,' she ordered, and the flight deck was brightened with warm, white light.

'What's that?' Vegeta asked as she picked up a component.

'A device to pick up the signal coming off you. It will nail down the interval and give us the rough location of the tracking device. With any luck, after that it'll be a matter of simple surgery.' She shuddered, not looking forward to that part at all.

'You started already?' he said in surprise.

'Yeah. I started yesterday while you were still in the tank. It's nearly finished.'

She looked up to see him gawping at her. She shrugged.

'I was counting on us working things out. To tell you the truth, I probably would have finished it and given it to you anyway. I don't like the thought of Frieza being on your ass forever.'

Vegeta continued gawping and then looked down at the open page of his journal, his cheeks starting to pinken. Bulma started to blush too, but she was glad she'd been honest. It might have been illogical, but even if Vegeta had turned her away, she felt that this service was in her power and therefore should be rendered, even if it was to someone who wasn't an ally and didn't return her friendship.

 _Huh, friends_ , she mused, wondering when she had started to consider him as one. At least they were allies now. Her heart clenched particularly painfully with regret.

'You know I didn't intend to kill you when I pushed you off the top of the hill,' he said.

Bulma froze, staring at the pliers in her hand. 'What did you intend, then?'

He paused for several moments before answering. 'I was angry with you. I needed to get you away from Dodoria before he attacked. The two impulses combined, unfortunately.'

Getting her away from the fight hadn't been a motivation that she'd considered, but still...

'You got a funny way of keeping a girl safe.'

He huffed. 'I already said I didn't intend to kill you; I just wasn't thinking straight at the time.'

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at his bare feet, stiff and glum. Could she detect remorse? Well, this was as close to an apology as she might get.

'You can hardly criticise,' he added, ruining it. Well, no, she couldn't deny that, and let it go with a sigh.

'Well, like I said last night, we've done shitty things to each other. But we're not going to any more.'

He looked up and nodded curtly before picking up his pen and journal and beginning to write, and so Bulma applied herself to her own task. It was kind of a suit made of wire bands at regular intervals that would go all the way down to his fingers and toes. It would be hard to get on, rather uncomfortable, difficult to go to the bathroom in to say the least, and Vegeta could be wearing it for up to two days, so that would be fun. She could already imagine the griping.

Almost an hour passed before she heard the sound of paper tearing and looked up to see Vegeta brandishing a page ripped from his journal. He laid it on the table before her, turning it over and pointing.

'Sign here, please.'

She turned the contract back over to read the first couple of clauses before deciding it seemed to be in order, so she turned back and signed her name. Vegeta took the pen back and signed his name also.

'Done. And in time for breakfast, too.'

'So we tell the others now, then?'

'Yes.'

She waited while he pulled a shirt and pants on and then followed him down the stairs.

* * *

In the lounge and kitchen, Earthlings and Saiyans moved about in the semi-stupor of the early morning, except for Nappa who looked as sharp as he ever did by the waking hour.

'Listen up!' Vegeta shouted, shocking everyone to attention. He looked about. 'Where's Tarble?'

'Gone to the bathroom, I think,' replied Kakarott.

'TARBLE! Get in here ASAP!'

A moment later Tarble appeared, still zipping his jeans as he ran.

'I'm here, what is it?'

Vegeta's gaze swept the room. This was not an announcement he was proud to make, but all things considered, it was still a beneficial one. He was fairly sure Nappa wasn't going to like the deal he'd arranged with Bulma, but it could go either way with Raditz. Tarble hated conflict and was obviously taken with the Earthlings, so chances were he'd be happy with the new alliance. Kakarott was an Earthling through and through, so it was pointless to even consider his opinion. Brolly was… He locked eyes with Brolly, and realised he had no idea how Brolly would take this or even who the kid was anymore. Brolly looked at him warily, distrustfully, and Vegeta felt a surge of distrust in return. Last he'd seen him, Brolly was tearing out of Guru's place having some fit of anxiety over Bulma. Well, whatever the brat thought, he was going to have to swallow what Vegeta was spooning out.

'Bulma and I have agreed on a new alliance between Saiyans and Earthlings.'

The breath went out of everyone in the room, then Puar zipped through the air to cling to his shirt.

'I'm so glad!'

'Get off me!' he snapped in embarrassment and Raditz laughed. Puar let go, flustered, and then turned to Bulma.

'This is good, right?'

Bulma nodded, starting to grin, and the cat leapt on her instead. Bulma rocked her like a baby while Krillin and Kakarott ran forward, Kakarott happily, Krillin not quite so much. Vegeta tried to ignore that both Tarble and Brolly looked excited.

'An alliance?' spluttered Nappa.

Vegeta fired his reply back, as sharp as knives. 'Yes! A mutually beneficial allegiance for the purposes of returning to Planet Namek, revoking Frieza's wish of immortality, granting me _my_ immortality and resurrecting the Earth's Guardian. Which is exactly what we want. What _I_ want.'

He saw Nappa inflate as if he was going to shout back, then bite back on whatever it was, and slump down again, shrinking into himself. 'You negotiated reasonable terms, I expect, your Highness?' he muttered, by which Vegeta took it that Nappa didn't expect anything of the sort.

'Terms?' said Kakarott. 'What do you mean?'

'I did,' Vegeta replied to Nappa's question. 'I shall read them to you now.' He cleared his throat, regretting the name of the contract now.

'Contract of Reciprocal Arrangements Between Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans and Bulma of the Earthlings on Behalf of Their Peoples:

'From the moment of signing, henceforth the peoples of Saiyan and Earthling origin have entered into a co-operative relationship designed to further the aims of both parties. Each side will have their responsibilities and obligations to this end.

'The Saiyans have agreed to protect the Earthlings and grant them safe passage to Planet Namek, guaranteeing them one wish from the Namekian dragon in return for this service.

'The Earthlings have agreed to guide the Saiyans to Planet Namek by any means necessary, that Prince Vegeta may utilise one wish to remove the immortality granted to Lord Frieza, and one wish to secure his own wish for immortality. The Earthlings also agree to remove from Prince Vegeta one tracking device planted by Lord Frieza at a previous time-'

Vegeta paused for the exclamations of surprise to die down, suffering again his own chagrin that he'd never suspected an internal tracking device.

'-and to assist the Saiyans and Prince Vegeta by all means possible in his preparation to defeat said Lord Frieza, until such time as this is accomplished.'

Now it was the Earthlings' turn to gasp and look shocked. Puar backed away to stare at Bulma.

'Bulma!' cried Krillin. She looked guilty and uncomfortable and Vegeta stepped to her side as if Krillin were a threat to her, though he wasn't sure why. Bulma's issues with her people were her own.

'She not only agreed to it but suggested it, Earthling.'

Krillin gave him a scathing look before turning his ire back on Bulma. 'Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of difference.'

'It makes sense, Krillin!' she protested. 'What are we going to do if we bring all the people on Earth back to life but then Frieza's men wipe them all out again so that they can sell the planet?'

'Goku and me are stronger than we were!' said Krillin.

'That doesn't matter,' she insisted. 'Even if you're stronger than all of Frieza's cronies, two of you can't be all over the planet at once. People are going to _die_.'

'She's right!' said Kakarott. 'Just bringing them back is only half the job. We have to take down Frieza, too!'

Krillin's face became crestfallen and he fell to his knees. 'We're never going to get home!' Puar, joined him, crumpling to the floor with a moan of despair.

Bulma looked upset but said nothing. Vegeta decided to continue before his announcement was derailed again.

'Prince Vegeta will remain Captain of this or any other vessel we procure. Prince Vegeta will also remain as overseer of all disciplinary action deemed necessary.'

Groans.

'Both parties agree not to interfere with the aims of the other, nor to subvert, deny or prevent their wishes becoming reality through any action or inaction. Further, both parties agree not to enter any into action that may damage the cohesion of the allegiance. What constitutes a breach of this term will be determined by Prince Vegeta and Bulma of Earth, and appropriate disciplinary action taken.

'Should the primary signatories of this contract instigate a breach of the above term then the contract shall be considered null and void.

'Lastly, Bulma of Earth has agreed to reparation for her actions on Planet Namek in the form of one day servitude on board the ship, during which she may not refuse any order issued or condoned by Prince Vegeta.'

' _What did you just say?_ ' said Bulma, rounding on him. Her face was amusingly horrified.

'Do I need to repeat myself?' he asked.

She leaned in close to whisper at him, though it was doubtful many on the room couldn't hear what she said.

'I never agreed to any such thing!'

He passed her the paper. 'Read it if you must, but you did sign it.'

She glanced at it and shoved it back at him. 'I thought we decided no reparation was required!'

'You didn't think so, but _I_ did. _We_ never agreed anything.'

Her eyes flashed with anger and the sight was rather satisfying.

'Do I need to tear up this agreement?' he asked.

Her face was starting to go red with wrath. 'No,' she choked. 'I'll play your silly game, and you'll pay for it one day, somehow!'

He grinned, taking some pleasure from the first taste of her humiliation. Then he turned to the group.

'And that is the agreement. Any questions?'

There was a stunned silence before Nappa spoke.

'Yes. Can I have a word in private, your Highness?'

He should have known. He followed Nappa away to towards the bedroom.

Left behind in the lounge, Brolly grinned at Bulma and Tarble laughed.

'This is _cool!_ '

Raditz scowled at him. 'Shut up, you little turncoat!'

Krillin grabbed Bulma's hand and started towing her away.

'Goku, Puar, come with us,' he ordered.

Bulma let herself be lead into the bathroom, sure that this wasn't going to go well. The door closed and she was proven right.

'Bulma, how could you?' Krillin started in.

'Yeah, why didn't you tell us about this contract thing?' asked Goku. 'I'm not sure I like everything in it.'

Bulma stared at them, wishing they'd just be grateful, but she knew that if it had been her kept in the dark she'd be furious, too, so maybe an apology was in order.

'I'm sorry, guys, it just happened really fast. I came up with the idea last night and then I got stuck arguing with Vegeta, and it all came out. Then he wrote the freaking contract thing just now!'

'You signed for _all_ of us!' cried Krillin. 'Was I in the tank or something when we elected you president of the Earthlings? I know that the Saiyans are ruled by a tyrant, but I kind of thought we Earthlings were more of a collective, you know?'

'You're going to object to a perfectly good allegiance based on the fact that you didn't get a say in the making of it?'

'No, I'm objecting to you committing us all to things without asking us!'

'I didn't plan it this way! I was just acting as our de facto leader, and I think that this deal is the best thing we could have hoped for right now. Besides, if we _were_ to have a leader, wouldn't it be me? I'm the oldest, and forgive me, but I think it can safely be argued that I'm the cleverest, too! And I can handle Vegeta better than you guys.'

Puar made a choking sound of disgust.

'Oh, yeah?' said Krillin. 'I'm sure you're going to _love_ your day of servitude; well done on reading the entire contract before signing, oh wise leader!'

'I didn't say I was the leader!'

'It doesn't matter!' said Krillin. 'Vegeta is treating you as our leader now. The agreement is between him and you, so congrats, Queen of Earth!'

Bulma covered her face with her hands and screamed behind them with frustration before glaring at her pissed off teammates.

'I'm sorry! But this is what happened! I thought you guys would be pleased that we're definitely on track to get back to Planet Namek. I mean, that's what's most important right now, am I wrong?'

'Yeah, it is,' conceded Goku. 'I think you did right, but you should've come got us to talk about things before you made a deal.'

'Before you went giving Vegeta the right to punish us,' said Krillin. 'I thought a proper allegiance would be free of being beat the hell up.'

'Don't rock the boat and you won't get punished,' Bulma told him coldly. 'It was the best deal I could get out of him. Vegeta wasn't going to agree to something where he didn't at least _sound_ like he had the upper hand over me. Over us, I mean.'

A knock sounded on the door and then Raditz stuck his head in.

'Oh, servant! Your master is calling.'

 _I'm going to shish-kebab Vegeta and char-grill him over the flames of Hell,_ she seethed.

The head withdrew and Bulma turned on the others. 'Look, can we just pretend that we're a unit and that we're happy with what we got? I think I'm about to have a really shitty day on behalf of you and the whole population of our planet, so some support would be nice.'

* * *

'I require breakfast,' Vegeta told her, taking a seat on one of the sofas. 'And one of your Earth beverages. Coffee, I think.'

Bulma sighed but complied, only to find that no one else had started the breakfast prep.

'What's going on, guys?' she asked Raditz and Tarble. 'What're we having for breakfast?'

'I don't know,' replied Raditz taking a seat next to Vegeta. 'You're cooking.'

'I am? Oh, _of course_ I am!' She rolled her eyes and decided on the easy way out. She headed back into the lounge and crouched down to dig through her emergency capsules. There was a capsule of breakfast burritos and huevos rancheros that she'd been saving for a special occasion, and it looked like her cooking breakfast single-handedly was that occasion.

'Not Earth food,' said Vegeta behind her. 'Something else.'

She stiffened with annoyance but stood and faced him. Puar, Goku and Krillin filed back into the room.

'What do you want, then?'

'Make some suggestions, Woman.'

She crossed her arms. 'Toasted botho cakes.'

'Keep going.'

'That rehydrated spicy sausage stuff?'

Vegeta made a face of consideration. 'Next.'

'Breakfast flakes.' They had boxes of the stuff from Grenouillea II and it was similar to instant oatmeal in appearance, but with a higher protein content and slight algae aftertaste.

' _Hot_ breakfast flakes,' Vegeta amended for her.

'So you want hot breakfast flakes?'

'And sausage and toasted botho cakes, yes.'

'Oh, jeez,' Bulma muttered, turning back to the kitchen.

Three quarters of an hour later she was wiping the sweat from her brow as she finally sat down at the dining table with her own coffee and a botho cake having managed to feed the entire crew by herself. Tarble and Goku had tried to help her and gotten told off for it. Botho cakes were another Grenouillean staple; they were slightly sweet and starchy buns, and compared to the breakfast flakes she was a big fan.

'Woman.'

Bulma looked up sharply. Had Vegeta found a new and irritating nickname for her? She wasn't sure if it was better or worse than "Girl", but he hadn't called her that for a while. She decided that having her name removed again must be part of her punishment.

'What?'

'What, your Highness,' her corrected her, and Nappa sniggered.

'Are we back to this again?' she asked, suddenly flashing back to those first days in space.

'Today you are the servant and I am your master,' he reminded her, smiling smugly, 'so you will call me "your Highness".'

'You're not my prince though, so I think I'm going to call you…Mr Vegeta, just for today.'

' _Mr Vegeta_?' he repeated, making a face. 'No – I will only accept "master" or "your Highness". You may call the others by that generic honorific.'

'Mr Raditz,' said Raditz, nodding his head slowly. 'I like it. What do you think, Mr Tarble?'

'I get to be a Mr, too?'

'There. It's settled,' said Vegeta. 'Bulma will call you all by Mr, and me by my proper title.'

Bulma thought she might burst a blood vessel with the effort of not blowing her top, and had to unclench her teeth to speak. 'Whatever you say, _your Highness_. What do you want?'

Vegeta chuckled, wordlessly offering her his empty plates. As she abandoned her cooling botho cake and coffee to take them he said, 'When you've done stacking the dish sanitiser you need to finish the tracker-finding device.'

She stopped midway through taking the dishes from him.

'It's already finished. All I need to do is fit it to you.'

'Really? Then forget the dishes and get it down.'

She shoved the stack of plates at Raditz and hurried to do so, remembering as she went up the stairs to warn him.

'You might want to go to the bathroom first!'

* * *

The sensor suit, as Bulma had begun to call it in her head, was basically a cage of wires fitted snuggly to the entirety of Vegeta's body. Each loop of wire was about three inches from the next one, and all of them linked back to one of the seven nodal points which held the circuits; one on each shoulder, one on the top of each leg, the middle of the spine, the centre of his chest and the middle of his forehead. Bulma went wire by wire, attaching the ends and tying them off, starting at his feet and going up while Vegeta stood still. The rest of the crew sat around watching – there wasn't all that much else to do, after all.

Bulma knelt before him and had made her way up from each foot, across the swell of both calves and the knees, and was now beginning on his thighs, wrapping each length of wire over the soft cloth of Vegeta's Capsule Corp sweatpants. It felt odd to be touching him like this; he probably had no desire for her to be touching him, and yet this process was horribly intimate. She personally didn't find it horrible. In fact, some part of her insisted that this was wonderful and that maybe Vegeta agreed a little because he hadn't ordered her to stop. It _was_ embarrassing though, as well as mortifying to be kneeling in front of a man. She glanced up at his crotch, not sure how she was going to handle that area, and started to grow pink.

 _Oh, make this stop_ , she prayed. _I don't like him, he doesn't like me, and that's all over now! It's stupid to get embarrassed!_

There was an eruption of sniggers from the peanut gallery, and Vegeta snapped, 'This isn't a peep show!' She wondered what had prompted that chastisement.

'It's still entertaining,' was Nappa's reply.

'I am _not_ entertainment. Why don't you go do something useful?' Vegeta gripped.

'Like what?'

'Like not be in here.'

Bulma glanced over at the couches where Nappa was looking pissed off now.

'As your Highness commands,' he replied, not covering his sarcasm at all. He stood. 'Come on, Raditz, you can show me how to work this hunk of junk's insane computer.'

'But I wasn't told to take a hike!' complained Raditz.

Nappa reached out and wrenched Raditz up by the shoulder. 'I don't care!'

Vegeta tensed under Bulma's fingers, watching them go. Bulma braced herself and picked the next wire up, just a few short inches from Vegeta's area of special interest. He flinched.

'Sorry.'

'Just hurry it up! Tarble! Come here and help so we can get this over and done with.'

Tarble skipped to Bulma's side as the two older Saiyans stomped upstairs and Bulma made a weak noise of protest.

'Can I?' Tarble asked her. 'It doesn't _look_ too complicated.'

'Mmm,' Bulma considered. But she could find no valid reason that he couldn't. 'I guess so. Just attach the wires with a twist and make sure it's snug and that the back wires stay reasonably taut.'

'Okay.' He took to it quickly, lacing up the rest of Vegeta's other thigh, getting right up there with little ceremony or self-consciousness. Bulma moved quickly to secure the band around Vegeta's waist and adjust the lines from where they split and ran down the back of those rock hard buns. She was tempted to poke him in the butt or maybe slap him in frustration while she was at it.

'Ah!' said Vegeta, and cuffed Tarble with the back of his hand. 'That was my ball you just pinched with that wire! Time is not _that_ important a consideration!'

'Sorry,' said Tarble, covering his head. Bulma saw that Tarble had finished all the wires up to his crotch, and so that particular trouble spot wasn't going to be an issue. She wasn't sure if she felt relieved or disappointed. She stood up to do up the loops that went around his hips, and over Vegeta's shoulder she caught sight of Brolly, standing up now and watching with an alarmingly intent expression. Her heart began thumping, wondering where the danger was.

'What is it, Brolly?' she asked.

Brolly's expression shattered into surprise. The other boys and Puar all turned to look at him, but he didn't answer.

'What's the problem?' asked Vegeta.

'Um…' Brolly looked uncomfortable. 'Nothing.'

Bulma had a second moment of alarm when Vegeta growled under her hands. It was a soft, barely audible kind of growl, and she probably wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't literally standing at his shoulder with her hands on his back.

Brolly took a step back and sat down on a step, shrinking back into himself. It didn't look like "nothing" to Bulma. Maybe it wasn't something he wanted to mention in front of Vegeta or the others, because it seemed like some macho crap was going down. She sighed and decided to ask Brolly about it next time they chanced to be alone together.

Twenty minutes later they had Vegeta completely trussed up like a rolled roast. Bulma couldn't help but see the comparison, nor could she entirely hide her smile as she wrapped the wires over his head and face. He huffed and rolled his eyes and generally made a show of how unpleasant this whole situation was, but as she was pulling his hair through the gaps in the wires she almost automatically rested her hand on the back of his head for a moment like she had dared to when they were on Grenouillea, and she was sure that he had rested the weight of his head there in return. Quickly she pulled away.

 _Whoopsie_.

'Are you done?' Vegeta asked.

She came around to the front of him to double check everything was in place. 'Yup.'

He walked towards the steps up to the parquet floor, his arms and legs stiff like a china doll's. 'I can barely move!' he exclaimed.

The boys snorted and Vegeta gave them a look that swiftly shut them up. They burst out again when Vegeta tried to lift his leg to take the step. There was not enough play in the wire suit to let him, and he stumbled before levitating and floating himself up and over to the kitchen. There he caught sight of himself in the reflection in the wall-mounted oven door and made a strange noise.

'Woman, if you have made this contraption more ridiculous-looking than necessary I will gut and flay you, do you hear?'

Vegeta's threat was not enough to stop the sniggers escaping entirely from her.

'No! I assure you, it _has_ to look this stupid!'

He gave her the evils.

'And I must wear this for _two days?_ How am I to take a crap? Or do anything for that matter?'

'Well, up to two days. The signal might go off any moment, so maybe you'll get lucky. If you need to go for the bathroom you'll need to get me or someone else to undo the wires around your…uh, parts, and be quick about it. I guess you won't be able to do much until we do get a signal off you though.'

' _Great_.'

She picked her laptop up and skipped over to him, brandishing one last wire. 'One last thing; I need to hook you up so that I can actually capture and analyse the data we get off your signal.' She held out the two metre wire tether. She could have made it a wireless connection, but she'd cut that corner this morning in the name of expediency.

Vegeta's expression of disgust said it all. 'Do it already. With my luck the signal has just gone out and I will have to suffer the entire two days in this wire cage.'

* * *

Vegeta soon found that the best place for someone in his position was lying on his back on the sofa. At least Bulma was his servant for the day, and he occupied her by getting her to bring him drinks, scratch his foot, change the holovid and gather his laundry to put it in the wash. She did all this without arguing (other than a noise of outrage about the laundry) with an air of being extremely put out, but that air made it all the sweeter to Vegeta. It was good that she hated it.

When he ran out of requests he had the others think of orders for her, and as if on cue, Nappa and Raditz reappeared, and after a laugh at Vegeta's expense they proved to be into the spirit of things.

'Hell yes, I have an order for her!' said Nappa, looking at the girl. 'It starts with you going to the bedroom and getting on your knees in front of-'

Bulma blanched pale.

'Nappa!' Vegeta shouted, cutting of that line of talk. The man really pushed the boundaries at all times! He'd already had to endure another predictable lecture from him this morning, and been forced to justify himself to his second yet again. The deal he'd made this time was a good one in that he got more out of it than the Earthlings did. Being allies was regrettable, but Nappa would just have to adjust.

'I was just kidding, your Highness!' Nappa said with a chuckle, sitting down on the other couch and putting his feet up by shoving Brolly and Krillin off the seat. 'I wouldn't treat a valued ally in that way.' He wriggled his toes and grinned. 'What I really want is a foot rub.'

The face Bulma made caused Vegeta to grin. 'Go on, servant woman!'

She eased herself onto the arm of the sofa and gingerly took up one of Nappa's huge feet in her little hands, keeping her face as far from it as possible, and began to squeeze and prod about. Nappa's feet weren't that smelly, but Vegeta was glad she was finding it unpleasant.

'No need to be so timid,' Nappa teased her. 'You'd think this was your first time or something!'

Everyone laughed, though Vegeta suspected that some of them didn't get the joke. Bulma looked about the group with lips pressed flat with anger, and started to rub circles on the balls of Nappa's foot.

'I think you can put a bit more back into it than that,' Nappa told her, and so she began furiously digging her fingers and nails into him.

'Ooh, that's it!' The big man closed his eyes and leant back. 'Ah! Yeah! More of that!'

And that's how it proceeded for another few minutes, with Nappa's groans and grunts of pleasure and Bulma turning red. They all laughed while she attempted to strike everyone dead with her vicious glares, and maybe it worked because one by one they fell silent again.

'Oh, Princess, I never knew you'd be this good! It feels incredible,' exclaimed Nappa, and Vegeta found his own amusement die away, replaced by a creeping sense of shame.

'Enough, Nappa,' he said, ending what she obviously found a torment. Bulma didn't wait another second, standing straight up and dumping Nappa's feet on the couch. 'It's someone else's turn. Tarble, give Bulma an order.'

Tarble looked surprised to be singled out like this. Vegeta was surprised too. If he was handing out favours, why wouldn't he do it in order of status? Raditz should have been next, but no, he'd picked Tarble.

The kid was looking back and forth between Vegeta and Bulma, who had turned her back to the room. Something was a little different about Tarble since they'd gotten away from that cursed green planet. It was as if he had just a little bit more of a spine. Or more confidence, or… _something_. According to Raditz, Tarble had acquitted himself well on the planet (for all that it mattered) both in decision making and in battle. Maybe he wasn't as much of a wash-out as previously thought, and he'd gotten a mystical power-up from Guru, too. Perhaps he was no longer a disgrace to his race?

'I can't think of anything,' Tarble admitted. 'I don't really want to order her about.'

'Then someone else will,' said Vegeta. Bulma spun around and looked at Tarble.

'Give me an order,' she snarled.

'What?'

'Give me an order. That's an order, Mr Tarble!'

Tarble looked shocked. 'Um, er, do my hair like you did Vegeta's on Grenouillea Two!' he blurted out.

'Good,' she said, and walked away to fetch a capsule from her collection.

'You weirdo!' Krillin said to Tarble. 'Why would you order her to do that?'

Vegeta wondered too.

'I don't know! That's the only thing that came to mind!'

He watched from the couch as Bulma sat on the top step and got Tarble to sit one step below her, leaning back against her knees so that she could comb his spikes of hair. The styling goop came out and she used it to smooth the stubborn hair back into a bun, filling the lounge with its pong. It wasn't a bad smell, really, kind of a fake fruitiness, but strong for a Saiyan nose. It immediately reminded him of their time in the apartment, and all their posturing and manoeuvring that turned out to be all for naught. He wanted to blame Bulma for how badly things turned out on Namek, though he knew that Frieza beating them there probably doomed the entire operation before they'd even landed. But she had made things worse, so he could hold that against her.

Once Tarble's top knot was done and he'd admired himself in a hand mirror (and Bulma had praised his "cuteness"), Brolly made a similar request to be groomed, only without the hair style, just the hair combing.

Vegeta watched all this feeling not slightly powerless. He couldn't even ask for the same treatment because of this stupid contraption around his head. _But why would I want it?_ he asked himself. Well, he did remember the sensation as being very pleasant. Just as he had that thought, Brolly's eyes slid closed in pleasure and Vegeta felt something shift inside him – a kind of clutching, anxious feeling. He had the sudden, strange impulse to halt this exercise.

He did nothing though, and endured the strange feeling, finding relief when Bulma finished and Brolly stood up. When Kakarott asked for braids Bulma threatened to castrate him, but Vegeta ordered her to do it. Strange that he felt nothing when the dolt had his hair played with, and perhaps that was because even though he'd asked for it, Kakarott seemed uncomfortable with the process, barely managing to sit still and earning a sharp reprimand each time a careless head turn pulled the braids from Bulma's fingers. When she announced she was finished Kakarott skipped away with his hair done in short, clownish braids that stuck out from his head just like his hair usually did, and Raditz dumped himself in front of her, flicking his massive mane of hair so that it engulfed her and made her squeal.

'Make me beautiful!' he ordered, and Vegeta smiled despite himself. Now this was true punishment.

* * *

Bulma quirked her brow, observing Vegeta's flushed neck as she spoon-fed him his dinner. She was sitting at the breakfast bar while he stood alongside it. Though this was meant to be a day of humiliation for _her_ , Vegeta was taking the fact that he couldn't bend his arms enough to feed himself very poorly. At breakfast he'd somehow managed to eat the sausages and cakes by himself, and tried to lick the hot breakfast flakes from the bowl, which didn't work so well. He'd given up on them and had to have the slop wiped from his nose and eyebrows. He'd wolfed the ration bars at lunch while Bulma held them out for him, but he wasn't going to get any dinner in him without being actively fed.

'You want some mash next?' she asked sweetly.

'I don't care what's next, just feed me!'

'Okay, open wide!'

She smiled as he chomped the mash off the spoon so violently that she almost lost her grip on it. His look soured further. She was really enjoying this. Being this close to him, even with that expression on his face, still caused surges of excitement and perhaps awe to ricochet around her body. She became sweeter and cheerier with every spoon she put in Vegeta's mouth, her soul alight with joy at the irony, while his mood did the opposite.

She wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but she had also rather enjoyed doing the boys' hair, even though getting the tangles out of Raditz's hair had taken over an hour. It had been therapeutic somehow. She had even put Krillin's short fuzz into spikes and afterwards he didn't seem quite so angry with her. Cooking breakfast had definitely sucked though, as did Nappa's "footrub". Urgh! She felt defiled.

She held up another spoonful.

'Now for some tasty stew-goo! Mmm-mmm, smells delicious! Here comes the plane, open the hangar!' She made a childish motor noise, flying the spoon towards Vegeta's mouth in a bumpy landing, but when the spoon got to his lips they stayed shut. 'Hey,' she said, bumping the spoon against them. 'Open up! Don't you want any more? Don't you like the stew?'

He turned his face slightly so he could talk without a spoon being forced into his mouth.

'I am not a babe, Woman. You are walking on thin ice.'

'Well, you're acting like a baby now, not wanting to eat your stew. I know you must still be hungry; this is only your second tray!'

Suddenly she felt a force on the end of the spoon, even though there was nothing touching it.

'Huh?'

She gripped the spoon harder, pulling up against the tip being pulled down, and then the force was gone and the bowl of the spoon shot upwards, firing its contents right at her face. Fatty Grenouillean stew splattered her and dripped from her hair. Raditz, who must've been watching, brayed with laughter.

'WHAT?' she screamed.

That caught everyone's attention and triggered universal amusement. Vegeta broke out his wicked smile.

'Did you do that?' she cried, gravy running down her neck. She hadn't even known that this was a power Vegeta possessed.

He grinned. 'Maybe I should be practicing my chi manipulation rather than putting up with such a disrespectful servant!'

'Maybe you should!' she replied, getting up to storm away from the bathroom.

'You weren't dismissed!'

'I'm covered in your food!' she replied, not slowing down.

'Servant Woman, come here and finish the job.'

Fuming she turned and stomped back. 'Why? You can just levitate the spoon to your mouth, apparently.'

'Perhaps I could, but I prefer not to wear my dinner, and you need to learn the proper attitude.'

Furious, and aware that everyone was watching now, she scooped a massive spoonful of stew and presented it before Vegeta's face. He lunged forward to wrap his mouth around it, and just as he did she pulled the spoon back a little. A gush of gravy ran down his chin and a chunk of meat tumbled down and hit the floor. The smug look was wiped right off his face.

'Oopsie. Looks like you got some food on you anyway. Try and be more careful next time.'

His eyes narrowed on her as she brought the tray up to under his chin. 'I'll just put the tray here so that the mucky pup doesn't get any more food on the floor.' She took another spoonful and tried to figure out if there was any way she could subtly cause him to get gravy in his own hair. 'Open wide, your _Highness_.'

She shoved the spoon at his face, and then the tray flipped up and over, throwing the rest of its contents down her front.

'Uh!' she said in shock, feeling warm gravy running down inside her shirt and mash plopping to the floor. Everyone else held their breath and then Vegeta began laughing, the others joining in.

Bulma saw red, and recalling the still-loaded spoon in her hand, she flicked its contents right across his face.

'Ah!' He blinked and backed up, gravy dripping from his eyelashes, then started laughing again. Bulma bent down to grab the splatters of food from the floor while Vegeta floated away, laughing his head off.

'Someone get a hold of her!' he shouted. She launched wild missiles and globs of mashed vegetable went wide and spackled across the ceiling, and then Bulma was being restrained by Nappa, judging by the size of the hands around her arms.

'Coward!' she yelled at Vegeta floating near the kitchen ceiling. He couldn't go far - he was tethered by the wire that went down to the laptop sitting on the breakfast bar. He really _did_ look ridiculous in her signal suit. 'Come back here and fight like a man!'

'I'm under no obligation to engage in food fights with the servants,' he said, still grinning. 'Go and get cleaned up, then come back here and clean this mess up. I think I'll find someone a bit less volatile to help me eat.'

The hands shoved her towards the other corridor entrance on the other side of the lounge, and Bulma went, making a show of her temper, though it began to rapidly cool as she made her way to the bathroom. Seeing her gravy-festooned reflection in the vanity she snorted. Well.

Well, indeed.

She took her time showering and changing, and when she made it back the others, including Vegeta, had finished their dinners, and contrary to what he'd said about her cleaning up, the mess was already gone. She wondered who'd done it and on who's orders. They'd even wiped Vegeta's face. There were no more orders for her that evening, and whoever had to help Vegeta go to the bathroom it wasn't her. She ate her frozen dinner in peace.

* * *

Later, as they drifted into the nightly routines, the over-crowded bed became somewhat of an issue again. Brolly, who had no set sleeping spot since they'd woken him from the tank, settled his blanket next to Bulma's again. Coming back from the bathroom she saw this and hesitated. _Ah, no_ , was her immediate reaction. _This couldn't happen._

She knelt down in her spot and said to him, 'Hey, Brolly, I think this is Vegeta's spot.'

'Oh, yeah,' he said, and got up again, pushing his blanket closer to Bulma's, hemming her in between himself and Goku. 'He sleeps on the outside, I remember. I'll sleep here.'

'Um…'

Vegeta returned from the kitchen where Tarble had been helping him clean his teeth. He was still levitating about like a floating roll-roast clutching a laptop.

'Brolly, you're in my spot.'

'No, I left room for you, see?'

Vegeta glanced at Bulma for one burning-black fraction of a second. 'No. You sleep at the other end.' His tone brooked no argument, but Brolly dared it anyway.

'But why?'

'Because I said so.'

'But what does it matter?'

Vegeta's expression grew angrier.

'Because I need to stay next to him tonight and monitor any signal that comes off him,' said Bulma, filling the silence before it could get awkward.

Brolly looked at her helplessly. 'Okay, then.'

'Watch yourself, Brolly,' Vegeta warned. 'I will remember you talked back to me when we are on land again.'

Brolly sullenly moved his blanket to the other end of the mattress, forcing a reshuffle along the whole length of the bed to redistribute space. Bulma watched him go, frowning. What was up with him? Vegeta watched him go too and then floated himself down into his bed and placed her laptop above his pillow.

'I wish you to know that this suit is diabolical. Did you specifically design it as a torture and humiliation device?'

'Of course not! Quit moaning – this thing is going to make your life a lot easier.'

'Easy for you to say – you're not wearing it.'

Bulma lay down and turned away to hide her smile, as she was sure it would be misinterpreted. It wasn't that she was happy he was suffering (okay, it was a little). She wasn't sure why, but her heart was swelling with something that felt like joy and sadness at the same time.

* * *

It was still full dark when the laptop beeped. Just a little beep. Krillin stirred, then came awake enough to wonder if he'd dreamed the beep, or if it had really happened. Then he heard Vegeta moving.

'Bulma,' the prince whispered. 'Wake up - your contraption made a noise.'

'Urgh,' replied Bulma.

'Bulma! Woman, wake up!'

' _What?_ ' she complained.

'Deal with this thing! If I have to wear it a minute longer than I need to there will be blood!'

Business as usual, then. Krillin allowed himself to drift back off to sleep again to the sound of grumpy whispers.

Bulma dragged the laptop over groggily and opened it up.

'The signal went out,' she observed.

'Where did it come from?' Vegeta asked.

'It's still calculating – give it a second.'

'Can I take the suit off now?'

'Yes.'

Vegeta made a sudden movement, and she heard a snapping noise.

'Don't _tear_ it off!' she said, turning to see him in the light of the screen. 'We might need to use it again!'

He'd already torn the wires around one hand off, but now he sank back into the mattress in despair.

'I'll take it off for you,' she told him, and sat up. She began with the wires on his arm, untwisting the ends to release each loop. Vegeta's skin was warm, and Bulma felt a shiver go up her back from leaving the warm nest of blankets and fur for the cooler air of the cabin. She took a quick glance down the bed and saw that no one else seemed awake, so she moved slowly and gently so as not to make more noise than necessary. Her stealth was prompted not so much by consideration as by a desire to have a peaceful, private moment with Vegeta. She valued those moments, she now realised. She missed them.

Vegeta said nothing and watched her as she made her way to his shoulder and then crabbed her way over him to do the other arm. Then she started on one leg, and Vegeta flinched and pulled his foot away as she accidentally tickled him. She smiled. _Huh, he's ticklish. Who'd've thought?_

She was halfway up his thigh again and she was starting to grow warmer again at thought of undoing wires at the crease of his groin, but Vegeta reached down and started to undo them himself. Damn.

Before too long the two of them had both legs freed.

'Sit up,' she whispered to him, and when he did she went around behind him and undid the wires on his head, neck and back. It couldn't be helped that she touched him over and over while doing so, and perhaps it also couldn't be helped that she became befuddled by the gentle contact, wishing that things were not ruined between them.

Bulma had no idea that there could be such intimacy just in the sound of someone's breathing. Sure, they were all breathing in here – Goku was almost snoring. But Vegeta's conscious, active breath was picked out by her ears, faster and louder than the rest, like it was telling her a story without words. Her own breath was telling her things too, becoming a little ragged, and her heart was beating hard enough for her to hear it thumping in her ears.

 _Stop it_ , she warned herself again. _He can probably hear me breathing too – hear my heart_. It skipped a beat. _Don't get turned on, he'll smell it! He doesn't like me anymore!_

And yet he had chosen to sleep next to her again. He trusted her enough to want to. He didn't need to – he could have slept on the couch or upstairs or allowed Brolly to sleep between them, but no, he _wanted_ to be near her. Bulma let her fingers slow a little more on the last few wires, lingering, her heart starting to pound with anticipated rejection. His breath seemed to catch a little but that could have been her imagination. Otherwise he did nothing. Surely he could tell that she was dragging this out on purpose; _touching_ him on purpose?

Blushing with shame, and almost shaking with nervousness, she finally ran out of wires and gathered the suit into a bundle to put aside. Vegeta lay back again and watched her.

_Am I crazy?_

She looked into his eyes. Just stopped what she was doing and waited to see what he would do. His expression was hard to read with the screen light just glancing his forehead, nose and chin, and his dark eyes were almost lost in blackness. One, two, three heartbeats passed before Vegeta spoke.

'What is it?' he said, very softly.

 _A really inconvenient and silly crush_ , Bulma thought to herself. But the answer she shared was, 'I don't know.'

'Does your computer say where the tracking device is?' he asked.

'Oh. Yes, I'd almost forgot.'

She lay back down on her stomach and peeked at the rudimentary interface on her laptop and then froze.

'Where is it?' asked Vegeta more gruffly, seeing the stricken look on her face. It was the worst case scenario, and if she'd thought her heart was pounding before it was racing now. She turned to him as he rolled onto his side, not wanting to tell him and end this interlude of quiet and peace and closeness, but it was already destroyed.

'It's in your head, Vegeta.'

His shock reverberated through her on the tail of her own. 'On the surface?' he asked.

She shook her own head, feeling ill. 'No. It's right in the middle.'


	53. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Lol. Well. Since last we talked there's been a 7.8 magnitude earthquake centred a 150km South of where I live, which was, may I say, fucking scary. It screwed some parts of my city up and stuffed the infrastructure of the country across a 100km swathe, leaving rural folks isolated and bringing the continued existence of some small towns into question. And that wasn't the only thing! It came the day after flooding in my city, and a day before a storm with severe gales and more torrential rain which caused epic surface flooding across the region, landslides and mudslips, closing routes in and out of the city, across the region, and causing most people to have to stay home, assuming that they didn't already have to stay home due to the earthquake. Then two days after that the severe gales came from the other direction, ripping roofs off and breaking more trees, flooding some other areas, and even turning into a small tornado that tore the roofs off houses a few doors down from my brother's place. My husband was thrown into the night shift as he's an emergency manager, and between that and the literal thousands of aftershocks and lost sleep, it really felt a little bit like the world was ending. But then the sun came out. And tonight I am off to meet Piccolo is green, fellow DBZ fic author and countrywoman, for dinner in my slightly bust city and all is sweetness and light.
> 
> To be honest all that stuff had no effect on me writing this chapter as it was mostly done by then. I do feel sorry for all those stuck struggling to make their lives work nearer the epicentre without proper access to their houses and farms, without water to give to the stock on their property, and those in the city whose business are unable to run because it's in or near a building that needs to be demolished. Other than lost sleep, jumpiness and some stuff fallen over in the house, I haven't been too affected.
> 
> Anyhow. What happened last time on Never Ever Land? Bulma and Vegeta went a long way towards making up after they signed their contract of allegiance on behalf of their peoples, and then Bulma was forced to make reparations to Vegeta in a form of ritual humiliation. However, Vegeta suffered his own humiliation being stuck in the sensor suit she had made to find out where inside Vegeta the tracker that Frieza planted was. And uh-oh, it was in his head!

'It's right in the middle.'

_In the middle of my head._

Vegeta suddenly felt ill; thrown out of the hypnotic spell of comfort he'd been under a moment ago. His palms were suddenly sweaty.

'Well,' he said, sounding much less bothered than he felt. 'I guess I will have to put up with Frieza on my tail for the rest of my life, after all.'

Bulma's brows came together. 'Don't say that! I mean, I can't do brain surgery-' she shivered, '-but we're going to a civilised planet. There might be hospitals where they could!'

That was only a slightly more comfortable thought; Vegeta did not like the idea of having his head opened up and poked around with. 'Brain surgery – just what I wanted.'

She made a face, considering, as Vegeta did, the gruesome aspects of having one's skull cut wide open. 'I know, but isn't it better than having him follow you? And until we get rid of it, I might be able to rig something up to block the signal. I have the data on the strength and hertz of the signal, so if we work out the exact timing of the signal bursts, we should be able to jam them.'

Vegeta nodded, accepting the reassurance, but he still felt ill. The idea of something of Frieza's being buried inside him had been bad enough, but deep inside the inviolate space of his mind?

'It'll be okay,' said Bulma.

'Mmm.'

'It will.' She leaned in and laid a hand on his forearm, squeezing gently. He thought he should pull away from it, but he was surprised to find that he didn't want to, that the band of warmth around his arm made him feel a tiny bit better. Her blue eyes were earnest, and full of concern and _sympathy_. The word dripped with distaste in his mind. He had never asked for sympathy, and yet here he was, lapping it up. In a dizzying moment his image of her flipped - she was not the marooned purge-survivor clinging to him for survival, it was the other way around. He was drowning and she was in her life raft, plucking him from the ocean of adversity his world had become.

She let go of him though, and turned and shut down her computer. He watched her profile until the screen turned off and plunged them into darkness. It scared him, feeling he was dependant on her. He didn't like to be dependent on anyone, and yet he knew he needed her more than she needed him. So did she – and that was her power over him to wield as she wished. The contract of allegiance was bad enough, but this tracker business…

Wait a minute – he only had _her_ word that there was even a tracker inside of him, let alone where it was! For all he knew, this was a ruse meant to hold him under her sway. As soon as the thought occurred to him it wriggled down like a worm to his heart and he regretted thinking it, but now it was there and wouldn't go away. Suddenly he wanted more reassurance from her, but what could she say that would put his doubt in her to rest?

She lay down next to him while he remained up on his elbows, looking down at her, his heart starting to race again. What was wrong with him? He _wanted_ to trust her, and he wanted it badly enough that it hurt to think he might not be able to.

 _I'm becoming so weak_ , he berated himself.

'What is it?' she asked, aware that he hadn't lain down again.

'Nothing,' he replied, and flopped down onto his back.

'Are you worrying about having brain surgery?' she asked.

'No. I am wondering what you would gain by lying to me about a tracker in my head.'

She suddenly jerked back up again. 'You think I'm _lying?_ '

'I can't rule out the possibility.'

'Vegeta!' she protested, and then was lost for words for a moment or two. ' _Why_ would I lie about this? Didn't I swear to be your ally? I would have thought you'd be able to tell that I am no happier about this than you are!'

'Feigning concern proves nothing. I would have thought the agreement was enough for you, but you seem to want more.'

' _Feign_ concern? Why would you think I'm feigning anything? And what's the agreement got to do with it?'

'Well, I have already agreed to help you, but you seem to want me _reliant_ on you.'

She stared at him, dumbfounded, or at least acting it. 'No, Vegeta… Are you crazy? No! We're allies now – that _is_ enough for me!'

He sneered back at her, 'Well, you must admit it makes sense.'

'Does it?' She shook her head. 'Our agreement is less than a day old – I mean…' She looked unhappy. 'Why would you say that? I trust _you_. I _like_ you. Or I thought I did.'

A large part of him wanted to believe that, and he was starting to regret expressing his doubts to her, but he just couldn't let it go. 'I suppose you're referring to the time you tried and failed to insinuate yourself with me?'

'Insinuate?' she repeated. 'What do you mean that I "failed to insinuate" myself?'

He was glad it was dark so that she wouldn't see his gall. He was speaking again, of course, about the events on Namek. 'I mean that you…pretended you felt more for me than you really did. Not that I was ever fooled by you.'

She went utterly still, and when she answered her voice was a cold hiss rather than the soft whisper she had been using before.

'Oh, really? I'd like to remind you that _you_ kissed _me_ on Namek, not the other way around! You held my hand – you started everything!'

Vegeta sat up again. How could he explain _that?_ 'I was sounding you out, and you were quick to capitalise!'

'Yes, I was!' she replied spitefully. 'But I didn't _fake_ anything!'

'And how can I be sure of that?' he asked, not daring to believe her protest.

She made a sound of despair and got to her knees. 'Vegeta, you are such an ass!' And then she gathered her blankets and fur and crawled to the edge of the bed.

'Where are you going?' he asked.

'Somewhere I don't have to sleep next to someone who thinks I'm a liar.'

He let her go without further protest, and off she took herself up to the flight deck, tripping on the trailing edge of her blanket on the staircase, banging her knee and cursing loudly.

Vegeta lay awake staring up at the ceiling where he could sense her energy above. He almost wished he hadn't opened his mouth. Had she meant that she really _did_ care for him? That she really _did_ enjoy their kisses?

_Manipulation; just more manipulation!_

He grit his teeth in the dark, frustrated by himself and the clawing feeling in his chest. Everything Nappa had warned him about was coming true. Or else it wasn't, and an alien girl really had taken him as a friend and maybe something more, and that was _ridiculous_.

Nappa's lecture to him after the unveiling of the new alliance agreement had been worse than Vegeta expected. Although Nappa spoke carefully, what he'd had to say had surprised him.

'What else has that snake promised you?' Nappa had asked.

' _Nothing_. Though I think those are quite adequate terms, don't you? We gain a lot for not so much.' Then he tried to hint that maybe he would be getting more, thinking that that was what Nappa would want to hear. 'Though the possibility of ancillary benefits for me has not been ruled out. I have a mind to take Bulma for all that she's got, as you'd say.'

But his second had looked appalled.

'Gods, no!'

'What?' had been Vegeta's shocked reply. 'But that was _your_ idea! You told me to get it out of my system!'

'Yeah, that was before! That woman is poisonous, and by now she's got her fangs in you up to the gums! We need to ditch her as soon as we get to this Baccanelli place, or better yet, kill her so that she can't mouth off about where we're headed.'

'And that would mean not getting to Namek, and Frieza remaining immortal and bent on killing me forever!'

Nappa had groaned in frustration, covering his face with one wide palm. 'We could run-'

'We can't!' Vegeta had shouted. 'I have a _tracker_ inside me!'

'That any doctor could remove!'

'And what? Live the rest of my life anonymously, hiding out, hoping that Frieza never catches wind of me? I refuse! I am the last scion of our people and I will not waste my life in fear!'

'Well, fine!' capitulated Nappa. 'You are the prince, that is your prerogative, but if you want my two credit chip, the only prudent way to have sex with that cold-blooded bitch would be to tie her down and gag her, which might put some pressure on the alliance!'

Vegeta had scowled with disgust. 'And what do you think she is going to do? Bite my dick off with her…womanly parts?'

Nappa had huffed in amusement over Vegeta's minced words, but the amusement was gone when he replied, 'No, she could lie, ensnare, or put a dagger in your back. Or have you already forgotten that she drugged you unconscious?'

'Of course I haven't! What kind of fool do you think I am? I am never letting her have the upper hand again, and I will never forget that given the choice between me and her precious Earth she will gladly pick Earth, and to hell with me!'

Nappa had looked slightly relieved. 'Okay, good. As long as you hold that in mind.'

'Oh, shut your condescending mouth, Nappa! You don't have to like my decisions, you just have to live with them!'

Which had silenced Nappa, but not pleased him at all.

Now he felt just like the fool he'd said he wasn't. All those tender touches of Bulma's as she removed the wire cage had set his heart fluttering and his loins stirring as if the betrayal on Namek had never happened.

He began to drift close to sleep, his mind still mulling over the situation, throwing up images that became increasingly detached from reality. He imagined Bulma laughing at his gullibility behind his back; he imagined her sitting on Frieza's throne issuing orders; he imagined her pinning him down on the ground by his wrists and the weight of her body, straddling his hips and her breasts hanging above him like that one time during chi training.

In his dream he strained upwards, mouth reaching for those low-hanging fruits.

 _I am caught in a trap and I haven't even tasted the bait_.

* * *

'Urr-hurr,' moaned Yajirobe theatrically.

'You're not getting any sympathy from me,' said Chichi primly. 'I told you not to eat so much cloud. You got a belly ache last time, too.'

'But they taste good,' he moaned.

'You dufus,' she scolded him gently.

'You know you have no idea what's in those clouds,' said Yamcha for maybe the fifth or sixth time. 'I've seen how much you've packed away. Have you even pooped yet?'

Yajirobe's face slackened at the thought. 'Nope.'

'Then where's it all going?'

Yajirobe looked down at his stomach and rubbed it gently like a pregnant woman soothing her unborn child. 'You got a point. Maybe I should try and take a dump.'

Chichi's face just about turned inside out.

'There are no toilets!'

'But a clear shot down to hell,' observed Yajirobe. 'The people down there are already in purgatory; I'm sure a little shit from heaven would fit the theme.'

'You are disgusting! Anyway, you can't - what would you use for toilet paper?'

Yajirobe considered. 'Cloud?'

Chichi was horrified and Yamcha was unable to hold his sniggers in any longer. She seemed totally unable to tell when she was being trolled.

'Well I am not waiting around while you do number twos on the heads of the damned!' she declared and pushed ahead of them, flying full speed to get away.

'We should catch her up,' said Yamcha after a minute of watching her go. 'Are you up to it?'

'Yeah, I don't feel that bad.'

'Are you really going to take a dump?'

Yajirobe snorted and patted his lower abdomen. 'To be honest I haven't felt any movement in here since we got to this stinking place. It's all dead down there, I think.'

With that pleasant thought they flew after Chichi, which didn't take long as she stopped in her tracks, pointing into the distance.

'What on Earth could that be?' she asked.

They all squinted out to the horizon. Something was sitting proud from the back of Snake Way. It was still a long way off, but it had their undivided attention – it wasn't like there had been any features on the road so far. Without a word they all took off again, flying at top speed towards whatever it was.

'Could it be the end?' cried Chichi.

'No, the road goes on after it,' replied Yamcha. 'And I don't think we've come far enough.'

'I think it's a sign,' said Yajirobe as they got closer.

'Maybe it's the halfway point!' suggested Yamcha, hardly hoping to believe it.

They swooped down to road level, finding something that was equal parts familiar and out of place; a road sign in warning orange and black, of a little man shovelling gravel.

'Road works?' gawped Chichi.

They touched down and examined the sign close up, but it appeared to be nothing more than that – a road works sign on a mobile stand, weighed down with sandbags.

'Bizarre,' puzzled Yajirobe.

They took to the air again, flying low over the road, and it wasn't that long until they spotted something else up ahead – some kind of machine on the road. Yamcha looked at the other two, wondering if they felt the same kind of electrified thrill that he did right then. They'd gone so long seeing nothing but the road, the clouds and each other that something new, or _someone_ new was an excitement that bordered on fear.

On they hurried, and the vehicle came into view. It was a great big steel contraption painted yellow that was almost flush to the road, and was wider than it too. It overhung the sides, and the scales of the snake were feeding out the back of slots that were formed just for that. It rumbled, smoke coming out of a tall exhaust and the tiles of the road behind it steamed like freshly baked bread. It rode along slowly and steadily until suddenly it lurched, bouncing twice before rolling on more sedately and then grinding slowly to a halt. As they flew over they saw two large, messy lumps in the tiled surface of the road.

Around the front of the machine the driver was perched in an open cockpit. He was a red-skinned ogre with two short, stumpy white horns growing from his skull. With one hand he was trying to steer with a collapsed sandwich still clutched in his fingers, and in the other he held a thermos mug that had popped its plastic lid and sloshed half its load of coffee into his lap. The flustered denizen of the afterlife was wearing denim overalls, a safety vest hanging open, and no shirt.

'Aw, Hell, aw, Hell!'

The machine juddered before stopping, and then the ogre looked up and screamed at the sight of the three young people hanging in the air before him

'Who're you?' he cried. 'I don't want no trouble! I'm just doin' my job!'

The trio looked amongst themselves.

'We don't want trouble either,' said Chichi.

'Well what _do_ you want?'

Chichi shrugged. 'We just wanted to see what was going on here. We've been travelling for a really long time and not seen anyone.'

'Why'd you muck with my machine just now, then? I about lost half my lunch down the footwell!'

'We didn't touch you,' Yamcha told him. 'You just went over some speed bumps, is all.'

'Speed bumps?' repeated the workman, (or workogre, Yamcha supposed). 'There's no speed bumps on Snake Way.'

'Well, what're those, then?' asked Yajirobe pointing over the back of the machine.

Casting them a suspicious glance, the ogre placed his coffee and sandwich on the dash and climbed out the back of the cockpit to the top of the machine to look.

'Huh. Well, I don't know what those are,' he admitted. He walked over the top and then started to climb down the steel ladder attached at the back, and Yamcha, Yajirobe and Chichi flew over his head to stand near the lumps. One was much larger than the other, stretching the whole width of the road, and the other was short, just a mound really, in the middle of the road. As they settled down a muffled noise came from the under the tiles.

'Did you hear that?' asked Chichi.

Suddenly the larger lump heaved and the ogre yelped. The three teenagers all jumped back in surprise.

Now the noise was coming again, louder. The other lump squeaked, and then a fist burst from the larger lump, knocking a tile aside and they all screamed.

'It's people! It's people!' shouted Chichi.

'It's demons!' shouted the ogre, who had scampered all the way back up the ladder without setting foot on the road.

Then Yamcha spotted the edge of a green sleeve poking out by the wrist – the very sturdy and strong looking wrist.

'It's Tien,' he said, knowing, sensing almost, that it was him. 'And Chiaotzu!'

They rushed forth and began pulling tiles away. Yajirobe and Chichi pulled the tiles off Tien while Yamcha shoved his fingertips between the cracks of the tiles over Chiaotzu to make a hole. He managed it, and then a gasping, limed, crying Chiaotzu sat up out of the road.

'Tien!' was the first thing he said, and Tien leaned over out of his own shallow grave and grabbed Chiaotzu's shoulder in support.

'I'm here.'

'What the Hell?' asked the ogre on top of the machine.

'I might ask the same question,' said Tien, looking around at the faces that peered down at him. 'We were sleeping, and the next thing I know, we were entombed!'

Chiaotzu shuddered and got up, rubbing cement from his Crane School tunic.

'You guys still sleep?' asked Yamcha, surprised but also a little smug.

'Of course,' said Tien, and then it sank in a little further. 'You mean you _don't_?'

Yamcha shrugged like it was nothing. 'Sleeping doesn't seem to help the tiredness, and that goes away all by itself anyway. It doesn't seem like you need sleep here, and sleeping on the road isn't much fun.'

'You were sleeping on the road?' asked the ogre who now just poked his head over the edge of the machine.

'Yes,' said Chiaotzu.

'What're you doing sleeping on the road? You were practically _asking_ to get run over by the retiling machine!'

'That's a retiling machine?' asked Yajirobe.

'Yes. What did you think it was? Tiles get dematerialised up the front and relaid out the back as all-new tiles and mortar – what else is it going to be?'

'I dunno,' said Yajirobe. 'A street cleaner?'

'It's obviously _not_ a street cleaner.'

Tien and Chiaotzu didn't look very impressed.

'I don't care what it is - you ran us over in it,' Tien said accusingly. 'I'm surprised you didn't see us! It's not like there's much here to distract you from looking for hazards!'

'Every moron knows not to sleep on the road!'

'Moron?' repeated Tien, his face hardening at the insult and his fists clenching instinctively.

'Just leave it,' said Yamcha quietly to Tien. He had no desire to see the road worker to get beaten up. 'He made a mistake, but you and Chiaotzu are okay, so let's just leave it be and keep going. Who knows how much further it is to King Kai's?'

The ogre daringly stuck more of himself out over the top edge of the retiling machine. 'You're going to King Kai's?'

'Of course,' replied Tien for all of them. 'Why else would we be here?'

'I don't know. You could've broken out from down below – that happens sometimes. I just phone them in when I see them.'

'Hey,' said Yamcha, just realising something. 'You work on this road – how far along it are we?'

'Ah…couldn't really say. I've only been doing this job about two hundred years or so, so I've only made it to King Kai's twice.'

Yamcha felt the hair all over his body stand up in horror. 'Wh-What? What?' he stammered. 'It takes you a hundred years to get there and back?'

'Yeah, but you gotta consider the speed of this thing and stopping for breaks.'

'Do you live here on the road?' asked Chichi, astonished.

'Yep,' he said. 'Got some sandwiches and cookies and other supplies. A kettle and that. I just stock up at the road-tail when I'm back there.'

She gawped, as did they all.

'How do you not go out of your mind with boredom?' asked Yamcha.

'It's not boring!' scoffed the ogre. 'It's a nice view, good weather, nice light for reading. It's good to get out and get some clear headspace I think.'

There was nothing to say in response to that – the ogre obviously had a completely different perspective on life (or afterlife) than Yamcha ever would. He looked back at Tien and Chiaotzu. They had given up on trying to brush the cement off their skin and clothes.

'Well, nice chat,' said Tien. 'But we have more important things to do.' He turned away, but Yamcha caught a look in the young man's eye that told him that Tien was clearly disturbed.'Come on, Chiaotzu.'

The two of them took off again, and without a word the other three followed them into the air, easily coming alongside. Both Tien and Chiaotzu's head's snapped around to stare at Yamcha, who slid into the airspace between them. Yajirobe and Chichi flanked them.

'You can _fly_ now?' asked Tien, clearly aghast.

'Kinda looks that way, doesn't it?'

'But _how?_ '

'You couldn't have learnt without a very knowledgeable master and years of training!' objected Chiaotzu.

Yamcha felt himself grinning a little. He didn't mean to, but the smugness was rolling off him. 'I just kind of…figured it out.'

Tien blinked all three of his eyes and then huffed in disgust.

'You were just pretending to not know how to fly so you could use it as a tactical advantage against us.'

'No,' said Yamcha, amazed by Tien's reasoning. 'Where's the tactical advantage in that? We're not supposed to be enemies, remember? And we want to get to the end of Snake Way as soon as possible, so it makes no sense to do that.' Then he remembered that this was precisely what Tien and Chiaotzu had done at first. 'I mean, you'd have to be kinda petty to do that.'

Tien scowled at him and then put on a burst of speed, and Chiaotzu followed swiftly.

'Prickly bastard,' observed Yajirobe, and then the three of them gave chase, catching up to the other two before long. Chiaotzu gasped with dismay and Tien looked pissed, but still, they all barrelled along at high speed, the twists of the snake disappearing below them.

 _Oh no, not this again_ , thought Yamcha.

On and on they went for what felt like hours of flat out effort. Yamcha was amazed at the speed and stamina they'd all managed to build up. He swore that the speed he could travel now was about equivalent to Master Roshi's hover jet at full throttle.

Tien up ahead was flagging a little and Yamcha edged along-side.

'Hey, it's good that we're finally hanging out together,' he told Tien, cheekily, who pretended to ignore him while radiating malice.

Yamcha wondered how much longer he could sustain this effort. He was starting to feel the strain, but pain was very relative here. Pain didn't seem to indicate injury or damage, so it didn't take long to recover from, but it did slow a person down. Well, this time he wasn't going to give into the pain until Tien did.

* * *

Bulma faced the day with reluctance. She came down for breakfast late, having no wish to catch Vegeta's eye. She needn't have worried; he was sitting at the dining table with a book and Nappa, who was incongruously filing his nails, and he almost made a point of not looking up as she came down and past. Bulma's heart slumped and then simmered. Oh god, she had as good as told him she still had the hots for him last night and she wasn't sure if the worst part was that he hadn't admitted any feelings in return or that he hadn't even _believed_ her. There she'd been concerned about his welfare and he was suspecting her of power play!

 _Awkward and unrequited sexual tension! What a great way to start a possibly long allegiance_ , she congratulated herself silently and sarcastically.

'How come you slept upstairs in the end?' asked Brolly as she made a wide berth around the dining table to the kitchen. All the boys were already dressed, or as dressed as they were going to get for the day (the dress code on board the ship was beginning to explore new depths of "casual") though the empty breakfast dishes were still scattered on the stairs.

'The bed was too crowded for my taste,' Bulma lied. Brolly flinched at her bitter tone, and she realised she'd taken out her annoyance on him. 'Sorry,' she muttered as she passed him.

She wolfed a toasted botho cake and chugged the dregs of the coffee from the pot, realising too late that it was hot Kowlon cordial, not coffee, and almost brought her botho cake back up right in the kitchen sink. After her quick breakfast she went to the bathroom, showered and dressed, and as she opened the door of the bathroom to leave she met the solid wall of a chest.

She stepped back in surprise and looked up to see Brolly looking down at her. He looked rather unhappy.

'Are you…okay?' he asked her, almost whispering.

'Yeah,' she replied, puzzled. He took a step forward into the room, and she took another step back automatically – he was too close. He turned and carefully closed the bathroom door behind him. He didn't lock it, but suddenly Bulma was filled with misgiving. After all, they'd never had any deep examination of Brolly's character since he'd been healed by Guru. He was still somewhat of a stranger.

 _Calm down_ , she told herself. _He saved you on Planet Namek. He seems stable enough, and if he isn't, a scream will bring everyone else in here_. She remembered her resolution to ask him what was up between him and Vegeta lately.

'Are _you_ all right?' she asked.

He cocked his head and then smiled a little, like he was relieved. 'Yes. I was going to ask if you were angry with me about something.'

'No,' she replied, surprised. 'I'm kind of angry with _Vegeta_ , but not you.'

His smile grew a bit more. 'I'm kinda angry with him, too.'

'Why?'

He glanced away from her and then back, the smile fading away into something closed and cautious. 'I don't like the way he orders you around.'

'That was only yesterday,' she quickly corrected him. 'That was just _one_ day that I agreed to it. He won't be getting to rule me again anytime soon.'

'Does he bother you?'

Bulma wasn't sure how to answer that one. An empathic "Yes!" because he was so difficult and he wasn't going to forgive her? A resigned "No," because she still held out hope that he _would_ forgive her? After all was said and done, she needed him to get to Namek and defeat Frieza. What was a little bother compared to that?

'A little bit. But it's okay,' she settled on.

Brolly's brow furrowed and he twitched his shoulders, looking uncomfortable. His shoulders were wide, and although he was still skinny, his frame was already starting to gain back muscle after his extended tank stay. Other than the first day out of the tank he'd been eating more than any of the Saiyans, which Nappa had allowed due to his poor condition. Like half the men on board he wasn't wearing a shirt, and she could see most of his ribs, but she could also see each abdominal muscle and the slabs of pectoral muscle that were starting to bulk out the thin chest. She pondered that he must be well over six feet tall by now. It was really hard to believe that he and short, stocky Goku were the same age.

Brolly's voice dropped to a whisper. 'If he does things that you don't like, you should tell me.'

'What do you mean?' she asked in surprise.

'I mean, anything that you don't like.'

He was starting to flush from the base of his throat upwards and he turned his eyes to the floor. Bulma started to blush too. What did he mean? What sort of things? What did he think he was going to do about it anyway?

'What would you do? Try and stop him?'

Brolly turned even redder now, and she suspected it was from anger. 'I don't know! But at least I might be able to help!'

'I think you'd better stay out of things between Vegeta and I,' she warned him. 'You'll only get yourself in trouble.'

That seemed to upset him, and she edged away from him and the flash of pain in his eyes. She made to walk around him to the door, but he turned and caught her arm, just gently, before dropping it again.

'Bulma,' he said, and she was brought to a stop by the sadness in his voice.

'What is it?'

He took a deep breath bracing himself for whatever he was about to say. 'Do you remember when you said that we would become King and Queen of Earth together?'

Bulma flinched. She'd been hoping that Brolly had forgotten all about that, but Guru had healed his mind, not wiped his memories.

'Oh. Yes, I guess I do,' she said uncertainly.

'Are we still going to do that?'

For a second she panicked and stared transfixed into Brolly's eyes, as his brow creased with worry and upset. But he wasn't the same boy he'd been. She could see that there was a soul behind those eyes, where once she hadn't been sure there was. 'Ah…'

'You didn't mean it, did you?' he guessed.

'I don't really want to be a queen,' she admitted.

'It's okay,' he said, 'I don't know if I want to be a king anymore, either.'

Bulma smiled, relieved to hear it. 'Well, good!'

She saw he didn't look any happier though.

'But was any of it true?'

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'I mean you and me…together?'

The question caught her by surprise, even as she knew it shouldn't have. But what could she say? What _should_ she say? Could he handle the truth? If she lied what would she lie? Nothing came to mind and she just stared at him, turning red, feeling pain and embarrassment for him as he read the hesitation for what it was.

'You didn't mean it,' he said, his voice cracking.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered, tears instantly in her eyes as she watched his expression crumble. 'We needed some way to calm you down-'

The dark brows suddenly slammed down, shuttering those gentle eyes into something wrathful, and she leapt back in fear, but he only turned and rushed out of the door, slamming it after himself and taking off down the corridor. She held her breath, listening for crashes or other loud noises but there was none, so she guessed he'd merely taken himself off to one of the ship's in-demand spots for sulking and melancholia. She let the breath out and then cried for a minute or two, letting regret and fright be vented before she wiped the tears away. She felt sorry for Brolly and ashamed of having tricked him, but he was only a boy – he would surely get over it soon.

She checked her face in the mirror to make sure she didn't look too much like she'd been crying, then made her way back out into the living area. Vegeta watched her entrance like he'd been expecting it and she flinched at the eye contact before he looked away. Great – now she had _two_ boys to avoid in a spaceship the size of a two bedroom house.

And then Vegeta looked back again, his expression puzzled.

Bulma snapped her eyes away, realising she'd been caught staring, and hurried to busy herself with something. She looked around the crew in the living quarters and cleared her throat.

'Hey, everyone, I want you to turn over the transponders and earpieces to me. I want to fix them up and revamp them.'

'Revamp them, how?' asked Nappa suspiciously.

'I've decided that as we have a Team Earth channel, you guys should have a Team Saiyan channel. I'll even but in a third channel if people need it.'

'Oh,' replied Nappa.

'Hmm,' said Vegeta, nodding approval.

The boys and Nappa spread out over the ship to retrieve the discarded communication devices from wherever they'd stashed them; the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen, the holographic dais.

'Where's Brolly?' Bulma muttered, almost not wanting to know. Krillin overheard her though and got that funny look in his eyes as stared into space, so she knew he was chi-sensing or whatever they called it.

'He's in the freezer-bedroom-pantry thing,' he replied.

She frowned, suddenly worried about him. 'What's he doing in there?'

Krillin shrugged, not sharing her concern. 'Dunno.'

'Can you go get his comms device from him?'

Krillin gave her a funny look. 'Why don't you get it yourself?'

'Because,' she replied, not wanting to go into why.

'But-'

'Just do it, Krillin!' she snapped, and warded off by her temper he grudgingly went to do her bidding.

Each device was returned to her, and when Krillin handed over two she asked him, 'Was he all right?'

Krillin shrugged.

'Well what was he doing in the freezer?'

'I don't know!'

'You didn't ask him?' she asked, disbelieving him.

'No! He seemed moody, so I left him to it. If you want to know, why don't you go find out for yourself?'

His tone attracted the attention of some of the others, so Bulma just took the handful of earpieces and transponder collars upstairs without a reply.

* * *

Brolly was evicted, shivering, from the bedroom-cum-freezer at lunchtime when Raditz went in to get some food to thaw. He avoided Bulma's gaze and she was glad of that. She could handle being ignored as long as he wasn't making a scene or harming himself. After lunch he sat quietly on the couch and didn't seem inclined to lock himself in the freezer again, so that was good.

Vegeta, on the other hand, was a different kettle of fish. She was painfully aware of his withdrawal. He spent the afternoon staring hard at a page in his journal, only rarely lifting his pen to write anything. She couldn't help looking at him over and over, cursing herself each time she did, until finally she caught one haunted glance that chilled her. Confused and unhappy, she retreated upstairs to take the comms devices apart and clean them. Vegeta followed her shortly after, creeping up the stairs on soft feet, in a way that put her in mind of a predator on the hunt.

'Hello?' she said, feigning nonchalance as her stomach trembled, caught between hope and a sincere desire to run away. Vegeta made the last step into the room and closed the door just as quietly. He had an unreadable expression on his face. He turned and faced her and said nothing for several moments.

'You okay?' she asked, heart pitter-pattering.

'I am fine,' he conceded. 'What is your concern with Brolly?'

Bulma tried not to let her face stiffen with the alarm she suddenly felt. Was she _that_ obvious?

'I was just worried because he locked himself in the freezer for several hours. He could have frozen himself to death.'

'The freezer is not cold enough to harm a healthy Saiyan in a matter of _hours_ ,' he refuted her.

'Well, how am I supposed to know that?'

'You were just concerned for his safety?'

'Yes,' she said, truthfully.

'You _care_ for him.'

It was unclear if this was a statement or a question, but Bulma picked up on the stress placed on the word "care". Something was wrong here, but she couldn't put her finger on what. She looked down at the small bits of plastic and electronics in her hands as she replied cautiously.

'Yes, I _care_ for him, because I feel some responsibility towards him, and he did save me twice on Namek.' And she also felt guilty for crushing his tender feelings to smithereens, but she didn't think it necessary to tell Vegeta that.

'The same way you care for Kakarott or Krillin?'

'Exactly. I care for them like little brothers. And Tarble, too.'

'And do you _care_ for me?'

That question was also alarming, but for different reasons. He said it sarcastically, angrily, almost as if the answer he was looking for was _No, of course not!_ She looked up at him, to where he still lingered near the door, acres of space between them, tense and uncomfortable, and something about him gave the game away. He was far too intent on her answer for someone who didn't want her to care. She hesitated for a second, doubting her intuition, but she felt compelled to tell him the truth anyway.

'I _do_ care for you, if you didn't already know.'

His expressionless mask slipped a little; for a moment surprised and the next angry. 'Like you care for the others.'

'Well…' She dithered, not sure whether to save face and agree, or continue along the line of truthfulness, or which answer would please him more. Oh, to hell with it! He was just going to have to deal with this, however it made him feel!

'Actually, no. I care for you, but not like a little brother.' _Ah, please don't blush again_ , she begged her cheeks, but it was no use.

'Like an older brother?'

'Not like a brother at all.'

Now his eyes seemed to bore into her. 'Like what, then?'

Oh, jeez, what she going to have to spell it out? No, that was going too far. 'You're not stupid - I'm sure you can work it out.'

His mouth opened like he was about to say something, but whatever it was got stuck. He suddenly flushed red.

'Always with the word games,' he said finally, and then wheeled around and retreated downstairs again. Bulma frowned, more confused than ever. What did this tell her? Nothing, that's what. Vegeta was _weird_. Vegeta didn't get it! And why was she so hurt by that?

'Why did I get a crush on such a freak?' she moaned to herself.

* * *

A couple of hours later she headed downstairs. She had finished overhauling the comms devices and was considering the large scale dragon radar. She needed to do some sketches, and hated doing that on her laptop, so now she headed to the corner where she kept her capsule kits, hoping to find pen and paper in one of them. She couldn't recall packing any, but she also didn't fully recall what was in all the capsules anyway. She would go through all the A and B sized capsules at least and hope there was some stationary supplies.

The guys were all sitting around the lounge, or all of them except Vegeta. She wondered where he was, but decided that he was unlikely to resort to secluding himself in the freezer like Brolly had. Brolly himself was sitting on one of the couches with Tarble and Krillin. Tarble was teaching them how to finger knit, and Bulma couldn't fathom how bored one would have to be to contemplate learning how to do something so inane and pointless. It wasn't like Tarble ever made anything with his knitting – when he reached the end of his ball of yarn he just unravelled the knitting again to start over. Raditz and Goku were playing a game that looked suspiciously like checkers at the dining table and Nappa was reading a well-thumbed book with an illustration on the cover that suggested it was an erotic vampire thriller, or at least if the book had come from Earth that's what she would have guessed it was.

Taking her kit to an empty space on the wooden parquet floor, she began to go through the smaller capsules, one by one. She uncapsulated the medical supplies and arranged them better, went through the camping supplies and then the ones she thought were empty. Most were, but one held a packet of chocolate peanut butter cups and she only just managed to hold back a scream of joy – she didn't want to attract the attention of any of the males. There was no way she was sharing what was perhaps the last _chocolate_ in the universe! Very carefully she recapsulated them and put the precious item in her hoodie pocket.

The next empty capsule was not empty either, but had a thick, ring-bound manuscript inside. Her first thought was, _I've found paper!_ And the next was… Well, it was…

"The Propagation of Wormholes" by Dr Alice Calliper.

A rolling wave of indescribable emotion hit her as she held the paper that she had forgotten all about until that second, and she was left feeling breathless and disorientated.

 _Wormholes_.

But that didn't mean the science was good.

_But wormholes!_

Dr Calliper was the fortune-telling fraud, the disgraced physicist who'd held a dragonball to ransom for the opportunity for her paper to be published under the Capsule Corporation's research department umbrella.

Hardly daring to hope, Bulma opened the manuscript randomly to a neatly arranged page that was header-to-footnote mathematical equation. Glancing through, parts of it made sense but the rest went over her head. It was either brilliant or crackpot, and Bulma couldn't tell which. She was going to have to read it all, and maybe she was going to have to do some of her own study and research, but…could this be their answer? To make their own wormhole? Could they? Her rudimentary understanding of the phenomenon suggested that the opening of a wormhole would take astronomical amounts of energy; literally _stars_ worth of energy.

Reverently she laid the heavy thing in her lap. It felt like a treasure and an artefact from Earth; a gift from beyond the grave from the embittered Dr Alice Calliper. She'd been so rude to the woman – not without provocation, but even so. She'd almost dumped this paper in the trash, assuming that it was likely as fraudulent as its creator. What had changed between now and then? Merely the strength of her hope that this was their way forward?

'If this works I will shout your name from the rooftops,' Bulma whispered to the dead Alice. 'I will get back to Earth one day and make sure that everyone knows that _you_ had a part in saving it.'

She flipped through another few pages and decided that even if it didn't work, if she ever made it back to Earth she would get this thing peer reviewed. A promise was a promise, after all.

'Bulma!' Raditz barked, recalling her back to the here and now.

'What?' she asked, complainingly.

' _What?_ ' he mimicked her in a whiny, mocking voice. 'It's dinner time and it's your turn.'

'Again?' she asked disbelievingly. Her turn seemed to come up way too often, but Raditz made these rosters up out of his head so maybe it wasn't surprising.

'If I do it we will all be having bitter gourd and sea slug stew,' he threatened her.

Huffing, she packed the paper away again and pocketed that along with the chocolate. There were six flavours of Grenouillean frozen dinner, and the bitter gourd and sea slug stew was by far the worst. Bulma, Puar and Krillin couldn't force themselves to eat it without gagging, and even the Saiyans had trouble with it, except for Raditz apparently. She wasn't sure she quite believed him when he said it was fine, and suspected that he was bluffing to make himself look tougher. Hence why, out of the two palettes of frozen dinners, one was mostly gone but the only dinners left on it were the said stew.

Standing up, she was surprised to see Vegeta was at the dining table now. She hadn't noticed him return. As she passed him he looked up, and his expression was not cool now, but a strange mixture of hope and defiance. As their eyes met her whole body stuttered, as if for a second she had forgotten how to walk. She forced herself on, sure she was moving weirdly because she felt weird.

'I'll help you,' Tarble offered, standing up and unwinding the wool from his fingers.

'I'll get the dinners, you can help me heat them up,' she said over her shoulder as she walked through the kitchen.

The pantry/freezer/bedroom was not quite as cold as a walk-in freezer should be, but it was still very nippy and definitely below freezing. Bulma went to the linen cupboard and pulled out an extra Capsule Corp hoodie to pull on over her own. This one belonged to Brolly, judging by the size of it, but Bulma considered all of the Capsule Corporation clothing under her ownership still, so felt no compunctions about borrowing it without asking. The sleeves were too long and covered her hands, but that was good because she could use them as mittens as she sorted through the stacks of dinners.

Then she grabbed the wash basket from the laundry.

The light in the twin room had a strange quality due to the light fittings being covered in frost. The floor was slippery with a build-up of frozen condensation drips and gruesome frozen dots and splodges of blood from when they had hung game animals from the ceiling and bed legs. All that was gone now, with only dry food supplies, non-perishables and the Grenouillean dinners left.

She crossed first to the window and wiped a sleeve across it. It was frosted too, and covered with smears and streaks where various hands had wiped a clear patch only for it to frost up again. Bulma had done so just about every time she'd been in there. It was like a compulsion. With the window frosted it was possible to believe for a moment that the window looked out on a normal frozen nightscape, like the resorts she had stayed at when she'd been skiing with her parents. And then she would wipe a clear patch and there would be nothing but stars, and she would be somehow let down again. On a deep level, her brain still wanted to believe she was back on Earth where there was ground and sky and breathable atmosphere and _escape_.

Yes, still just stars.

She sighed and turned to the palette of dinners behind her, counting out a selection of into the wash basket to carry back with her. They went through thirty two trays in a sitting – honestly it was a good thing they were landing sooner rather than later because they had less than ten meals worth left, not counting the inedible stew, which she didn't. Thoughtfully she packed a couple of the stews into the basket and planned to make sure that Raditz was served them.

The door opened, and expecting Tarble she said, 'Hey, should I give Raditz two trays of sea slug, or more? I want to call him on his bullshit.'

The lock clicked. 'Make all five trays sea slug and maximise the suffering.'

She looked up in surprise at the gruff voice. It was Vegeta, and she stopped still, trying to guess his purpose. He walked towards her slowly, but stopped at the far side of the palette of meals. The expression on his face put her on guard; his mood had shifted again in a space of a couple of minutes and now he seemed tense to the point of pained. He wasn't angry with her, was he?

'What are you doing in here?' she asked.

Vegeta pursed his lips and tapped his finger absently on the top of a meal tray, watching that instead of her.

'I came to ask you a question.'

She waited, but as it was not immediately forthcoming, she prodded. 'What's the question?'

She watched the flush come up from his collar even in the cold of the room, followed slowly by words.

'If nothing on Namek was faked, then…'

Bulma frowned. This was going in a different direction than she expected.

'Then you wouldn't object to this,' he said, and stepped around the palette of meals. Suddenly he was before her, his arms reaching out, his face closing on hers, with a wild and defiant gleam in his eyes like he expected her to shove him away at any second, but she couldn't move from surprise as his hands went around her back and his lips crashed into hers. Bulma's heart felt like it would explode from the burst of activity it put on in response – more from fright or delight, she wasn't sure.

_He's kissing me!_

She'd been in the freezer long enough for her skin to cool, and his lips felt hot on hers. Then she put her hands on his shoulders and she _did_ push him away, but only so that she could catch her breath and compose herself. He resisted for a second, but let go, already angry by the time six inches of space were between them.

'So you _were_ faking?' he accused her.

She kept her grip on his shoulders and shook her head, grinning at his misunderstanding.

'I will admit that _I_ wasn't faking if you do the same,' she teased him, panting a little.

The anger was somewhat quelled but not extinguished, merely embellished with that familiar wicked smile. It gave her goosebumps – truly, that expression both delighted and scared her.

'I'll go first if it makes you feel braver,' she said, smiling. 'I admit I have a crush on you and I was definitely not faking enjoyment when we were making out on Namek.'

Vegeta snorted, his arms finding their way to her waist again.

'Now it's your turn,' she said, leaning back to avoid the kiss he was about to resume.

He growled in irritation, but replied anyway. 'I admit that I was not faking my desire to bed you on Namek,' he said bluntly. 'Neither am I now.'

His lips connected, and so he didn't see Bulma's eyes widen with anxiety. With Vegeta's words, all her normal expectations of relationship progress – dates, movie nights, hanging out, making out, second base, third base - had just been thrown out the window.

_He just wants to have sex with me!_

But shouldn't she have known that? Isn't that what they said all guys wanted? Why was this a shock to her? Because he had just come out and said it? Because he seemed to expect it? Because she'd thought Vegeta would never get to that point without being led by the nose? Like Yamcha?

His lips moved against hers and she felt herself merely a spectator to events. Vegeta was the inexperienced one – why did _she_ suddenly feel like she'd gotten in over her head? The answer came to her immediately - she hadn't expected to have sex with Vegeta, hadn't been offering it. Okay, there had been that awkward negotiation in the apartment on Grenouillea, and she had _thought_ about having sex with him, but not in a serious way, more in a fantasizing way. Yes, she had a crush on him, and yes she wanted to make out with him, but she also wanted to go home to Earth later, and maybe back to Yamcha, and Vegeta would just be a cherished "dangerous space boyfriend" memory that she could day dream about now and then. She'd not intended to make him her "first".

His tongue pushed past her lips and he pulled her closer. She inhaled sharply, giddied by his taking charge, and she clung to his shoulders as she felt herself pulled into him. Like the arrogant Saiyan he was, he'd come into the freezer wearing only a t-shirt and sweatpants, and damn, it was like his shoulders were sculpted from warm marble that rolled under her hands as he shifted his grip on her. His tongue was in her mouth, taking command while she was merely along for the ride. For maybe the first time she felt overwhelmed by him, and not because he was using force or even holding her too tight. She had been playing games with him like an idiot, not realising he wasn't playing the same game as she was, and now she felt that he was not so much under her control. Maybe he'd never truly been?

Her mind whirled, trying to decide on the best course of action. She should do _something_. Maybe she should stop this - tell him what was and wasn't on the table, layout some boundaries? She should be trying to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible if she was going to… She did not relish the thought of saying the words though, and she didn't want to stop things – not yet. Would he even stop if she _did_ ask him to? What could she do about it if he didn't? He was the second strongest being in the galaxy! When she thought of it that way, she was completely at his mercy!

_Oh no, what have I done?_

And then he did stop, perhaps feeling the stiffness of her in his arms. Pulling back he frowned.

'What's wrong?' he asked, and all the determination he'd displayed a moment ago was gone. He looked at her suspiciously, disappointedly, and his confusion settled her a little, making her feel like she still had some control after all.

'What do you mean?' she asked, stalling because she wasn't about to tell him the truth about what was wrong.

He struggled to find words before muttering sullenly. 'You're not the same; not like how you were on Namek.'

She could feel the vibration of his chest against hers as he spoke, and his breath touched her face in warm puffs in the cold. If she was going to realign his expectations of their relationship, now would be a good time to do it, but the words got stuck on her tongue. His dark eyes were shadowed by a frown of hurt, and she realised that she was ruining _this_ moment by worrying about the next. Did she actually need to lay down the law right at this moment? They obviously weren't about to have sex in the freezer! She was torn. She wanted to kiss away her troubles, but she wanted to feel safe while she was doing it.

She kept her arms around his neck as she asked him, timidly, 'Hey, Vegeta, if I asked you to stop, would you?'

Now it was his turn to go stiff with insult. His eyes flared wide in anger and he tried to step away, but she hung on, stumbling after him.

'Yes,' he growled, pulling her hands from his neck. She clung to his hands instead. 'What do you think I am?'

'Someone I can trust, I hope.'

He stopped pulling away and just glared at her, and Bulma regretted her anxiety, though she did feel assured. She wrapped her arms around his chest and clung tight, resting her cheek against his neck. His skin smelled good. She had come to like the slightly spicy, sometimes thick scent of him and she suddenly realised she associated the smell with safety and bed time. She smiled wryly. Now even her nose was weighing in with its opinion.

Vegeta was utterly confused. He had spent all day trying to figure out where he stood with her and what to do about it, and just as he thought he'd had it figured out and gathered the courage to act, she did…whatever this was! He'd not come in here for some friendly _cuddle_. Still, it wasn't all that bad. He swallowed his irritation and held her in return, pulse still pounding away with the power of his excitement from earlier. More of the stiffness melted out of her when his arms went around her, so it seemed a positive thing.

It was odd, being close like this and not kissing. Well, no, that was odd too, but he'd done that a few times now with Bulma, and he'd never done this. Somehow though, it was not a completely unfamiliar experience. Some memory flickered on the edge of retrieval. Had his father ever held him like this? Not really, not like this. Had his mother? _What_ mother? Suddenly Aubergina's face flashed into his mind, flushed and pink and spikes of black hair mussed as she looked up over his father's shoulder from his father's bed, laughing as his father grabbed the sheets to cover them. Vegeta's heart gave a lurch of fright, and he wondered if this was part of the vision Guru had given him, but even though it seemed to fit with that, this felt entirely like a memory; old and cloudy, and one that he'd never recalled before.

 _That doesn't mean anything though_ , he told himself. _Even if I did see my father and Aubergina in bed together it's not like I was witnessing my own conception._

Bulma shifted her face against his neck and as he breathed, her blue hair tickled his nose. Slowly her words began to sink in. Bulma wanted someone she could trust – well, that was a sentiment he could sympathise with. He still couldn't bring himself to fully trust her. Even at that very second, a part of him was eaten by doubt. She was either a very good actress, or she really did "care" for him. He had many problems, but he'd decided today that this one at least had a solution he could action. If she was faking her affections then he would take advantage of that. And if she wasn't faking, well…he would take advantage of that, too. And he'd keep one eye open for manipulation or betrayal.

'If you are trustworthy,' he said, 'I will be, too.'

She sniggered. 'I'm not sure that's what I meant.'

'Then what did you mean?'

She didn't answer him, but she began to smooth her hands down his back, and he felt the light, hair-raising sensation of her lips against his neck, and the conversation evaporated from his mind. He copied her, sliding his hands down her back and going further, edging his fingers down of the round swell of her buttocks, taking his time in case Bulma objected. The shape, the softness, the little sigh that he felt Bulma breathe against his neck all thrilled him and yet did nothing more than fan the flames of his lust. Then she boldly slid her hands down over his own ass and squeezed tight with both in a way that Vegeta felt was both violating and inciting. She brought her head up from his neck, giggling as she pulled him against her. His reply had changed something in her attitude, even though she claimed he'd misunderstood.

Bulma paused to search those eyes that could drown in such angry bitterness at times, but that were now hazy with desire and peering at her from under a puzzled frown. Was it these oases of soft, warm emotions in the brutal desert of his character that made her want him? She looked down at his lips and his surprisingly soft mouth and felt a clench somewhere in the vicinity of her womb. Without any sense of making a decision she was falling into him, closing her lips on his. Oh, she did, she wanted to _drown_ in the dark pool of Vegeta.

She sank into the kiss, needfully, greedily, _recklessly_. They pressed into each other, so hard that Vegeta overwhelmed her balance and she fell back into the stacks of frozen meals, sending some of them falling and skittering across the floor like icy bricks. Vegeta came with her, the hard swell of his erection seemingly unable to be parted from where it was pressed to the apex of her thighs. She caught him around the neck to hold herself up while she continued to kiss him deeply. One of his hands travelled up her back, finding its way up under both hoodies and her t-shirt, and Bulma shuddered from the shock of cold on her skin and from having his hands splaying over her ribs, his fingers snagging under the strap of her bra. Vegeta groaned in response, wrapping his other hand under her hips and tucking her up against him, pushing her further back into the meal trays. Bulma wondered briefly if the others could hear the icy avalanche from the lounge and then suddenly didn't care – she found herself reclined amongst the meals, her legs open while Vegeta bent over her, while he _rocked_ his hips against her. The movement was so crudely sexual, but so primal, so helpless – the freezing ambience and the others in the lounge were all forgotten in a rush of heady arousal.

His breath was ragged and his arm shook where he supported himself on the stack of meals. Vegeta could barely think. He was immersed, he was drowning in sensations of Bulma, and it was all such a rush – his heart thundering like he was running for his life. It seemed he had never felt anything before as acutely as he felt Bulma's creamy skin under his fingers, or the heat between her legs against the thing that was demanding to be buried in it.

Bulma barely held in a moan as Vegeta shifted his hand from her back to her breast and new waves of pleasure rolled through her. He was clumsy as he pawed her, trying to pull down the fabric of her bra, but it didn't matter - just his sheer eagerness carried the day. It was becoming more and more obvious to her that Vegeta was no Yamcha – after he had made up his mind up it seemed that he required no prodding or encouragement at all.

Finally he succeeded in pulling her breast up out of the cup and she didn't even care how uncomfortable that was once he covered her breast with his palm and haltingly ran his thumb over the puckered nipple. Bulma found the waistband of his pants and dove under to grab a handful of muscular buttock as it bunched and flexed. Her thumb brushed a strange smooth welt on the small of his back, and she baulked, realising it was the scar where his tail should have been. Vegeta flinched and she quickly left it alone. She hadn't really missed his tail, but she felt sad for his sake that it was gone. Suddenly she remembered what he'd told her of tails the first night she had met him – a Saiyan with only half a tail would be laughing stock. What would a Saiyan with no tail be?

She didn't have any time to consider it though. Vegeta shifted his weight and suddenly the dinners they were balanced on collapsed further, spilling the both of them almost to the floor. They broke apart from their kiss, both panting, and Bulma suffered a moment of doubt at the expression of blank lust on Vegeta's face. He rolled to one side, and she hoped he was going to suggest that they cool things off, but no. He abandoned her breast and slid his hand down her stomach, watching her face for any sign that this shouldn't be done. She didn't stop anything though, and was amazed by his boldness when his destination turned out to be between her legs. He cupped her sex through her shorts and she felt a wave of heat rise from the neck of her hoodie as he gently rubbed her there. Staring into Vegeta's eyes while he was massaging her most intimate parts was too surreal though, and too confronting. Instead she reared up to kiss him, hooking her arm around his neck to hold herself up. He lost his balance as another frozen brick slipped away from under his elbow and he fell half on top of her, so Bulma kissed his neck instead, opening her mouth to suck at his skin gently. He moaned and practically convulsed on top of her before pushing himself up onto his side again. He was rubbing her more insistently now, breathing heavily, and it kind of worried her how fast things were going, but also the fact that she didn't want to stop them, not yet. This felt too good for her to want to stop it yet.

Vegeta slowed to a standstill though, and wondering why, she dropped her head again, leaving his neck alone. She shouldn't give him a hickey anyway – she had no doubt Nappa and Raditz, and maybe Krillin too, would recognise it for one.

Vegeta had a strangely desperate look on his face as he reached up to her hand around his neck and pulled it slowly down to the crotch of his own pants. She almost couldn't believe what he was doing, and then she was embarrassed - there she was enjoying him fondling _her_ and all the while she was ignoring him! His eyes closed as she grasped the bulge in the front of his sweatpants, and he took a shuddering breath before returning to fumble between her legs with renewed vigour. Bulma's mind was in his pants though, feeling the way that rock-hard thing was almost bent in two, straining at the fabric of his snug underwear as she caressed it. This was concrete proof that he at least _lusted_ after her, and also that this was all getting very real, very fast.

Then Vegeta was unbuttoning her shorts and Bulma began to have misgivings again. She was _not_ losing her virginity in a freezer! If Vegeta thought that was going to happen then he was about to be very disappointed, and really she should say something soon. She shivered again, but this time it really was just from the cold. One thigh and knee and a sliver naked skin on her back was pressed directly onto frozen food, and the hand she had around Vegeta's back was numb.

He watched her again, breathing hard and waiting for her objection as he pulled open her fly and slipped his hand down the front of her underwear. His fingers slid over her blue fuzz and-

Someone tried the door handle.

Vegeta jumped a literal inch before turning to the door.

'Bulma?' asked Tarble's muffled voice.

Neither of them said anything, and only stared at the door in panic. The handle turned again and the door shook as Tarble tried to force it. She was very glad Vegeta had locked it.

'Are you okay?' Tarble asked.

Bulma glanced up at Vegeta's face. He looked as rattled as she'd ever seen him. 'Yes!' she called, not wanting Tarble to get worried and break the door down, as he was no doubt capable of doing.

'Is _Vegeta_ in there with you?' he then asked, sounding perplexed.

'I am,' said Vegeta.

'What're you doing in the freezer?'

'Having an important discussion!' replied Bulma.

'Are you going to bring the meals out soon? Nappa is getting tetchy.'

'Leave us!' ordered Vegeta.

The boy apparently retreated, and Vegeta quickly returned to task.

'Maybe we should- Mmmm!' Bulma's words were cut off by his kiss and by his burrowing fingers finding their way between her legs.

Vegeta couldn't have said if his eyes were open or closed – his whole awareness was focused on what he was touching, and it was as if he could see with his fingers – it was dark, hot, slippery; it evanesced a siren scent that overruled sense; there was folds, there was furred lips and between them was the smoothest, most silken thing he had ever touched.

_Gods, gods…_

He hadn't been sure what he was going to find – even Saiyan-like females varied between species, and he had no idea at all what a Saiyan woman's genitals were like anyway, but this felt right – this felt _perfect -_ and instinct dragged him along. Somewhere in here was the place he needed to find, a destination that he'd never felt so urgently the need to visit. His dick felt like it would explode if he didn't bury it in something soon – he'd been so desperate for her to touch him before that he'd swallowed all shame and put her hand on him, but that wasn't going to be enough.

She jumped and squeaked under him and let go of his dick entirely to grab his wrist instead.

'Gentle!' she told him, and abashed, he slowed his exploration.

There! Was this the way? A finger slid into a deeper heat and Bulma seemed to melt a little more in response, opening her legs to give him more room. He clambered over one leg to settle himself between them, and she was now flat on her back on icy bricks of Grenouillean cuisine. And then she shivered again, and this time it went on and on. Was that part of it? Her teeth chattered, and Vegeta paused, raising his head to frown at her.

'V-vegeta, I'm f-f-freezing!'

There was a polite knock on the door, making them both jump again.

'Hey, er, are we going to get dinner any time tonight?' Raditz shouted from outside. 'I hate to break up you little _leadership chit-chat_ , but Nappa's about ready to eat Krillin. Maybe you could just pass the meals out?'

Bulma pushed Vegeta off of her, and reluctantly he allowed her. She pulled herself to her feet with difficulty, sending meals sliding along the floor to clunk into each other.

'We're done in here!' she shouted back. 'B-be out in a minute.'

Vegeta sensed Raditz go back to the kitchen and watched Bulma prepare to leave, disappointment raging inside him. She grinned at him as he got to his feet as well. Even though she confessed to be cold, her cheeks were pink.

'I couldn't have stayed another minute in here, anyhow,' she said, still shivering as she did up the fly of her shorts and adjusted her bra under her clothes. Then she bent down again and picked up some of the meals from the floor around her and tossed them into the waiting wash basket. 'Some of these meals are starting to defrost!' she giggled as she hefted the basket onto her hip. Then she stepped up to Vegeta, eyes gleaming with coy calculation.

'Guess that's all for now,' she said and kissed him briefly on the lips. Vegeta grabbed her before she could pull away and kissed her back, hard and thoroughly, and the basket dropped to the floor again with a loud clatter and thunk. When he eventually let her go she stepped back slowly, her expression more clouded and thoughtful.

'Wow,' she said quietly, searching his face. He wondered what she was looking for. He cursed the Earthling softness that made her so vulnerable to the cold – for his own part he felt ready to burst into flames with the need for sex.

She picked her basket up again and left, glancing back over her shoulder as she slipped out of the door. His fingers were slippery and he realised he could still smell her almost as strongly as if she was in the room with him still. He would need to use the bathroom before he went to join the others, and for more reason than one.

* * *

Bulma wandered into the kitchen carrying her cargo, trying not to grin or shiver and not really succeeding. Tarble and Raditz were waiting. Raditz didn't look pleased at all as he took the basket and grabbed the first four to put them into the reheating unit.

'You're helping now?' she asked.

'Apparently you've got better things to do now than help out with the chores,' he said bitterly. 'Us grunts can't rely on the high and mighty to get dinner out in time.'

That took some of her shine away, and annoyed at him in turn she stomped out of the kitchen. She didn't see that behind her that Raditz paused in putting the meals in the unit. He took one out and sniffed it delicately, and then grimaced and threw it back in, slamming the unit door closed.

'Gross.'


	54. Ship of Fools, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey, long time, no chapter! I'm sorry about that - Christmas was a big spanner in the works and then over the break I didn't get much writing done at all, as we picked up renovations, plus my husband and I started a special gut-healing diet on New Years Day that is rather intensive and a lot of work, and the first week of the year revolved entirely around food, detox symptoms and cravings for non-allowed food. It's still a lot of work, but we're seeing good results, so it's really encouraged us to keep going and cravings are now minimal. If you have terrible digestive complaints, or if you suffer from mental illness combined with gut ailments, the GAPS diet is for you! If these results last, this diet is turning my husbands life around!
> 
> Okay, so last time on Never Ever Land, bulma discovered that Frieza's tracker is in the centre of Vegeta's skull, but Vegeta hurt Bulma's feeling by not being sure he believed her, Yamcha, chichi and Yajirobe caught up to Tien and Chiao-tzu on Snake Way, and Vegeta finally gathered his cojones and made a rather bold move on Bulma.

Bulma felt she was floating on air. When Vegeta emerged just in time for dinner to be served, he looked first at her, and she was doused with a heavy, head-spinning, womb-weeping dose of desire, and she was reasonably certain that it was the same for him, minus the womb part.

 _Hot damn, hot damn, what am I doing?_ she asked herself, getting swept away by the feeling that Vegeta's gaze gave her. She dropped her eyes to her lap just to break eye contact with him and saw the meal tray sitting there. _Eating dinner, that's right_.

After dinner she didn't retreat upstairs, even though she had Dr Calliper's paper to read and designing to do. She couldn't bear to take herself from the same room as Vegeta; she just wanted to wallow in this feeling. Besides, he might follow her up there, which would be a good thing, but could also be a bad one. Things had gone so fast with Vegeta; if they continued at that pace she was going to be in trouble very quickly. What was she going to do about this?

* * *

The group had a rare evening spent togethern uncharacteristically together night, with everyone in the lounge squeezed onto the couches except for Raditz who was making a mess on the steps up to the wooden floor. As much as she'd tried she hadn't managed to wrangle a seat next to Vegeta and was instead squeezed between the arm of a sofa and Tarble, with Nappa filling up the rest of the seat. Vegeta was on the end of the other couch with Puar nearby on the arm, Krillin and Brolly next to him. Krillin had chosen the holovid – it was a recitation of some L'Goontian epic poem with accompanying animations that they hadn't watched yet. The toneless L'Goontian narrator couldn't manage to quite ruin the source material, and in all it was rather charming, although not everyone paid much attention. Nappa had one eye on the screen and one in his book, and Raditz had taken it into his head to carve some kind of relief sculpture into a piece of the broken wooden step using knives from the kitchen and the ship's tools. Bulma didn't like to see either set of tools being abused this way, but was not in the mood to intercede. Brolly was attempting the finger knitting, but mostly just stared at his wool-entrapped fingers. Bulma herself was quiet, mind wandering far away from the tales of armadas clashing on the high seas, coming down from her buzz.

Thrilling as this development with Vegeta was, she'd really put herself in a corner. It was like the situation before they got to Namek, only worse. Then she'd only been worrying about ten days of things progressing too far or too quickly between them. Now, she was looking at months or even years of working with Vegeta and the Saiyans. If she was fooling around with Vegeta, realistically how long could she hold off sex with him? Could she implement a "No Sex" rule? Would she have to break it off with him if he didn't agree? If she broke it off with him almost as soon as they began, how would that work? It would be awkward at the very least, and she knew that even she wouldn't actually _want_ to end it.

On the holovid display, the men in their ships battled giant, flesh-eating creatures that looked like angry seahorses. The son of the hero was dragged overboard and taken down into the depths. The narrator recited his lament as he died.

_Fair Kitkatra, long I longed for thee,_

_And put off the pleasures that might have been,_

_For greater fortune and propriety,_

_A life of splendour instead of modest means,_

_Now I die without having you at all,_

_No bridal night for this lovelorn groom,_

_Nor lover's meetings after nightfall,_

_I am as a maiden to my ocean tomb._

Bulma snorted at the shallowness of bemoaning that you still had your virginity as you were dying, and then immediately remembered that it had happened to Yamcha, and that it _could_ happen to any of them – well, except Nappa and Raditz, obviously. It could happen to her. Easily. If Vegeta failed a second time against Frieza it would be very easy for her to be killed in the fall out – after all, that had nearly happened _last_ time. Or Frieza could catch up to them. Or she could just get unlucky between now and then. How many times had her life been in danger since she met the Saiyans?

She imagined just letting things taking their course with Vegeta. If she did she doubted she would have much chance of dying a virgin, but then what? A long term relationship with him while they hunted planets and evil Overlords? What would that even look like with Vegeta? She _couldn't_ imagine it. No, that was silly. So what would happen? An allies-with-benefits situation? That was kind of an icky prospect.

She didn't want to die a virgin, but most of all she just didn't want to _die_. Would it be worth divesting of the virginity if it led to complications? Did she want to lose her virginity to _Vegeta?_ She had been ready to with Yamcha, but she'd been with Yamcha for nearly a year. They'd gone through a lot together – adventures, dates, arguments, hours of making out that went nowhere, more dates, more arguments, breaking up, getting back together… She felt that Yamcha had earned it in a way that Vegeta hadn't. Vegeta was merely here and horny. Oh, _okay_ , she'd been through a lot with him too, now, and he'd put in some work, going from someone who threatened her life to someone who might almost be called a friend, but that wasn't the same. She didn't love him - she knew that. She had a really heavy crush on him, and he had his softer, sweeter moments, but there was no way a girl could fall in love with someone like Vegeta! After the life he'd lived she should feel ashamed for even lusting after him.

Guiltily she brought to mind some of the highlight moments with Yamcha, trying to reattach her heart to her boyfriend, but the memories were slippery in her mind, warping unexpectedly into her memories of Vegeta. His voice took on Vegeta's deeper, rougher tone, and his actions were all Vegeta's. It was Vegeta's face that kindled that fire inside her, and trying to cover that up with Yamcha was impossible. She'd hardly thought of Yamcha in the last couple of weeks except to compare Vegeta to him, and when she thought of Yamcha now she felt only fondness and guilt. Maybe she hadn't loved Yamcha either? She used to feel something warm and excited for him and wonder if it was love, but that feeling was gone.

 _I am a bad girlfriend_ , she told herself. _I'm sorry, Yamcha. If you were here I think I'd need to dump you_.

Mournfulness welled up, and tears came into her eyes as the hero of the poem discovered that his son was dead.

'Are you crying?' asked Goku, turning in the seat as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

She took a deep breath through her nose to quell the tears as most of the others turned her way. 'Yes,' she croaked. 'This is just a very sad story.'

'Someone's a sucker for boring poetry,' said Raditz meanly.

'Someone's a shitty woodcarver,' she replied, even more meanly.

'You haven't even seen it!'

Bulma knew it was a terribly crude carving of a naked woman. Her breasts looked like two badly formed dinner plates with apples in the centre for nipples. 'Yes I have. I saw it before, when I went to get water.'

Raditz stopped and stared at his work. Nappa leaned over the arm of the couch to see the carving.

'It's not that bad. I like it!' he said, but Raditz put it down on the floor, sulking.

Realising that she was acting weird, she looked over at Vegeta to see if he would have anything to say, either about her crying or Raditz's bad art, but he didn't open his mouth, and though he was looking in their direction, barely seemed cognisant of the argument.

Bulma slipped back into her thoughts. Oh, why was this such a big deal? Maybe she _should_ have sex with Vegeta and get the thing out of the way already and stop wishing for it to be special and romantic and meaningful? What was she going to do – save herself for maybe years for a boy she knew she would probably break up with the moment she got home? That was stupid. If she wanted to do it with Vegeta, then she should. It wouldn't be tender, and there would be no scented candles or sexy virginity-losing underwear, but…she wanted him. And he was so _strong_. When she was with him wasn't she in the arms of the second strongest being in the galaxy? If they were sleeping together, wouldn't that also cement the alliance between them? They would really be two against the world, then. Although…

What if she did go down this path and it ended badly? What if she ended up having to lead the charge against Frieza with an ex-boyfriend? What if it was such a bad break up that it _ended_ their alliance? She caught her breath as a new thought occurred - he wasn't even human! Maybe they _couldn't_ have sex? What she'd touched of him certainly seemed _similar_ to Yamcha. She'd seen Goku's genitalia more times than she liked and he looked as human down there as any other boy, but his equipment was prepubescent, and, thank god, not erect at the times she seen it, so that didn't tell her too much. So, getting "it" _in_ didn't seem like it would be an issue, but what if Saiyans did some weird thing when they had sex? Like their penises swelled up like a dog's after mating, or worse, they were like cats, and sharp barbs came shooting out of their penises at orgasm? It was a frightening thought.

Even if they had sex just like humans did, there was still that whole virginity-losing business that worried her. She'd read enough romance novels and advice columns in teen magazines to know that there would be blood and hurt. The hero in the romance novels was always a skilled enough lover that the girl's pain was quickly overwhelmed by pleasure, but the advice column horror stories painted other possibilities. She knew that Yamcha would have taken it as slow as she wanted, and possibly slower, and she'd held high hopes that their first time would be good or at least decent. Vegeta, could he…would he be able to make it good?

Her gaze settled on the side of his face, and the memory of him staring at her as he slid his hand down the front of her pants arose again, and with it heat.

_Ah…_

Then again, he'd torn the lace edge of her bra and given her a nasty poke in the perineum.

_Ha…_

As they drifted into their bedtime routines she was totally preoccupied with the choice looming over her. She felt ignorant and timid, which annoyed her. She was over being a virgin and being afraid of sex, and being full of romantic hopes about her first time, but it didn't change that she was.

She watched her reflection critically as she brushed her teeth at the bathroom sink. Her kooky, side-mounted ponytail and pink, long sleeved nightdress suddenly seemed unutterably childish.

'Oh, grow up!' she said, yanking the hair tie out.

* * *

Outside the bathroom Bulma walked right into Krillin and Goku, her eyes looking to some imaginary, distant vista over the tops of the boys' heads.

'Uh, whoops,' she muttered and walked on without actually looking at her friends.

'What is _wrong_ with her today?' complained Krillin to Goku as they went into the bathroom.

Goku disappeared behind the partition to take a tinkle. 'I don't know,' he said, sounding like he wasn't that concerned and not annoyed, like Krillin was. Krillin loaded his toothbrush with paste.

'She was talking to Vegeta before dinner,' Goku added. 'Do you think she's upset about something?'

'About trampling our freedom, hopefully,' said Krillin, though he knew that wasn't likely.

'Are you still angry about that?' asked Goku, in full flow.

'Yesh!' Krillin replied around his toothbrush head.

'You shouldn't be. She was right – if it had been me, I would have done the same thing. You would have, too.'

Krillin held his tongue. He wasn't sure what the truth of that was. He moved over to let Goku in at the basin, and when he finished brushing his teeth he put his toothbrush back in the glass with the toothpaste and the other toothbrushes. Bulma said it was their last tube, unless there was some in the large capsules that couldn't be opened on the ship. The Saiyans all used some kind of sonic brush that didn't use toothpaste, and Krillin supposed that they would have to soon, too, but he would miss his minty fresh mouth before bedtime.

'Yeah. But I guess I want to go back to Earth sooner rather than later,' he admitted.

Goku's eyebrows shot up. 'Really?'

'Yeah, really. Why, don't _you?_ '

'Well, I hate being on the space ship, but isn't it cool that we're in space? And we've got so much important stuff to do! Don't you think that's exciting?'

'Yeah, it's a bit too exciting!'

'But you're gonna help fight Frieza, right?'

Krillin snorted. 'You know how strong Frieza is – you felt the size of his chi! What are the likes of you and me going to do against him?'

'I don't know,' said Goku, forgetting all about the toothpaste on the end of his toothbrush. 'But we're going to train, properly, with the Saiyans, so maybe more than you think!'

'Great.'

'I know!' Then Goku frowned. 'Wait a second – you didn't mean that, did you?'

'No, I didn't. I want to go back to Earth and be with Earthlings. You might not have noticed, but I'm kind of the odd one out, here! I'm not a Saiyan – I don't fit in with you guys-'

'Yes you do!'

'I don't get stronger when you beat the crap out of me, I just get hurt.'

'I'm an Earthling, too, remember?'

'But they accept you because you're a Saiyan and because you're Raditz's brother,' said Krillin. 'They only _tolerate_ me because Bulma bargained for my life way back when.'

'You do fit in,' insisted Goku. 'If anyone's the odd one out, it's Bulma. She must feel left out – she's the only one that can't fight and doesn't have any balls or a wiener. Oh, wait, I guess there's Puar, too. She's the only one who's a cat.'

'Yeah, I wasn't counting Puar or Bulma; _obviously_ they're different. I was only talking about us guys.'

Goku frowned. 'I think _Tarble_ thinks you fit in. And you know, Brolly seems like he could be our friend, too. I think even Raditz kind of likes you in a way. That only leaves Nappa and Vegeta, and I think that they don't really like anyone.'

'Vegeta likes _Bulma_ , or he did at one point, at least,' said Krillin, his heart shrivelling a little more. Ah, what was the use? Bulma had never and would never see him as anything other than a short, funny-looking kid, even if he was literally the only human male left alive. His on-again, off-again crush on her would only ever bring him grief, especially as Bulma was as much bad news as good. There had definitely been times when he'd been glad that she was _not_ his girlfriend.

'Oh, yeah! And Puar, too! I hope he does still like them,' said Goku. 'I think that'll make things easier for us.'

'I just wish that I could go home once we've got that wish to bring Kami back. There's no point in me training with the Saiyans.'

Goku looked shocked. 'Don't you want to get stronger?'

'Yes,' replied Krillin despondently. 'But I'll never be strong enough to help with Frieza.'

'You will always be a help!' said Goku, dropping his brush in the sink and taking Krillin by the shoulders. 'I'm sure you're as powerful as me and Tarble.'

'For how much longer?' Krillin muttered.

'Hey,' said Goku, gently. 'What's up, Krillin? You're not acting yourself.'

In the face of his friend's concern, Krillin felt all of a sudden that he was being very pathetic, and worse, he felt almost like he might cry with self-pity. The memories of what had happened on Namek hadn't gone away. When they watched the animated battle in the holovid earlier, the memory of his own battles came back to him as clear, almost, as if it was happening again. He could feel the crunch of bones as he landed blow, and a soldier going limp and just falling, and been gripped by the sudden panicked urge to catch him, rewind time and hit him less hard. He'd killed people and he wasn't okay with that and it couldn't be undone. Last night he'd dreamt about the faces of those he'd killed, just the second their panic and pain turned slack. He took a gasping breath.

'I don't know. I guess I just don't like being in space, so far from everyone I know. I just…want to go home.'

Goku frowned, like he didn't know what to do about this reaction, and Krillin hung his head in shame.

'You know we can't yet, right?'

Krillin nodded. 'I know. I just wish I could talk to Master Roshi.' Saying his master's name brought the weight of homesickness and longing down harder than ever. He could feel himself painfully close to tears.

'Sometimes I wish I had Master Roshi to talk to, too.'

'The old guy seemed to know the right thing to say, you know? Unless he wasn't saying completely the _wrong_ thing. He was wise about stuff. Some stuff, anyway.' Krillin risked looking Goku in the face again. His friend was still frowning.

'What would you talk to Roshi about?'

Krillin considered answering for a long moment. How honest could he be? Goku was his best friend, but this was talking about _feelings_ , and they just didn't do that together. And he didn't know if Goku shared his feelings.

'You know how you said this was exciting,' he said eventually. 'Did you think it was exciting when you punched a hole through that soldier on Namek?'

Goku's face was instantly sober and pale.

'No. Of course not,' he said softly, and Krillin was relieved to hear it.

'Goku, I killed people.'

'Bad guys, Krillin,' said Goku. 'Sometimes you just have to.'

'I'm not sure I did! I could have just injured them, knocked them out so that they couldn't follow! Until you told us to stop I was _trying_ to kill Dodoria. All I could think about was how much a relief it would be once he was dead!'

'I should have just let it happen,' said Goku. 'It wasn't like I didn't kill others that day. I just thought that with Dodoria there was the chance to show him mercy. But he didn't deserve mercy.'

Krillin swallowed, remembering a long-ago lesson from a master at Orin Temple. Like so many things he'd been taught there, he hadn't understood it at the time, but he thought he did now. 'I think the mercy is for our sake, too, not just the enemy's.'

They both hung their heads now, absorbed in their unique senses of shame.

'I wish I hadn't killed that guy so messily,' said Goku at last. 'But I wish more that I'd kept my mouth shut and then that Namekian wouldn't have died. Like Nappa said, it was kind of my fault. Maybe we _should_ have killed Dodoria instead of trying to bargain.'

'No, you were right,' Krillin said. 'You didn't know what Dodoria was going to order. It was wrong to gang up on him like that.'

'I still think I made the wrong decision.'

Krillin sighed. 'Something tells me returning to Namek and then killing Frieza is going to be a rough ride. What if we have to make decisions like those again?'

Goku gave a half smile. 'If only it was all just fights and no one dying.'

'And nothing riding on the outcome but prize money!' said Krillin, smiling a little in return.

Goku gave his shoulders a sudden shake. 'Hey, I have an idea! After we wish Kami back and he wishes everyone else back, we should go right back to Earth and do all our training there.'

'With the Saiyans, too?'

'Yeah!'

Krillin thought about it. He didn't really like the thought of Saiyans living on Earth, but it was very tempting to train amongst all the comforts of his home planet.

'Yeah, that's a good idea. We should mention it to Bulma and Vegeta sometime.'

'It's the best thing to do, anyway. After Kami is brought back to life we need to get rid of the men Frieza left on the planet before they can start killing Earthlings all over again. After that we may as well stay.'

Krillin was heartened by the thought. Assuming Bulma came through and no calamity befell them, it wouldn't be _too_ long to endure before he was back on terra firma again.

* * *

Vegeta's mind was a storm.

He was lying there, flat on his back, trying to ignore the absence of a tail pressing into the cushion.

 _His_ mind was made up on the point of having Bulma or not. He didn't care what Nappa had to say about it anymore. The moment he'd kissed her again he knew that was what he wanted, and he wanted it to the distraction of all other things, and he wanted it _because_ it was a distraction _from_ all other things. He would far rather lie there and burn in the memory of touching Bulma's…pussy, than contemplate the wreck of his life. Not when the task ahead of him was monumental. He'd improved himself _so much_ , and yet he'd been beaten more soundly by Frieza than he would ever have guessed possible, and if that wasn't bad enough, he'd been marked forever by the humiliation! He might have taken the tip of Frieza's tail with his hare-brained assassination attempt, but Frieza had taken his entire tail! So, yes, he'd rather think of what it might feel like to have more than his finger inside Bulma than to be buried in these circular thoughts about his failures and the frighteningly difficult road to success.

Irritated, he realised he was thinking of them again and tried to cast the mess out of his mind, and then he caught the scent of the girl as she approached, which made it easier.

She settled herself by his side, giving him a shy grin as she wriggled under her blanket. Vegeta felt his cock twitch and wondered how much sleep he could actually get with her lying next to him. He needed _some_. He'd had two nights of hardly any sleep in a row, so he could do with a decent one.

Puar and the boys all made it to bed and the holographic fire was turned off, but the darkness didn't carry Vegeta away to slumber. The smell of Bulma was in his nose, and he suffered a vivid recollection of all they had done in the freezer that made him hard all over again.

Now that he'd definitely decided to throw away his Saiyan purity for Bulma he was impatient for it to happen, but the question was now one of opportunity. There were not so many appropriate spaces on the ship, and less that were private. If he commandeered the bedroom for himself and Bulma his intention would be obvious, and no doubt he'd have the rest of the crew outside the door, curious and interfering and opinionated, and the idea of suffering judgement from any of the others was abhorrent to him. No one needed to know what went down between him and Bulma, not even Raditz and Nappa. _Especially_ Nappa. It should remain secret, and the best way to keep it secret was to play it out during the night when the others were asleep.

For a long time Vegeta lay there, listening to the fidgeting and scratching and wriggling of the others slowly taper off into half a dozen patterns of slow, steady breathing. Bulma was not asleep though, he was reasonably certain. Her breathing was quiet and shallow, and though she didn't move much when she did there was a tension and deliberateness to it. Why was she still awake? Was it the same reason he was?

Like he had summoned her with his thought, she rolled over to face him, and Vegeta looked over at her, his pulse spiking when he saw her eyes were open. He rolled over too, and their knees bumped together. Slowly she reached out towards his face, her fingers brushing his chin, one sliding between his parted lips to his teeth. He didn't know was this was meant to be, but he wasn't adverse. No one had ever had their finger in his mouth before unless they were trying to tear his cheek out, the end result usually being an amputated finger.

Bulma gave the softest of chuckles. She'd not been aiming for his mouth; she had meant to brush her hand along his jaw, but she couldn't see him well enough in the dark to tell where his features were. She withdrew her finger, but then Vegeta lifted his own hand to her face, hooked a finger over her chin and into her smiling mouth. She was about to tell him that that was only a mistake - sticking fingers in other people's mouths isn't part of making out - but her lips wrapped automatically around his finger, the pad of it resting on her tongue, and Vegeta's breath hitched. Just that sound set her libido simmering. She sucked his finger slightly and he half gasped again, his breathing quickening.

Curious, she returned her own finger to his mouth and this time he opened his jaw to let her in, to skim over his incisors, to touch his tongue, and he sucked her finger in return. She felt the gentle pull right through her body from her toes, like he was siphoning some strange, liquid thrill from her. Vegeta pulled back a little, his finger tip between her lips now, and traced her lower lip, then down the inner side of it. What was he doing? Was this some Saiyan thing? Something he'd picked up from weird alien pornos? She thought that this should be odd or funny, but she only felt excited and such an odd sense of dislocation – Vegeta was allowing her to touch him in a way more intimate than she felt their kisses to be. She'd become so used to him being a closed door that she had to push against, that when he swung open for her she lost her balance.

They went on like this for some minutes until Vegeta shuffled closer, and by then Bulma was aching with the need to be pressed to him. She ditched her blanket and wormed her way under his as quietly as she could manage, wrapping her arms around him and entwining their legs. Vegeta replaced his finger with his lips and swiftly hauled her firmly under him, and Bulma's resulting wave of arousal would have dropped her to the floor if she hadn't already been lying down. Their kiss started deep, Vegeta's breath coming hard and fast against her cheek, and her heart hammering so loud that she was worried it might wake the others. He tasted good and he felt good; all warmth and solid muscle around her and between her legs. Her hands moved over the naked skin of his back, something she hadn't realised she'd wanted to do so much, and his leg between hers was naked also, his rougher hair tickling the soft skin of her thighs. Her nightdress was already hiked right up to her hips before Vegeta tugged it, pulling it higher, baring her stomach and running his hand up her naked ribs to her breast, and this time nothing hindered him as he rubbed and kneaded. She could have melted with the knowledge that they were almost naked together – only the thinness of their underwear separated them - they had crossed a line she had never crossed with Yamcha, and from here on out was unchartered waters. It might have almost been scary, but there was no way things could go much further than this while the others were in the room, which was precisely why she had risked starting something. Instead she just bathed in the glorious lust Vegeta stirred in her, touching him, being touched by him; it was still unreal to her. Her and Vegeta, doing _this_.

Maybe her heartbeat really did wake someone, or maybe she whimpered aloud without realising it. Raditz coughed, and to Bulma's guilty mind it sounded deliberate. The pair froze in each other's arms, and then after a space of half a minute of listening for more indications Raditz was awake she reluctantly began to pull away. Vegeta kept a tight hold on her though, and moved his lips to her ear. It tickled as he said in the lightest whisper possible, 'We should go upstairs.'

Those breathy, hopeful words had Bulma's libido sprinting up the flight deck already, but her fear and caution kept her rooted to the spot. She hadn't thought that he would suggest something like that. _You know what is going to happen up there,_ her fear counselled her. _Or what he thinks is going to happen._ She was not ready; she needed more information and time to come to a decision.

She pulled harder against his embrace, and perhaps realising he was restraining her, he let go. Once she got free of his arms she paused to whisper into his ear in return, 'No, it's okay. I think we need the sleep anyway.'

Then she rolled back and tucked herself under her own blanket. She was aware that this was not the response Vegeta was expecting and not even near the truth of her reasons, but she was not about to offer him something as embarrassing and messy as the truth. Vegeta stayed where she left him, and it was too dark for her to see his expression, but she imagined she could sense confusion and disappointment. Well, she was disappointed, too, but if she could deal with it, so could he. Damn Raditz! She'd really been enjoying that!

She closed her eyes and waited, feeling miles away from sleep while her blood slowed and cooled. After a few minutes she heard Vegeta move and his sleeping fur brushed her face. She opened her eyes again to see the shadow of him taking his bedclothes across the lounge and up the stairs. She stared in confusion. Did he think she would follow? Or was he angry with her? Her disappointment suddenly turned into an ache of regret, like a pull through her chest telling her to run after him, to go up there and explain herself, or at least salve that little rejection with more kisses and fooling around, but that was nonsensical – she would only make things worse.

For a long time she lay uncomfortable in the dark, but sleep did eventually sneak up on her.

* * *

It felt like it was only minutes later that the air was split by a blaring alarm.

Bulma sat up directly from sleep, sucking in breaths to power her suddenly pounding heart. All the boys sat up too – the lights were on and the edge lights on the ceiling were flashing red. Raditz cried out, and if there could be any doubt, that infernally unbothered L'Goontian voice made an announcement that cleared it right up.

'Hull breach. Cabin depressurisation. Seal breach immediately or abandon ship.'

Bulma screamed with mindless terror for her life, even as she sped, blankets tangling her legs, across the room and up the steps to see the patch above the rampway. The patch was buckled in the middle, the edges lifted and the soldering snapped. The metal plate had been sucked partly out of the hole.

'It's failing!' she shouted. Vegeta was by her side in that instant, flying down the stairs, and Raditz was on her other side.

'Can we just press it flat and re-glue it?' asked Raditz.

'It's worth a try,' said Bulma, stooping to pick up the rest of the repair kit from where she had left it at the ready. They had one more patch left and less than half the glue. They could do another patch or mend this one, but not both.

'Quickly!' said Vegeta. 'Our compressed air reserves are already half gone!'

Raditz used his fist to pound the plate flat, hitting one side and then the other. The plate snapped in half, and all of it – metal plate, dried glue and the thinner metal plate fell to the floor and the gap sucked at them, screaming as it took their precious air from the cabin.

'Oh, fuck! We're fucked!' screamed Raditz, and Bulma joined in.

'Fucking shut up and help me get this second patch on!'

Vegeta watched, hovering anxiously while together Raditz and Bulma repeated the patching they did the first time. Bulma could hear Krillin and Puar crying.

'Oh, god, Bulma, please!' begged Krillin.

This time it went faster having done it before and with Bulma not being injured, but the seal didn't feel as good. They had used too much glue last time, and what they had left was spread thinly in order to cover the rubber seal. When they were finished she was covered in cold sweat and shaking again, this time with electrified nerves. Blessedly the alarm had stopped.

Vegeta's face was pale and very grave as she turned towards him. He nodded in curt acknowledgement of her quick action (or so she guessed) and they faced the rest of the crew.

'Bugger me,' said Raditz, collapsing to the floor. The boys and Nappa were ringed around them with various expressions of horror or distress.

'It's fixed now?' asked Tarble.

'It's _patched_ again,' said Bulma. 'God knows how long the patch will hold this time. And it's our last one.' She swallowed heavily, feeling sick. Why had she forgotten about the dangers of relying on the emergency patch? The temporary and fallible nature of the things were printed on the outside of the bag in two inch high letters, but she had gotten used to the first patch _not_ failing.

'We're still almost two days from our destination,' said Vegeta. 'Will it hold?'

'I have no idea,' she admitted, and Puar erupted into hiccupping sobs again.

'Have we been scanning for ships?' Vegeta asked.

Raditz looked guilty. 'Well, a couple of days ago, but there was nothing!'

'Go do it now!' Vegeta barked. Raditz flinched and raced past him up the stairs to the flight deck. 'And that will be your duty for the rest of the day!' Vegeta yelled after him.

'Urgh, what's the time?' asked Goku, and rubbed his eyes. 'I still feel tired.'

'A couple of hours before morning,' said Vegeta. Bulma wondered how he knew, and then she saw how tired he looked.

'Were you awake?' she asked.

'Yes,' he replied, without looking at her.

'I'm going back to bed for a bit, then,' said Nappa, leaving to do just that. 'Wanna get my beauty sleep in case I wake up in Hell.'

Goku yawned. 'Yeah, me too.'

The kids retreated back to the bed and settled themselves in again.

'I'm going to check the ship's computer to see if we can do anything about getting that compressed air back up,' Bulma said to Vegeta quietly. He followed her up the stairs to where Raditz was busily typing commands in to the console. Bulma settled herself in the other pilot's seat and went through the ships systems and metrics. Vegeta had been understating it. Between the two decompressions they had used up ninety percent of their back up air supply. Even if they had another patch to use if this second one failed, it would be touch and go to replace it before they suffered fatal decompression.

Vegeta leaned over her shoulder, watching, and yawned. It concerned her that he hadn't been sleeping. He hadn't been up worrying had he? Or maybe thinking about her…

'You look like you need more sleep, too,' she told him gently.

'I'll do.'

'You're practically asleep on your feet. Don't worry about us up here. Raditz and I have things covered.'

He didn't smile or express any thankful emotion at those words, but he did stiffly go to retrieve his fur and blanket and take them back down stairs again, closing the door behind him.

Bulma and Raditz worked at their tasks silently for a while, Raditz jiggling his legs nervously. Bulma found that she could lower the air pressure in the pantry-bedroom, and directed the life support systems to compress that air back into the holding tank, so that was a little more. She would have to turn it up again before anyone went in to get food, but it was worth it to have a little more air in the tank. Wickedly, she thought about sucking the air out of Nappa's bedroom while he slept, and sniggered.

'What's funny?' said Raditz, not looking up from the console.

'Nothing. Just stupid tired thoughts.'

Raditz sighed and sat back. 'Well, there's nothing out there. No ships on the horizon.'

'There's no horizon in space,' she pointed out.

'Well, that's where you'd be wrong,' he said, and then straightened in his seat and spoke as if reciting some drill. '"In spacefaring parlance, the horizon is the range of the ship's sensors and the transmitter's send-receive function." And there's nothing on our horizon right now, so that seal had better hold.'

Bulma began looking through the logs for the air composition, just to make sure that it hadn't gone out of whack somehow. Raditz yawned, which made her yawn, too.

'You're making me feel tired,' she tried to say through her yawn.

Raditz sagged back into the chair, sinking down until his knees touched the console. 'I haven't had a decent night's sleep since we were on Grenouillea Two. There's a lot to be said about having your own bedroom.'

'Yep,' she agreed, and then felt suddenly uncomfortable. Was he talking about earlier? She had _thought_ he'd been awake! Surely he wouldn't mention it if he had been? But it was Raditz, so who knew? She sat in silence for a minute, debating if and how to ask him.

'Raditz,' she said casually. 'Were you awake earlier?'

He was busy trying to wrap a wide hank of hair around his face to use as an eye mask.

'You mean when the alarm went off?'

'No. Earlier than that.'

'When?'

'When you coughed.'

His hair covered all his face except his mouth and he tucked it in behind his head before answering. 'Don't know what you're talking about.'

She was about eighty percent reassured. She sat back too, gazing unseeingly at the logs. Dammit. If she wanted to know more about Saiyan physiology and sexual practices then Raditz was the only one she could ask. She couldn't ask Brolly – that would just send the wrong message, and he was young and undoubtedly a virgin and not even very knowledgeable about Saiyans, being raised amongst aliens. There was the same story with Tarble, though she suspected that if she asked him he would know quite a lot about the sexual practices of Tech-Techies. She'd rather cut out her tongue than ask Nappa, and of course she couldn't ask Vegeta himself because…reasons. She didn't want to get his hopes up if she was only going to turn him away. Plus it would be embarrassing. With Raditz she could maybe disguise her questions as general interest, unless he already suspected what was going on between her and Vegeta.

 _He doesn't know_ , she decided. _He would have teased me about it or something if he knew_.

All right then. She would launch her carefully planned conversation.

'Hey Raditz, are you still awake?

'Hmm.'

'There's something I've been wondering – just kind of curious. There are lots of different types of aliens, right?'

'Thousands and thousands,' he confirmed.

'And some look more like each other than others.'

'Yeah.'

'Why is that?'

He shrugged, still wrapped up in his hair. 'Some are closely related. Some just had similar forces or evolution, I guess. I don't know. The big brains on Planet Rosseta worry about crap like that and don't have all the answers, so I'm not gonna even try.'

'Oh. Well, do you remember those wall tiles on the bathroom in mine and Vegeta's apartment on Grenouillea?'

His mouth, all she could see of him, grinned wide. 'Do I ever!'

'Yeah, well, the pictures of the Grenouilleans on those looked pretty much like human Earthlings in, you know, all major details.'

Raditz lifted his hair to look at her. 'You want to talk about raunchy bathroom tiles?'

'No. I'm just curious about how a human-looking penis or vagina ended up on an alien race halfway across the galaxy!'

'Human-looking?' he repeated and gave her a dirty once over like she hadn't seen him do for a while.

'Would you say the Grenouilleans on those tiles were Saiyan looking, too?' she asked, feigning cool, clinical interest. 'I can't help noticing since I've been stuck with you guys that there are many, many similarities in general physique between our species.'

'Yes,' he replied. 'They're similar, but you'd have to ask Nappa for a better opinion on the ladies. I was way younger than Kakarott is now when I left Planet Vegeta.'

She noted but ignored the hint of sadness in his voice.

'Do you think it's possible that the species are sexually compatible as well? Like, how often does it happen that two similar-looking species try and have sex only for it to turn out badly, or impossible?'

Raditz snorted. 'Yeah, well, it happens. _Most_ gendered bipeds keep their junk between their legs, and _most_ of those females have a vagina and _most_ of those males have a schlong, and _most_ of the time it's a size that will work, assuming that the heights are roughly in the same range, and _most_ of the time there's not some hideous catch, like squirting venom on orgasm, but it really pays to ask. _Really_ pays. I think the worse ones are the aliens who don't even enjoy sex – it's just physical exercise to them, and boring exercise at that. That's no fun.'

That was not so reassuring, and she was not much closer to getting her questions answered.

'Well, based on what you saw on Grenouillea – the tiles – and yes, Puar told me she heard you watching porn in your room - would you say that Grenouilleans and Saiyans were sexually compatible?'

Raditz chortled. 'I don't have to rely on what I _saw_ to know that!'

'What do you mean?'

'I tried it out for myself!'

'How?' Bulma cried.

'Nenufar.'

'Nenufar!' she repeated, gawping. 'When did you have the chance for that?'

'After the party of course!'

'But Vegeta dragged you away!'

'Guess what, Nenufar knew where we were staying and paid me a visit right after we got home. So there. Very sexually compatible,' he finished, grinning wide enough to split his face.

Bulma was astonished and a little grossed out and felt more like a naïve virgin than ever.

'So, what was the Grenouillean style like, then?' she asked awkwardly.

The smugness turned to surprise. 'You want to hear details?'

'No. Just in a general way. What's the Saiyan style?' Bulma felt herself turning red. What the hell was she blathering? That had sounded much less weird and pervy in her head.

Raditz was nonplussed. 'Er, _awesome_ style? Why are you asking?'

'No reason. It's just that I think it's weird for the three species to look so similar and be apparently sexually compatible, or at least Saiyans and Grenouilleans are. I wonder if humans are too?'

Raditz was looking at her funny, so she hurried on. 'If they all look so similar, you know, barring tails and skin colour, do you think they could be reproductively compatible? I would think not, as it's interplanetary, let alone interspecies coupling, but does that happen?'

Raditz shook his head. 'It's rare for species to be able to interbreed – they'd have to be a closely related species, closer than Saiyans and Grenouilleans. I've never heard of a half-Saiyan anyway.'

So at least there was one issue cleared up. _Phew!_ And just in time too, as she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Nappa pushed his giant body into the room. It must be his wake-up time.

'Morning, kiddos, what're we chatting about?'

'Bulma was just asking about the sexual compatibility of Earthlings and Saiyans,' replied Raditz dryly. Bulma shot him a look of utter betrayal. There was silence from Nappa for a beat and then he swaggered towards them, smiling in a way that didn't bode well.

'You wanna find out, Princess?' he said, and reached down into his pants, jerking the band down and pulling his dong out at the same time. Bulma squealed and covered her face with her hands, then realising she was a sitting duck, shot out of her seat and ran to stand behind Raditz's, still averting her eyes, but the image of that pale, heavy sausage flopping out from its hairy nest was burned into her brain.

'If you bring that thing any closer I'll scream for Vegeta!' she warned him, but Nappa only roared with laughter.

'Oh, calm down, Sweetheart, I was only joking!'

'That's not funny!'

'Yes it was! Look at you! It was hilarious!'

'Put it away, Nappa, you're grossing _me_ out,' Raditz complained.

'You're no fun,' said Nappa, still laughing.

Bulma risked peeking and Nappa was covered again. And then she took revenge on Raditz, swiping at the side of his head with her hand, catching him unawares as he was still looking at Nappa.

'Ow!' he complained, and turned to glare at her over his shoulder. Bulma suddenly regretted this move, as Raditz was not one of her surrogate little brothers, but he didn't raise any hand against her. She put on her best offended adult voice.

'Raditz is colouring the truth,' she told Nappa. 'I was _not_ asking about the sexual compatibility of humans and Saiyans, per se, I was actually trying to have a scientific discussion about the comparative anatomies of three ostensibly unrelated species!'

' _Right_.'

He headed to the chair she'd just vacated, and she took the opportunity to escape, walking stiff legged around the opposite side of the map table to get to the door.

'You'd better not touch the console with that hand!' she told Nappa once she got to the stairs.

Nappa merely hooked his thumb in his waistband again and she rushed out of the room and down the stairs.

* * *

The morning had a late start, and after breakfast Vegeta look possession of one whole couch afterwards to nap again. He was just stirring from the nap when he sensed movement on the arm of the couch. He opened his eyes and turned his head to find Puar settling a hot coffee there. The cat smiled weakly.

'Who ordered you do bring me this?' he asked, confused as to why she had.

'No one. I just thought you needed it, maybe.'

Vegeta sat up, frowning at her.

'I didn't ask for it.'

'Do you not want it?' she replied, seeming anxious at the thought. 'I could get you something else, if you like.'

'No,' he said, and lifted the mug to his lips to sip. It was indeed welcome, though not anticipated.

'Yamch- I mean, my old friend that I used to hang out with, always liked a coffee when he woke up from a nap, assuming we had any.'

The cat was sucking up.

'And now that _I_ am your friend, the same courtesy is extended to me?' he asked sarcastically.

Puar cowered a little, her ears flattening, and worked her claws in the upholstery nervously.

'I feel bad about what happened on Namek still.'

Vegeta looked around the room quickly. Only the brats were present, playing chequers two-on-two at the dining table and not paying any attention to him.

'You _should_ ,' he hissed at Puar, and her ears flattened further, but to his surprise, she didn't flee.

'The agreement between the Earthling and the Saiyans...means I'm not your Daemon – I'm an ally,' she said, and Vegeta realised she was right. 'I know we were never friends – you thought you could own me, but I was never really _your_ daemon, whatever that is!'

Vegeta regarded the cowering thing and felt disheartened. 'So be it.'

Puar lifted her head. 'But we _could_ be friends. If you treated me as one.'

'True friends?' What an absurd thought! Vegeta smiled, on the verge of laughing in derision. 'What does that entail?'

Puar shrugged. 'Helping you when I can, how I can. I don't know. Being someone to talk to when you want to. Never mind – forget I said anything.' She began to float away.

'Wait!'

'What?' she replied, turning in the air.

'Does your friendship deal involve loyalty?'

'Kind of. I won't go against Earth or my other friends though, if that's what you're asking.'

'I wouldn't dream of it,' he replied airily. 'We're all in this together now, are we not?'

The suspicion in Puar's face melted so quickly into happiness. 'We are!'

'Then you can be my friend.'

Puar shot forward, but then put the brakes on mid-air. 'You have to be my friend in return!'

Now Vegeta really hesitated. 'And what does _that_ mean?'

Puar's look of hope faded. 'Never mind.'

'I'm curious to know what I have to do to secure this friendship from you.'

Puar shook her head. 'It doesn't matter. If you don't know it won't work anyway.'

She flew away to settle herself on the dining table, slumping herself against Kakarott's arm. He looked away from the game to give her an absent-minded scratch between her ears.

 _I have given her scratches_ , Vegeta thought to himself. Was that enough to pass as friendship? He rolled his eyes and lay back down again. This female was just as complicated as the other one.

* * *

Bulma had taken a bath and fallen asleep in it, then woken again and spent another half hour solidly daydreaming. Amongst the imaginations were scenarios in which she introduced Vegeta to her parents as her boyfriend, and another about Vegeta competing in the World Martial Arts tournament. It made her smile, it was so ridiculous. She also had some very diverting daydreams about going on possible dates with him on Baccanelli. Surely, if a suitable setting for a date could be found outside of Earth it would be on this so-called pleasure planet?

She had finally finished drying herself and dressing with her pruned fingers when she heard Raditz's raised voice from the lounge. She tore out of the bathroom to find out what was going down.

'It's a big ship; some kind of small freighter class, but it's not broadcasting any kind of signal,' Raditz was saying to the assembled group.

'How did you even find it, then?' asked Vegeta.

'I think they found _us_. They got within range of the rigid body scanner, and suddenly they were right on top of us, tracking our velocity.'

'What does that mean?' asked Bulma. 'That they have no signal?'

'It means they don't want to be detected,' Raditz replied. 'They're probably either smugglers or pirates.'

Nappa grinned. 'Pirates! I can't wait to see their faces when we board them and not the other way around.'

Vegeta grinned too. 'We're in luck.'

'You know what I'm thinking?' asked Nappa.

'What?'

'Sick dad routine.'

Tarble moaned.

'He's right,' said Vegeta. 'If we can get them to peacefully dock with us rather than forcing the issue the less chance of damage to both crafts. Plus we don't know for sure they are planning on boarding us at all. Go on, Tarble – you know what to do.'

Tarble trudged across the lounge and up the stairs, the rest following.

'What's the sick dad routine?' Bulma asked Brolly.

But Krillin answered before Brolly could open his mouth. 'They did this on Grenouillea. They use Tarble as bait and then...' He mimed bopping someone on the head - a fairly innocuous gesture, but he looked worried and Bulma was anxious in response.

On the flight deck Tarble took a pilot's seat and Vegeta directed everyone else to stand far to the side so they were out of the range of the camera on the console.

'Wait a second,' said Bulma. 'Exactly what is about to happen?'

Vegeta gave her a sharp look, but conceded to tell her. 'We are about to lure the pirates or smugglers into docking with us. And then they do, we will board them instead and take control of their ship.'

'Are you going to kill them?' asked Krillin suddenly, and Bulma felt sick. She didn't want to hear the answer and wished Krillin hadn't asked the question.

Vegeta straightened, his expression turning hard and mocking.

'Krillin,' Bulma warned him. 'We're in dire straits here.'

'I know, but...'

'Are you truly about to plea mercy for pirates?' Vegeta asked. 'As I heard it you have no problems dispatching soldiers on Namek.'

Krillin flushed red. 'That was in self-defence. And they were employed by Frieza!'

'And these people operate outside the law and will perhaps have no qualms about killing their victims, so what is the difference?'

'You don't know that is what they're going to do!'

'We need their ship to survive. Do you think they would give it up willingly?'

'Probably not,' said Krillin. 'It still doesn't mean you have to kill them.'

'He's right,' said Goku, coming to his friend's defence. 'You could just tie them up or let them escape if they had pods like we used to.'

Vegeta laughed. The other Sayians looked on blankly except for Tarble who was biting his lip as he waited for the outcome of the argument.

'Loose ends.'

Puar squeaked, barely audibly. 'Please, Vegeta!'

The prince rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 'I suppose it costs us nothing to accommodate the _sensitivities_ of our allies.' Nappa made a small 'tch!' sound, but otherwise the Saiyans made no comment. 'Send the distress signal, Tarble.'

The boy turned and looked about in the computer's menus for the distress signal.

'Done,' he said.

They waited. Nappa tapped his foot impatiently on the floor.

'Are they still in our vicinity?' asked Vegeta.

Raditz checked. 'Yep.'

'Perhaps they think we're sending the distress signal because of them, then? Tarble, send video with the signal. Ask for medical assistance.'

Tarble nodded and pressed more buttons, took a deep breath opened a broadcast link.

'May day, may day! I need medical assistance! May day! Urgent medical assistance needed!'

It didn't take too long before a face popped up on one of the console's screens.

'Hey there, little buddy,' said a rakish and slightly yellow-hued man, grinning lop-sidedly. 'We just happen to be in the vicinity. What seems to be the problem?'

He could have passed for a human with a bad fake tan, and looked more like a truck driver than a pirate to Bulma.

'My father is very sick and I can't wake him up!' said Tarble. Bulma had to hand it to him – he pulled off the anxious young boy act well.

'Oh, that's too bad!' replied the man, and despite his condolence he continued to smile. 'You don't have anyone else on board to take care of him?'

'No, it's just me and my father. I'm really scared! What if he dies?'

'Well, it's just your luck that we were passing through. We've got a doctor on board, so we can fix your dad up just like that. How about that?' He grinned again, this time wide enough to reveal a few broken teeth.

'Thank goodness!' Tarble replied.

'Now, can you pilot that thing?'

'A little.'

'Well, how about you coast to a halt and we'll pull along side and see if we can't get our good doctor on board to look at your dad, eh?'

'Okay.'

Tarble looked around at the controls, frowning and second guessing himself as he figured out what he needed to do to stop the ship, and Bulma wasn't sure whether he was acting or not, but the streaks of the stars outside started to grow shorter as they decelerated.

'I'm slowing now. Are you still close?' Tarble asked.

'Yeah, we're tracking right along with you – don't worry, we're not letting you out of our sights, mate!'

Bulma was convinced – this guy was no good Samaritan. She glanced at Krillin and he looked somewhat resigned.

'Say, whereabouts are you and your dad headed?' the pirate asked in that inappropriately cheerful tone.

'Baccanelli,' Tarble responded.

'You going on holiday there, just you and your dad?'

'Yes.'

'Your dad must be kind of special, huh, to have this fancy ride all to himself?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, that's a small luxury cruiser according to your manifest. Gotta be worth a lot. You know how much your dad paid for it?'

'Er, no,' said Tarble.

'What's your dad do?'

Tarble was frowning, looking down at his hands while he came up with an answer. 'He's a...business man. No one famous or anything.'

'Even so, I'm kind of puzzled that a man like your dad isn't travelling with some kind of bodyguard.'

'Er...' Tarble fidgeted furiously, and Bulma had to bite her tongue not to offer him some sort of feasible lie. 'We had bodyguard but...he asked too many questions.'

'Is that right?'

'Yeah, my father has some business on Baccanelli and he didn't trust the bodyguard, so we left him behind at our last stop.'

'Your dad's business must be pretty hush-hush then. What's he do?'

'I don't know. Something to do with credit chips. He has a large chest of them on board.'

'Is that right?' The pirate's eyes widened comically.

Bulma caught sight of something over her shoulder and jumped with fright; a long, dull coloured ship and had come into view alongside theirs. It was ugly, boxy and a bit banged up.

Vegeta snaked an arm over the console and muted the video field. 'You Earthlings get below before they see you lolling around on the flight deck. Nappa, come on, let's get ready.'

'What about me?' asked Raditz.

'Stay here and oversee the docking. I only sense four people on board that ship, so three's a crowd.'

'Aw!'

'Can I come?' asked Goku.

'You must be kidding!'

'Seems we've lost our connection,' said the pirate as they hurried down the stairs again. Bulma stopped halfway down the stairs so that she could hear what else was said, and Krillin, Goku and Puar waited just below her. Vegeta and Nappa padded silently into the airlock and closed it behind them.

'All good now?' asked Tarble. 'I must've pushed a wrong button.'

'That's better. Well, it seems we've slowed to a relative standstill. If you set your airlock to accept a dock we'll take care of the rest. Be seeing you and your sick old dad in a couple of minutes!'

'Okay.'

Silence followed. The Earthlings looked between themselves, still uncertain if they could talk. Then a dull thump rang through the ship and they felt the bump despite the fake gravity working to negate external G-forces. It was followed by four smaller clangs.

'There you go. Now if you just open your external airlock door, we'll be in business!'

There was another, smaller clang of metal, and then they jumped as they heard a shout, muffled by the thick steel door of the airlock. Then there was more shouting, from whom, they couldn't tell, and the sounds receded, tremors running through the ship.

'What the hell?' they heard the pirate over the comm link. 'What kind of game are you playing at?'

'Sorry,' said Tarble. 'We need your ship.'

Bulma turned and ran back up the stairs, and was in time to see the pirate flee from his console. 'Get the fuck of my ship you-'

There was a scream and the whine and flash of some kind of laser weapon being fired, and then more shouts and the sounds of footsteps running, more weapons-fire and then silence.

She looked at Raditz as the silence stretched over a minute. 'Is it over?' she asked him.

'Sure is,' replied Nappa, over the comm link, plonking himself in the seat vacated so recently by the pirate. 'Want to come over and check out our new ship?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There shouldn't be a long wait until the next chapter. In the meantime, please let me know what you think. If you have criticism, try and be specific. Vague statements are not very helpful unless you just want to make me feel stink about putting so much time into such a huge story.


	55. Ship of Fools, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Well, you shouldn't need a reminder about what happened last time on Never Ever Land, but just in case you forgot, Bulma may have shown her cards a little to Raditz while attempting to mine him for information about Saiyan sexuality, and then the gang found and out-pirated some pirates.

They exited through the large rectangular door in the airlock. A concertina-like corridor connected the two ships like a saggy sausage, though the ships were stuck together solidly by four dock-locks – metal appendages that extended from one airlock to the other and clamped in place. The airlock gravity was lower than the general ship, and the moment she stepped out of the door into the link tube she was weightless. As unsettling as this was, Bulma reflected that it was a good thing as there was a large spray of blood on the floor of the link that she didn't want to touch, and she shuddered and she pulled herself along by the ceiling ribs.

Once she made it to the other ship though she found that they were floor ribs, as she stuck her head out the corridor and found it pulled upwards, or downwards depending on the observer's perspective, bending her backwards until the crown of her head stuck the floor.

'Ow!'

Raditz hauled her upright, and she staggered, woozy and disorientated by the switch in gravity. She turned and watched Puar float down the tube only to immediately accelerate head first into the floor as she made it across the threshold. Raditz caught her with his foot and she bounced and rolled into the wall, crying out.

'Crap, cat, weren't you watching Bulma making the same mistake?'

'I didn't know that would happen!'

Bulma looked around the airlock. It was a lot larger than theirs, and as well as the rectangular door and small circular seals for pods like their ship had, there was also a much larger hanger-sized door and a roll-away door to the left. The place was a bit of a mess, with machinery and discarded spacesuits left lying about, not to mention the fresh blood drips on the floor. There was what looked like a pneumatic battering ram and a couple of guns amongst the junk. No, these were definitely not good guys.

Tarble, Brolly, Krillin and Goku made their own clumsy entrances, and then together they walked through the smaller of the airlock's inner doors and into a dimly lit corridor with gunmetal grey walls. There was another airlock opposite. To the left the corridor ended in wide double doors, and to the right it continued on a way with doors either side. The door right at the end opened and Nappa walked out, filling nearly the entire width and height of the corridor. He was grinning with excitement.

'Let's see what we've got,' he said, striding toward them and then pushing them ahead of him towards the double doors.

'Did you kill them?' asked Krillin weakly.

'Ha!' said Nappa. 'No! We let them escape! In their space pods!' There was a shade of sarcasm in his tone.

'Really?' she queried, and then bit her lip as she suddenly wished she had done a moment earlier. Did she really want to know the answer?

'Well, you can go check – the pods are gone.'

 _Yeah, but did they leave alive or dead? s_ he wondered but didn't say.

Through the double doors was a space reminiscent of a small, narrow warehouse. There were no windows, only overhead strip lights casting a weak light over the gloomy shelves, palettes and stockpiles. Vegeta dropped the edge of a tarp he was looking under and came over to join them, fresh bloodstains standing out on his white Capsule Corp T-shirt and a smug smile on his face.

'Looks like these bottom feeders had quite the haul. They've been smuggling blasters and ballistic guns, medicines, and all sorts of other contraband. In all, quite useful.'

'What good will guns be to us?' asked Goku. 'I think we're strong enough not to need any.'

'They're worth something to _someone_ , idiot,' said Vegeta. 'We'll sell them.'

'Oh.'

There was a clanging of glass behind her, and Bulma turned to see Raditz inspecting an open box on the metal shelf.

'Yes!' He reached in and pulled out a bottle of something. 'Refreshment, anyone?'

Nappa snagged the bottle from his hand and unscrewed the cap even as Vegeta shook his head, disapproving.

'Swill-time can wait. We need to inspect this ship properly and then move all our crap over.'

'Of course, your Highness,' said Nappa, and they began to move with purpose, heading down the length of the deck, briefly examining their take while Nappa took giant swigs from the bottle behind Vegeta's back. The younger boys and the Earthlings followed, wide eyed and curious. Raditz shook the boxes on the shelves as he went – it appeared that most of the central aisle was bottled goods. Down the side there was the covered crates of weapons, some well-protected packages that Vegeta said were explosives, shelves of vials and pills, some refrigerated, but Bulma had no idea if they were medicinal or recreational or possibly both. There were racks of clothes and shelves of jewellery, some in boxes and some in bags and some just heaped carelessly in drifts. Bulma picked up a few pieces of the mismatched collection. There was no rhyme or reason to the styles. Some looked brand new, but other things, like the earrings she held, had a distinctly second-hand look.

'Were these guys smugglers or pirates?' she said aloud.

'A little of both, I think,' said Tarble, dropping the arm of the suit he was fingering and shuddering.

She dropped the earrings, a similar feeling of revulsion overtaking her.

Up the other side of the hull were several large crates holding cured hides and furs, dried body parts of alien animals and chest-fulls of assorted frozen meats. Lastly there were more shelves holding glamorously packaged confectionary and perfumes and rolls of fabric.

Leaving the hold, they stuck their heads in the other air lock, which was similar to the other, but a little smaller, and it had a small shuttle attached. Bulma wondered why the crew would have taken space pods when there was a shuttle, but maybe it didn't have enough range. Or maybe…

She rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to mourn the type of person who boarded ships and killed the crew for their valuables if the same fate had happened to befall them, even if it disturbed her to imagine Vegeta doing the killing. She glanced over at him as he left the air lock again, and he seemed completely at ease, not even the tiniest hint of a heavy conscience. Nappa must've done the dirty work, she told herself. That was a far easier thought to live with.

* * *

The living quarters were dingy and smelly and cluttered, but they were cluttered with luxury items, oddments and antiques. If they were successful pirates, surely they would want to live in better style than this? Apparently not. The bathroom was utilitarian, but had an incense burner still smoking a sweet scent, rich red towels on the rail and dumped on the floor, and expensive looking lotions and shampoos crowding the edge of the bath, shower and vanity. There were four small bedrooms, each with bed and a desk, and each piece of furniture was a work of art, though at odds with the rooms and most of the rest of the contents. The rooms had tiny porthole windows and odd collections of artwork plastering the walls. There was a narrow galley of a kitchen and a small lounge cum dining room attached, with a single sofa and a couple of leather-upholstered easy chairs in front of a holovid screen. Bulma wondered where they were all going to sleep on this ship – four people could sleep in the beds of filthy murdering, murdered pirates, but where would the rest of them go? In the hold? In the airlock? Neither was a cosy prospect. Sure, sleeping in a communal bed on a lounge floor was hardly five star accommodation, but at least it was a really _nice_ lounge and usually clean since the Earthlings had come to live on board.

As they poked about, the group started to become strung out across the ship. The older Saiyans led the way, opening drawers, cupboards, lockers and trunks and checking under beds and tables quickly before moving on. Goku, Krillin and Puar followed, making exclamations at this or that. Bulma was getting left behind from following where her curiosity took her, but Tarble hovered at her elbow, as interested as she in the artefacts of the unknown cultures reflected in the objects around them. Brolly was trailing behind everyone, or rather trailing Bulma, appearing sullen and uninterested in anything to do with the new ship.

'What do you suppose this is?' Bulma asked, picking up a brass object from a desk. It had a glass lens on a hinged joint and a measuring scale engraved on the base, and looked like a historical relic more than something found on a spaceship.

'Hmm,' said Tarble, looking through the lens. 'I have no idea.'

She offered it to Brolly to see, but he just shrugged without particularly looking at it. 'I don't know,' he said quietly and then folded his arms and cast his eyes to the floor.

 _Huh_.

'Maybe it's for measuring fabric?' said Tarble. 'There are all these fabric scraps on the desk.'

She picked one strip up – it was similar to silk and very fine.

'Oh, I get it,' she said, laying the strip over the base and then looking through the lens at it. The weft of the fabric was magnified against the tiny measurement scales. 'It's a thread-counter.'

At the head of the ship was the cockpit. Unlike their own ship's large, pleasantly designed flight deck, this cockpit was small and crammed full of in-your-face buttons and levers and dials. There were two pilot seats side by side and two more seats behind them. Vegeta and Nappa were in the front seats checking gauges and consulting the ship's computer, and Goku, Krillin and Puar were trying to see over their shoulders. By the time Bulma, Tarble and Brolly squeezed into the room it was totally full of bodies.

'How's the ship?' she asked.

'Seems okay,' said Vegeta.

'These old clunkers just keep going and going,' said Nappa. 'Nothing much to them, so not as much to go wrong.' He patted the top of the dashboard fondly. 'This is a _proper_ ship.'

'This is an old hunk of space junk,' Vegeta corrected him.

'This is saving our asses.'

Vegeta heaved a sigh. 'The cargo is a great gain, but I'm not looking forward to living on this floating hovel.'

'Hmm, your highness could be showing a little ingratitude in the face of salvation,' said Nappa lightly.

'Should I be grateful you let the other ship have a hole shot in the hull?'

Nappa's smile froze into a grimace. 'Prince Vegeta, you know that couldn't be helped.'

'Perhaps. But don't tell me I'm required to be happy for some small upturn in fortune after massive _mis_ fortune. Where's Raditz? We should begin emptying the other ship.'

'I'm not sure we'll need to,' said Raditz from outside the door. He pushed his way into the room, causing Brolly and Bulma to fall into the laps of Krillin and Goku. He was grinning and holding something that looked like a giant, plastic sealant gun. 'Look what I found in the airlock!'

Nappa took it from him and read it and then tossed it at Bulma, who caught it in surprise.

'Save-Ur-Skin, Vacuum-Hardening Ceramic Sealant,' she read and then looked up at Vegeta. He was peering down at the thing in her hands speculatively.

'Is that that miracle sealant stuff?' he asked.

'Yep,' said Raditz.

Bulma quickly scanned the label. 'Is this stuff safe to use? It says here that using it could void our ship's warranty.'

'Good job it's not under warranty then, having been acquired illegally,' said Nappa, laughing. 'Looks like our mechanic is going for a spacewalk!'

Her stomach suddenly tightened with a mix of thrill and terror. The label stated quite clearly that it needed to be applied in the vacuum of space.

'You're going into space?' asked Goku. 'Can I come?'

'Bulma, have you ever even worn a spacesuit before?' Raditz asked.

'No,' replied Bulma.

'Don't be stupid,' said Vegeta. 'We won't risk sending our only mechanic to do such a vital task on her first ever spacewalk.' She frowned up at him from Goku's lap, wondering if he was more worried about risking her or risking the job.

'No, I want to do it!' she said, surprising herself. 'I want to try going into space. If it's safe enough.'

'It's safe enough if you don't go drifting off or lose your head,' he said. 'But it would be much faster for one of us to go out there. We don't even need spacesuits.'

'Well, I don't trust anyone else to put this sealant over the hole. It says that you need the seal to be smooth and relatively flat or our ship could burn up on atmospheric entry!'

Vegeta arched a brow. 'You don't trust me to do a simple handy-task?'

'Well, maybe I'd trust _you,_ ' she said, eliciting scoffs of insult from Raditz and Nappa, which she ignored. 'But I'd feel happier if it was me. I am _quite_ versed in aerodynamic engineering, after all.'

Vegeta stared at her for a second. 'Fine,' he relented. 'But I will come with you to make sure you don't do something hare-brained like glue yourself to the ship or drift off into space.'

' _Hare-brained?_ '

'Can I come-' Goku started again.

'No!' snapped Vegeta. 'This is not the time for training, Kakarott, though I'll gladly throw you out of the airlock at a later time.'

'Okay,' said Goku, accepting it as a promise instead of a threat. 'I really want to know what space is like.'

* * *

Half an hour later Bulma was finding out for herself.

Raditz and Vegeta had carefully gone through the spacesuits in the air lock of the pirate ship looking for one that was in the best repair. She would have been happier with the clean, lightweight and possibly unused suit that hung in the airlock of the cruiser, but they had dismissed it as a flimsy, emergency-use-only suit. Now she was wearing one of these pale grey, slightly stale smelling suits, its limbs and body too long, but strapped tight at her ankles and wrists, having a large helmet lowered over her head to clip into its metal bracket around her neck. The instant it was in place she felt a little claustrophobic, as well as revolted, as whoever last used this suit was a smoker of something, or at least had really bad breath.

Vegeta and Raditz circled her, checking the clasps and buckles while the boys watched, but she could no longer hear what they were saying. Vegeta pulled something from a reel on the wall that looked like a squishy, white fire hose and plugged it into the suit at the base of her neck. A pleasant flow of fresh air began immediately.

'Can you hear me, Princess?' growled Nappa's voice, unnervingly close and clear, like he was speaking into her ear. She knew he was in the cockpit, so there must be a line between it and the suit.

'Yes, I can hear you.'

'Good. I'm gonna be right here for you, girly, right here in your ear.'

'Great.'

He chuckled. 'I know – some quality me and you time. We don't get much time to talk, one on one, do we?'

Raditz handed her the sealant gun and wrapped a tether around the trigger guard and her wrist. Bulma bit her lip, divided on whether telling Nappa not to speak to her would make things worse. 'Well, I wish I could chat, but I've got a job to do. I kind of need to concentrate.'

Vegeta came to stand in front of her and gave orders. The others left the air lock. Her nerves, bubbling away in the background suddenly came to the fore. The reasons she had given Vegeta for wanting to do the spacewalk were true, but she also just really wanted to try it. Travelling in the luxury ship made her a space traveller, but if she got to wear a spacesuit and float in the void than she'd finally feel like she was an astronaut. And she wanted to see if she could do it.

'No need to get dramatic,' said Nappa. 'The little prince isn't going to let you come to harm. Besides, I'm here to help you!'

Vegeta was looking at her, maybe watching for her readiness. She nodded her head and he nodded quickly in reply, then crossed to the wall to hit the airlock purge button. Nappa's words were reassuring, whether he meant them to be or not.

An amber light flashed overhead and she could hear the loud alarm through her suit. Vegeta was taking deep breaths before holding it. Her suit billowed in the vacuum, inflating as the air left the airlock. Vegeta took her wrist and led the way to one of the circular doors shaped for a pod to dock with and pressed a button alongside to open it. The iris slid open on a scene of stars and the cruiser hanging, abandoned, amongst them.

Vegeta jumped out, flying a short distance before turning and waiting for her while she stepped up into the aperture, clumsy with her helmet and inflated suit hindering the view of her feet. Over the threshold of the ship the lower gravity of the airlock turned to nothing and her stomach fluttered upwards, free of the weight of its contents. Vegeta shook his hands towards her, indicating that she should follow him, the gesture impatient, though she could only see a silhouette of him against the stars and rimmed by the flight deck light from above. She made the mistake of looking down though and froze. Her instinct was telling her loudly that there was an infinite drop below her. She couldn't jump, and instead the gripped the edge of the door in panic for fear of falling. She could hear her own breath quite loudly in the helmet, fast and panting.

_Oh, no, no, no! I have to do this!_

She tried to force herself and ended up slumped in the door, her limbs melting at the command to jump. Nappa laughed in her ear.

'You'd better get a move on; Vegeta can't hold his breath forever!'

'I'm going!' she replied, trying to make it true.

 _Calm down_ , she told herself. _This should be exciting, not scary! This should be…_

This should be syrupy warm and swirling pink and orange.

The similarity of this circumstance to her dream hit her suddenly, though she was in no mood to entertain frivolous thoughts at that moment. It was surely a coincidence that fate had created a scene that resembled that dream so superficially. The differences were many though, and this was not going to be a romantic interlude. Vegeta _was_ her phantom – and that hadn't meant at all what her dreams had tried to tell her. But she had trusted that he would catch her in the dream. She should trust him now.

She jumped and rocketed towards Vegeta, going too high and too fast because her Earth-bound brain had calculated for the presence of gravity and friction that wasn't there, and Vegeta caught her around the knees. She swung down and around, screaming in irrepressible fear until she was facing the freighter again from the other way up.

'Ouch, you nearly blew the speakers in the cockpit!' Nappa laughed.

Vegeta halted her motion and then let go of her, making her scream in fright again as if she would fall, and then he put his arm around her waist. She latched on to his neck like a limpet.

There was more laughter in her ear, and this time it sounded like Raditz and Tarble, too, and maybe even more of the others in the background. She bumped the glass of her helmet against Vegeta's face and he reached up and pressed something on the side of her helmet. Suddenly his face was illuminated by the light mounted there, and she could see his lashes, hair, and every whisker on his face was frosted. He looked amused, but his lips were pressed tight.

He flew them away from the freighter and over the shallow dome of the cruiser's flight deck. She looked out and out, taking in nothing but blackness and stars. It was terrifying but amazing. Unnerved, she looked back to Vegeta's face, jealous that he could be out here sans suit. He flew them gently across the surface of the ship, looking for the damage, and she noted the care he was taking, and was grateful for the firm grip he had on her. She wondered how he could see. This chi energy must be a highly versatile substance if it could keep his blood gasses from vaporising out of his skin and his eyes from freezing solid.

'Enjoying the view?' asked Nappa, knowingly.

She jumped. 'Do you know what I'm looking at?' she asked innocently.

'Yep, there's a feed to the cockpit from your helmet cam.'

Blushing in the privacy of the spacesuit she silently cursed Nappa and the helmet cam and turned away from Vegeta's face.

'I wasn't looking at anything in particular.'

Vegeta parked them in front of a blackened scorch mark close to the rim of the ship and pressed Bulma down onto the surface. Surprisingly, the ship moved away slightly. She scrambled to get the gun in position and accidentally pushed herself away from the ship again.

'Use those magnetic pads on your knees, idiot,' said Nappa, and thus reminded, she peered at the interface on the back of her wrist, prodding about with the thick fingers of the suit to turn them on. When she succeeded she clunked down knees-first onto the solar cell surface of the ship.

Before she could even attempt it, Vegeta unscrewed the cap of the gun for her.

Carefully she squeezed gunk into the hole. Sometimes a blob went floating free and she used the scraper side of the nozzle to pat it down, and when it was full she began shaping and scraping the seal so that it was as flat and smooth as possible. She was so intent on her work that when she finished and looked up she was surprised and then shocked to find Vegeta gone.

'Ah!' she gasped, looking around wildly.

'He's just gone back to the airlock for a breather,' said Nappa.

Of course. She forced herself to relax again, screwed the cap back on the gun and took the chance to look around.

Now that she was anchored to something the endless space wasn't as terrifying. If she leant back and looked up, or at least where up would be if the ship was parked on the ground, she could see no sign of either ship, just space. It was rather peaceful in a way, like floating the centre of the stillest pool at night.

Vegeta's face eclipsed her view and then she found herself being tugged away. There was a spaceship attached to her knees though, and instead Vegeta began to tow the entire two-ship assembly.

'Wait up!' she said, even though he couldn't hear her, and she hurriedly disengaged the magnets. Vegeta gathered her in his arms and within seconds they were back at the portal to the airlock. He inserted her feet first through the opening, then joined her, closing the door and rushing to the control panel to fill the airlock again. The lights flashed, the suit deflated and then Vegeta was helping her lift the helmet.

'That was so cool!' was the first thing she said as she was clear of it, realising that she was still shaking a bit with adrenalin.

'So _cool?_ ' said Vegeta. 'I'm not sure that is how I would describe the mindboggling cold and airlessness of space.'

'Ha, ha! I meant it was amazing. Maybe you should try it in a spacesuit. I'm sure it's a more comfortable experience than going into a vacuum au natural and you don't need to keep holding your breath.'

'Perhaps. However, I have never considered going out into space for its recreational value.' His lip twitched, almost smiling at her excitement.

She unclipped her wrists while he bent down to undo the buckles around her ankles, and then she started wriggling out of the metal ring at the top of the suit. She was quite sweaty, too, it turned out; the tank top she was wearing plastered to her back and stomach. As she forced her hips out of the ring and dropped the suit to the ground she noticed Vegeta's gaze drifting around her torso, and grinned. She kicked the suit aside and stepped towards him, reaching out her hands.

To her shock he whirled away, crossing the room to the door in a second.

'It looked like a tidy seal you made,' he said. 'I'm sure it will do the job.' And then he left her alone and stunned in the airlock.

* * *

The others greeted her with cheers, and then arrangements were made for the rest of the trip to Baccanelli. Two ships were better than one, but they couldn't be flown at speed while they were shackled to each other. Nappa volunteered to pilot the freighter.

'Are you sure you can fly it?' asked Raditz.

'The fucking cheek!' objected Nappa. 'Of course I can fly it! I was flying one of these before you were even born, you little punk.'

'Okay, okay!'

Those two set the autopilot while the rest of them gathered a few things that might make the last day to Baccanelli more comfortable, like sweets, meats and a few holovids. They helped themselves to whatever food they found that was ready-to-eat, having missed lunch, chowing down on delicacies from the ship's pantry and hold. Vegeta selected a single bottle of some liqueur for an after dinner treat.

Half an hour passed, which was the cure time for the sealant, and so they judged it time to separate the crafts and be on their way.

'I want to stay on this ship,' announced Brolly as Vegeta ordered the rest of them to the airlock.

'Do as you wish,' said Vegeta. 'I don't really care where you sleep as long as you're not a nuisance to me.'

A touch of something flashed in Brolly's eyes.

'Does that go for all of us?'

Vegeta straightened. 'I suppose. _I_ don't wish to sleep on this thing, but if anyone else is willing to put up with it, they're welcome to it.'

'Who else wants to stay here?' asked Brolly. He was looking right at Bulma as he asked it.

'Mmm,' said Krillin. 'I like the idea of a bed, but I'm not sure I want to sleep in _those_ beds.'

'I think I'm okay staying on the little ship,' said Bulma.

'Yeah, it's only one more night to where we're going,' said Tarble.

Brolly's gaze was boring into her now, and Bulma shifted uncomfortably.

'It'll be less crowded on board this ship,' he said. 'I thought you didn't like the crowding.'

'Yes, but like Tarble said, it's only one more night,' she told him, and the boy looked upset.

'Come on!' snapped Vegeta. 'You were less of a bother when you had porridge for brains!'

Brolly's jaw clenched and then he turned and stomped away. Bulma looked back over her shoulder as they filed into the airlock again, and saw Brolly do the same - stopping in the entryway to the cockpit to look back at her. She waved him goodbye apologetically, wishing that Vegeta hadn't been so mean to him. She felt bad enough for him already without Vegeta bullying him.

* * *

They made their way back across the link tunnel and sealed the locks, then Nappa disengaged the clamps that held them together. Raditz, Vegeta and Bulma went upstairs to check the readouts were stable.

'We appear to be airtight,' Bulma said, pleased that something was going their way. Vegeta, who had been leaning over the back of her chair, stepped away as soon as she made the declaration, and the happiness drained away somewhat. Why had he rejected her earlier? Was he angry at her for not following him upstairs last night? Or was she just too stinky after sweating out that smelly old spacesuit? She decided to get changed as soon as they were moving again. If he was angry with her, then there wasn't much she could do about that.

'And we're away,' announced Raditz. 'Try and keep up, old man,' he added to Nappa, still visible through the comms link to the other ship.

'Boy, you are going to get the hiding of your life when we get where we're going,' Nappa warned him.

Raditz guffawed.

'I can't wait to see you try!'

* * *

There wasn't enough time for a shower before dinner though, as Vegeta ordered it prepared at once, so Bulma went to the laundry to put her tank top in the wash and grab a t-shirt fresh from the drying cycle. She listened carefully before whipping the tank top over her head and dumping it on the massive wash pile on the floor, but still, she had only just lifted the fresh shirt when the door opened. She squealed and held the shirt in front of her chest.

It was Vegeta. He paused, eyes darkening at the sight of her.

'Hey, what are you doing in here?' she asked, leaning back against the wet-washing unit away from him, not sure of his intentions at that moment.

'I came to ask you if you could remember how long the sealant said to wait before attempting atmospheric entry.'

Bulma shrugged feeling very uncomfortable in just her bra and shorts. His eyes were travelling over her bare shoulders and down to where her belly button was showing under the clutched shirt.

'A day, is what the tube said. We should be fine. Like, are you going to let me finished getting changed?'

He smiled a little, as if caught doing something slightly embarrassing.

'Do you want me to go away?'

'That depends.'

'On what?'

'On what you're going to do while you're here.'

He frowned. 'I know what I _want_ to do.'

'Oh, yeah, what's that?'

He crossed the room to stand in front of her, and the blush travelling up from his collar told her exactly what he wanted.

'Oh really?' said Bulma, at once relieved and annoyed. ' _Now_ you want to get cosy when you practically – no, _literally_ \- ran away from me in the airlock!'

'There was a camera in the airlock,' he said. 'Did you want them all to see us?'

'Oh. No, I guess not.' She felt awkward, still holding her T-shirt in front of her, not sure if she wanted him closer or to send him away, and decided that that the best way to hide herself was to snuggle in to his chest. Vegeta lost no time placing his hands on her bare waist, running them up her back. She grinned, and then her grin faded, looking into his eyes, because he wasn't smiling. Instead he looked rather serious as he traced his fingers back up to her shoulders. His eyes lowered as he hooked his thumbs under the straps of her bra.

'What did you call this thing, again?' he asked.

'A bra.'

'Hmm.'

'Aren't there bras in space?'

He shrugged, blushing again. 'Yes, I've seen similar items, but I've never spent enough time amongst women to find out what it was called though.'

She was glad that she was wearing a fairly nice bra that day with all the scrutiny it was getting. She let go of her shirt to put her arms around his waist, and Vegeta let go of one shoulder to drag the piece of clothing out from between them. His head was bowed, eyes were glued to her breasts and where they pressed against his chest, and Bulma felt his suddenly panting breath against her décolletage. She smiled again, both embarrassed by and proud of how much power the sight of her breasts had over him.

He brought his head up, and she expected a kiss, but instead he hugged her closer, his arms going around her back again as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

_Oh?_

Vegeta's hands went around her back again, and she followed suit, wondering if this sudden need for affection was a new side of Vegeta that she had awoken. Her heart suddenly squeezed for him, imagining him as a lonely, love-starved boy, lost in the wilderness of his own heart, lacking a mother and needing a woman to teach him how to love.

Then his fingers slid under the band at the back of her bra, and before she knew what was happening she felt the strap snap open and heard Vegeta's satisfied, 'Ha!'

'Did you just undo my bra?' she asked, when really what she meant was, 'You just undid my bra!' but he only answered her with a grin and a kiss that shut her up. Now the sweep of his hands became bold, up and down the bare skin of her back and down the back of her shorts. She wasn't angry though, not when he made her feel like warm putty in his hands. She trusted him now, and her _body_ at least was willing to go along with anything his hands suggested.

Heat bloomed under her skin when Vegeta left her mouth and kissed her neck. It made the hair on her head stand up with excitement, and she started to feel dizzy. She felt her shoulder straps slip down, aided by Vegeta's roaming hands. _Uh-oh_.

Before she could worry about being exposed, she fell, or Vegeta pushed her, she wasn't sure which, back into the pile of dirty laundry. He was on his knees before her in the same moment, leaning over her, his hands sinking deep into discarded towels and underpants as he braced himself. She opened her legs, anticipating the moment when their bodies would crash together, but practicality had a few concerns left to raise.

'Vegeta, this room has no lock on the door,' she whispered.

'If you'd come upstairs last night we would have had a lock,' he pointed out, a hint of reproach to his tone. 'But don't worry, I can sense anyone before they come,' he assured her, and then – oh lordy! He was between her legs, his weight pressing down on her in a most satisfying way. The very next second though he was on his feet, leaping for the door.

Too late, Goku opened it. He was carrying the washbasket.

'Oh, hey guys,' he said, smiling blandly at Vegeta and Bulma's stunned expressions. 'What's wrong?'

Bulma slammed her legs shut and sat up, glad that the bra was still covering her as she fumbled to do the hooks up again.

'Get out!' said Vegeta, turning to face the washing unit.

'But Raditz said I should put the clean laundry away.'

'Do it later!'

'It'll have to be after dinner then, because Raditz says dinner will be ready in a minute. You probably want to come out now if you don't want to miss the best bits.'

Goku turned to go just as Bulma retrieved her fallen shirt from the floor, but then he stopped.

'You don't have a shirt on,' he observed.

'I was in the middle of getting changed, thank you very much for barging in, Goku!'

'Oh,' he said. 'Sorry.' Then he glanced at Vegeta. 'How come Vegeta gets to watch you getting changed when I don't?' he asked.

She looked at Vegeta's back in despair. 'Vegeta had his back turned the whole time!' she blurted out. 'He wasn't peeking like you or Krillin would.'

'Oh, okay,' said Goku, as if this was not a perfectly absurd explanation for the scenario before him. 'I wouldn't peek either, if you asked me not to.' He closed his eyes in demonstration and shuffled out of the room blindly.

Bulma tugged her shirt on and then got to her feet again.

' _Excellent_ sensing,' she said to Vegeta. He turned to her, his face flushed red all over.

'It is harder to do when one is distracted by other things,' he said, annoyed in turn in his embarrassment. 'It's not like you could've have done any better.'

'Well, I never claimed to be able to, did I? I warned you there was no lock on the door!'

'Well, you should've told Kakarott not to say anything about what he saw to the others, before he left. Now who-knows what he'll blab on about?'

'Oh, chill out. I don't think he'll say anything,' she said, crossing her fingers discreetly and hoping she was right. 'As far as he's concerned he saw nothing interesting.'

Vegeta looked unconvinced. 'Really? Is he really that much of an idiot?'

'Hey! Don't be mean! He's not an idiot… Well, not really. He just sees things very differently to most people.'

'As many idiots do!'

'That's my friend you're talking about!' she snapped, although she knew that she had personally called Goku an idiot on many occasions. 'You're so mean to the boys – to Tarble and Brolly, too! And Brolly is the worst person you could be mean to, right now!'

'Brolly?' he repeated, his expression confused. 'Why?'

'Because he's having a really hard time since Namek, and you're not being sympathetic about it. He's having to learn how to deal with feelings he's never had before, and you're going about hurting them!'

Vegeta looked at her like she was insane.

'It's not just Kakarott who's an idiot – you're an absolute raving idiot, too!'

'What?'

'Brolly is a Saiyan and a soldier! Or he should be! It's not my job to offer _sympathy_ or save his _precious feelings_ , or whatever crap you're talking! If he does have "feelings" he'd better get them under control and never bother me with them, ever!'

She stared at him, shocked and feeling a little idiotic after all. 'Wow! That is utterly heartless, Vegeta!'

'When did I ever claim to have a heart?'

When did he indeed? Something twisted in her own. She suddenly wondered what she was doing in here with him – what had she been hoping to gain from fooling around with Vegeta, really, if he was as heartless as he said he was? He had told her he wanted to have sex with her, and now she realised that he might _only_ want to have sex with her. Whatever feelings she had for Vegeta, perhaps he felt nothing but lust for her?

'You're right, you never did.' She stared at him, her next words inviting him to step out of line. 'I have feelings, too. Perhaps I shouldn't bother you with them?'

Vegeta's angry expression became cautious.

'There are certainly some times when it would be preferable that you kept them to yourself, if you can manage it.'

The world flashed red for Bulma, and her head felt like it might explode with the sudden rush of blood and rage. _Keep them to herself?_

'Well, forgive me, but here's a feeling right now!' she screeched. 'Go screw yourself, Vegeta!'

She had a momentary satisfaction on seeing shock register on his face as she swept out of the laundry, and then her heart tumbled, plummeting to her toes as she stumbled into the bathroom, furious and mortified. She stood in front of the mirror and began blubbering as quietly as she could, tears of liquid self-pity squeezing out the corners of her eyes.

It looked like her conundrum was solved then, as there was no point taking such a big risk as to have sex with someone who didn't give a crap about her.

It only took her a few minutes, though, before she began to wonder what exactly he'd meant, as she'd run away before he'd had any chance to elaborate. What feelings did he wish she didn't bother him with? She hadn't asked, but she was highly offended that he would prefer that she curb any expression of any feeling, no matter what it was. It was tantamount to asking her to change who she was to his taste. That guy had some nerve!

Later she retreated to the lounge and the company of others, submerging into the chitter-chatter without hearing a word, to stew in her wrath. They were all in good cheer, but Bulma felt unable to participate in the general light-heartedness. When Vegeta reappeared, glum and withdrawn, she struggled to put on a show of enjoyment. Vegeta's downcast attitude made her feel worse though, and uncertain. It was like she'd hurt his feelings, which was ironic. For someone who didn't care about other's feelings, he seemed to be brimming over with the tender, hurty things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Fear not; next chapter coming soon.


	56. Ship of Fools, Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Sorry! I posted this on fanfiction.net yesterday, but forgot to put it up here.

'We are the best! We are the awesome! We are the badest mothafucking pirates to pirate and bunch of pirates in the pirating universe!' Raditz sang.

He swaggered about the kitchen and lounge, the lord of dinner, serving Centivrian ham-off-the-bone with Morkovan morningdew jam and salt-spiced kelnesa fritters, grinning like a fool. Vegeta said so, and Bulma was inclined to silently agree. While finding and taking the ship was a godsend, she couldn't feel particularly victorious about it.

The last mouthful had barely disappeared into Vegeta's mouth before Raditz was asking about the liqueur he'd brought over for after dinner.

'It's in the kitchen,' said Vegeta. 'If you _must_.'

Tarble was sent to bring it and a tray of glasses out and Raditz poured, forcing a glass on everyone.

'Hang on,' said Bulma, pleased to be presented with a drink, but concerned that the boys had been too. 'Tarble, Goku and Krillin aren't old enough to drink.'

Krillin already had his lips to his glass, but he paused to point out, 'Neither are you!'

'Maybe not legally on Earth, but I think I'm old enough to handle my drinks.'

Vegeta snorted in derision. Krillin looked pointedly unimpressed.

'We're not on Earth, if you haven't noticed,' he said. 'So no Earth laws.'

'Well...What's the legal age to drink in the galaxy?' asked Bulma, looking towards Raditz.

'I don't think there is one,' Raditz replied. 'Local jurisdictions set the rules on things like that.'

'So what local jurisdiction are we in, right now?' she asked.

'The captain of the ship's.'

They looked at Vegeta, brooding at the dining table alone while the rest of them lounged on the sofas and cushions.

'I don't give a shit,' he said.

'There you go,' replied Raditz, handing a drink to Goku.

'Well, I think that I should have jurisdiction over the Earthlings,' Bulma insisted.

'Oh, is that right, _Queen_ Bulma?' asked Krillin, and quickly tipped back most his glass in one. Then he choked on it and spluttered liqueur into his lap and down his chin.

'I rest my case,' said Bulma, and sipped her glass in as much of a sophisticated manner as she should contrive. Whatever the drink was, it was strong but delicious - deep red and fruity, but something dark and sultry in the flavour, like musk.

'What is this?' asked Raditz after tasting his own. He reached for the bottle from the tray and read the label. 'Thousand Year Port, from Torros, Yoletra. What?' He looked over at Vegeta in shock. 'Isn't this the stuff that Frieza drinks?'

Vegeta lifted his head to give a sneer of black humour. 'Yes. He thinks he controls every bottle of that stock, but it looks like his grip on Yoletra isn't as absolute as he thinks.'

Raditz took another gulp of the drink. 'Hmm, it's nice enough, I guess, but I don't get the hype.'

Vegeta rolled the liquid about the sides of his glass. 'It's not about taste; it's about exclusivity and control.'

'So we're drinking this...out of spite?' guessed Bulma.

'Exactly.'

'Typical,' she muttered.

'You know, sitting up there being all aloof and snarky, you're kind of doing a good impression of old Lord Lizard Lugs right now,' Raditz told Vegeta.

'Shut the fuck up, Raditz.'

'Fair enough.' Raditz chugged down the rest of his port and then double checked that the bottle was indeed empty. 'What next?' he asked the room at large. 'Beer? Or whisky? I put the beer in the freezer - it's probably cold enough now.'

'You've got more alcohol?' asked Vegeta. 'Why am I not surprised?'

'It's been a very dry few months,' said Raditz sadly. He rushed away and returned with a small cardboard crate of beer and started handing them out. They were in weird plastic cans.

'I'm still drinking the port!' snapped Vegeta when Raditz plonked one on the table in front of him.

'You'll catch up,' said Raditz, taking the seat opposite him at the table. Vegeta read the label of the can and made a face.

'What is this shitty brew?'

'Not to your favourite, my Prince?' Raditz grinned, and Vegeta snarled, both of them knowing that Raditz was not being entirely serious with the use of that epitaph at that moment. 'I have a lot more to chose from.' He took something out of his sweatpants pocket, pressed the top and then threw it on the parquet floor near the dining table. With a pop, a small bar's worth of alcoholic beverages was revealed.

'You are _not_ serious!' cried Vegeta. 'Are you planning to be drunk _all week?_ '

'Where did you get that capsule?' demanded Bulma right on his heels.

Raditz looked pissed to be interrogated by both of them at once. 'Wow, both of you loosen up! You _gave_ me this capsule to carry shopping when we were on Grenouillea. And no, this is to _share_ , assuming you manage to pull the sticks out of your butts.'

Vegeta growled and Raditz dropped to his knees, carefully selecting a bottle from the line up, then presented it to Vegeta at arm's length.

'How about this one? It's Chekekthu Whisky, twice as old as you are. It's got to be good, right?'

Vegeta glared at him even as he snatched the bottle from his hands. Then he unstoppered the bottle and took a swig straight from the neck.

'You're right,' he said. 'It _is_.'

Raditz's eyes stayed on the bottle and the bottle stayed in Vegeta's hand until Raditz finally realised that that was where it was going to stay.

'Oh. Okay then. Anyone else want something different?'

'Yeah!' said Goku. 'This beer stuff is yuck!'

* * *

Raditz put on one of the holovids they'd taken from the ship; it was music, with abstract visuals, a kind of heavy classical with a large choir. Bulma found this an odd match of taste to listener, but then again, she'd never heard anything approaching rock music of any kind in space, which is how she had imagined Raditz's tastes swung.

Her few feeble objections against giving the younger boys alcohol were rather undermined by her increasingly imprecise enunciation and pink cheeks as she continued to drink herself. Goku didn't have much, announcing that he didn't really like the taste and it was making him sleepy, but Krillin's whole head was flushed before long and he was roaring with laughter at all Raditz's tall tales about drinking games he'd won, and Tarble wasn't far behind in level of merriment. Bulma would have even found it all rather funny if she hadn't been uncomfortably aware of the sulking Vegeta in the corner. Now that a few drinks had mellowed her out she began to feel guilty for causing Vegeta's bad mood. When she really thought about it, he wasn't completely heartless no matter what he said. He'd protected her almost from day one, aside from a couple of notable incidents. He wasn't as kind to his underlings as she would have liked, but she knew that he'd been treated harshly by his own superiors, and maybe that's the only way he knew. What had he said to her once? 'Hardship hones the blade. That's why I'm so sharp.'

Puar sat on the back of the sofa next to her shoulder, and Bulma had an idea.

'Go and convince Vegeta to join us,' she whispered to the cat. 'He's being such a downer.'

Puar nodded over-enthusiastically. She'd had only a few sips of Goku's drinks, but it had gone right to her head. She floated over to Vegeta and tripped when she landed on the table.

Bulma watched then surreptitiously from the corner of her eye whilst pretending to listen to Tarble explain the night life of Tech-Techies. Vegeta pulled his gaze from the window and the two of them exchanged words, and then Vegeta was pouring a small shot of whisky into his empty port glass. And then Puar drank it!

She quickly looked away as they both turned towards the lounge. The next thing she knew, Puar was crash landing in her lap.

'Oops,' the cat said, and then hiccupped.

'Puar!' she whispered. 'Are you drunk? What were you thinking, drinking that much whisky?'

'I thought it would be rude to say no.'

Then Vegeta was sliding into the seat next to her, though she was distracted by Puar's clumsy attempt to climb out of her lap onto the arm of the sofa, using her claws for traction.

'You got a little kid drunk?' she said, raising her brow.

'Puar?' he asked. 'She's a cat, not a child.'

'That doesn't make it better! And yes, she's a cat and a kid!'

'I'm ten!' said Puar, and melted to her face on the arm of the couch.

Vegeta smiled a little. 'Well, you can't blame me – I didn't force her to drink it.'

'You should have known better!'

'She will be fine!'

'No thanks to you!'

'And here I heard you were keen to have my company,' he said, narrowing his eyes. 'I've been misled.'

Bulma blushed instantly. She hadn't meant Puar to tell Vegeta that the request had come from _her_.

'You were just bothering me being all sad and grumpy over there. You know, you sure broadcast a lot of _feelings_ for someone who doesn't want to deal with other people's feelings.'

The shift in Vegeta's expression was comical, going all the way from smirking malice to embarrassment in an instant. He looked away from her, apparently having no comeback.

Raditz was pouring another drink for himself. From the bottle and the bright yellow tint she guessed it was Grenouillean plum brandy.

'Here's to Tarble, our brilliant actor, luring in the weak and greedy!' he said, lifting the glass before taking a gulp.

'Thanks,' said Tarble, grinning with pleasure at the rare praise.

'Even if it's no great stretch for Tarble to act helpless and naïve,' said Vegeta, and Tarble's happiness was gone just like that.

Bulma rounded on him, temper flaring all over again.

'Look – just because you're miserable doesn't mean you have to make everyone else miserable!' she spat.

Vegeta's head snapped around to her and he glared, every muscle tense, and she halted her tongue.

'Hey, Bulma,' said Raditz lightly, as if Vegeta wasn't looking like he was about to take her out. 'Just because I'm happy, doesn't mean I have to make everyone happy, right? Or _does_ it?'

Bulma flicked her eyes away from Vegeta towards Raditz. What was that moron on about? He was half grinning, half wincing, and when she looked back to Vegeta he had deflated somewhat, though he still glared at her reproachfully.

'Another drink, your Highness?' asked Raditz, looming closer with the brandy. Bulma looked down at the whisky bottle in Vegeta's hand. It was practically empty. Was he drunk? With her own tipsiness it was hard to judge.

'No,' said Vegeta, finally tearing his eyes from Bulma. 'Wrap it up. This pointless inebriation is annoying me.'

Raditz was crestfallen. 'But…' He put the brandy away in the collection again, and then suddenly stood back up with another bottle, this one containing some milky pink liquid. 'I just want to try this one more drink.'

'No.'

'It's not even alcoholic!' pleaded Raditz. 'I've just always wanted to know what it was like.'

Vegeta sighed in exasperation. 'Fine!'

Raditz poured himself a glass, then offered it to Bulma.

'Sure,' she said, raising her glass to be filled. He only gave her a small dollop compared to his own glass, but she wasn't about to complain. She was only curious about what it tasted like. Raditz poured some into the glasses of Tarble and Goku. Krillin couldn't find his glass, so Raditz had him tip his head back so he could pour it directly into his mouth. It nearly came back out Krillin's nose, the boy was laughing so much, but then he declared it 'Yum!'

Bulma tried it, and it was – fruity and dreamy, like blended strawberries and cream. She moaned involuntarily. Vegeta looked at her like her enjoyment irritated him, which maybe it did.

'What some, Vegeta?' asked Raditz, offering him a glass.

Vegeta took the proffered drink sullenly, sniffed and sipped. 'I suppose it is rather nice.' He sipped more and then more. Bulma herself was regretting her small portion and licking the dregs from the glass. 'What is it?'

'It's a tonic that they make on Planet Ambrozean. I've heard of it. Always wanted to try it.'

'Could I have some more?' asked Bulma.

'Ah, I think I've given you enough,' said Raditz and started to put the bottle away.

'Hey, that wasn't enough! Bring it back!'

He capsulated the bar again and pocketed it. 'Whoops, too late!'

'It is not too late!' she insisted.

'You should listen to her,' said Tarble. 'She's the queen of Earth.'

'Yeah, I'm the queen of Earth!'

'No, she isn't!' said Krillin. 'I only called her that sarcastically.'

Raditz was unwavering either way. 'Prince Vegeta ordered me to pack everything away and now I have. I can't disobey an order.'

'Doesn't a queen outrank a prince?' asked Tarble, giggling. He looked at Vegeta and his giggling suddenly became a fit of laughter, and he toppled over on the carpet. Bulma looked at him in bemusement, feeling her own face twisting into a grin she couldn't control. A wave of bubbliness and warmth spread out from her stomach, almost like butterflies, and then she was laughing, too, laughing at Tarble rolling around on the floor after suggesting that she outranked Vegeta. She thought it was maybe not the wisest thing to do, but as she watched Vegeta began to laugh, too.

'Don't be ridiculous! Bulma is no queen!'

'You don't know Earth's laws of succession,' she insisted. 'I _could_ be! I probably am!'

'Ah, come on!' said Krillin, also laughing. 'The king is a dog! Puar has more chance of being queen that you do!'

'Queen Puar!' laughed Goku.

Tarble leapt to his feet to bow at the cat who was asleep and oblivious to it all.

'Cats aren't related to dogs!' said Bulma. 'And for all you know, I've got a bit of dog in my bloodlines!'

Everyone roared at that one.

'Well, that makes a lot of sense,' said Raditz, 'because you're a biiiiiitch sometimes!'

Bulma knew she should be angry at that but all she could do was laugh until tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. Vegeta laughed so hard he was gasping.

'Raditz,' he choked out. 'What the fuck…was in that tonic?'

Raditz had to wait until his laughter eased. 'Delirium poppies,' he said, and then cracked up all over again.

'What!'

'Delirium poppies?' repeated Bulma. 'That sounds…' The spark of fear she had momentarily felt morphed into amusement. Raditz had drugged them all without their consent. 'Hilarious!'

'I know, right?'

Goku hauled himself up from the floor, where he'd been rolling on his back laughing.

'Hey, Vegeta, surely you're a king, too?' he gasped. 'Your dad is dead, right?'

For some reason this sparked another wave of laughter from everyone.

'Deader than a Tuffle at moonrise!' confirmed Raditz.

'Don't you become the king when that happens? I thought that was how it worked.'

'You're right, the old bastard is dead,' said Vegeta, still laughing. 'But there's no point in a coronation if you've got nothing to rule. You can be a prince of nothing, but you can't be a king of nothing. That would be pathetic!'

'Are you saying it's not worth being the king of _us?_ ' said Raditz. He was having trouble standing straight he was laughing so hard. 'I find myself _quite_ a worthy subject that any king would be happy to rule. I have served kings before to no complaint. Besides, if you were king then you'd outrank Bulma again!'

'Excuse me, but kings don't outrank queens!' she reminded them. 'Rather, he would merely be elevated to my equal, and even that would be debatable!'

'Your equal? Don't be absurd!' objected Vegeta. He puffed his chest and laid a hand over it. 'I am intrinsically your superior.'

Bulma stood up and puffed out her own chest – quite a different effect. 'I beg to differ!'

Krillin beat the floor with his fist. 'Hell, I would make you our queen just to see you lord it over Vegeta!'

Bulma felt determined to win this game of rank against Vegeta. A new sensation joining the overwhelming merriness; a strange fizzing in her arms and legs that made her want to leap to action, her chest felt a little tight and breathless.

'Goku, do you think I should be the queen of Earth?' she demanded.

'Yep!' he cried in return.

'Then as Krillin agrees, I am now your queen, by general proclamation!'

'Puar is asleep,' said Vegeta.

'It's majority rules, by Earth law,' lied Bulma. As far as she knew there were no laws surrounding the proclamation of new monarchs. She was starting to feel stranger and stranger, like time was stretching out. She blinked, and the sensation was different from normal; mostly in that she noticed it, and it was pleasant. She blinked a few more times, savouring the fractions of seconds of her eyes opening and closing. Then she noticed Vegeta again, waiting to see if she was about to say more, but for how long he'd been waiting, watching her, she couldn't say. She picked up the train of her thoughts again.

'In the future I would appreciate it if you would address me as _your Majesty._ Or Queen Bulma, if you wish.'

Vegeta baulked, the action exaggerated. 'I am not calling you that!'

'Tough! A prince may as well be a serf to me.'

'Never!'

She wasn't sure if Vegeta's outrage was real or comedic, but it was still funny.

'Quick, make him a king!' cried Raditz. 'We can't have a woman in charge! Especially an Earthling one! Especially _that_ one!'

'I beg your pardon! What does being a woman have to do with it?'

'I declare you king!' said Tarble, kneeling before Vegeta. 'Come on, Raditz!'

Vegeta stood up as Raditz got down on one knee in front of him, laughing. He smirked down at the two of them.

'Oh, but where do Kakarott's loyalties lie?' Vegeta asked.

Goku was philosophical, cocking his head and smiling as he said, 'You can be king of the Saiyans if you want. It doesn't matter to me if you're a king or a prince or nothing at all.'

'Well, isn't that the truth?' laughed Vegeta.

'Yes, it does matter, Goku!' said Bulma. 'If he's made a king we're going to have a real power struggle on our hands.'

Vegeta's grin turned evil. Bulma felt as if the room was getting darker, which it probably was – it was getting on for night time, after all – and the flames of the holographic fire lit Vegeta's profile with a flickering rim of red and gold. She felt as if the edges of her sight were going dim, like she was seeing down a tunnel to a bright spot of focus, but when she concentrated she could see everything just fine. It was only in her mind that her focus was collapsing to just the little scene in front of her. She waited on Goku's answer intently, and jumped with victory when he spoke.

'Oh. Well, in that case, I'm behind you all the way, Bulma!'

She turned to Vegeta, brows raised. 'You just lost your majority!' she teased. 'Only two out of five Saiyans have declared you King.'

'Nappa would declare me king in an instant if he was here.' He didn't mention Brolly.

'Maybe we should call him and ask?' suggested Tarble.

Raditz looked up from his genuflection, shaking his mane. 'He'll be blind drunk by now.'

'Pity the fool who stayed behind on that vessel,' said Vegeta. 'Besides, what makes you think I need a majority to be made king? It is my birth right, as well as my right by might.'

'Then you're king already?' asked Tarble.

'After my coronation.'

Tarble was back on his feet like lightning. 'What do we do?' He was taking this very seriously. Bulma approved, but then wondered why she approved. She wasn't laughing anymore, but a grin was plastered over her face.

'We need a throne!' said Raditz, leaping up to the dining table in one bound, then grabbing one chair and placed it at the edge of the parquet floor, facing into the lounge.

'What else?' asked Tarble.

'A crown?'

The two took off, running around the room and then out through the kitchen and other rooms, searching under and over things for something crown-like.

'I feel funny,' Goku commented, still smiling.

'Are we going to be okay?' Krillin asked Vegeta.

'We should be fine,' said Vegeta. He looked like he was wrestling with his face, trying to make it frown while all it wanted to do was beam. 'I've heard it's hard to overdose on the delirium poppy juice. Raditz, however, won't be, because I'm going to make him pay for this once we are on solid ground.'

The tall and the tiny Saiyan returned, bearing a sheet, a bottle of scented oil from the bathroom vanity, and the metal filigree lampshade from the bedroom. Raditz lost no time throwing the sheet over Vegeta's shoulders and tying the corners in front of his chest.

'What's this?' Vegeta asked.

'The monarch's cape,' said Raditz, reverently, almost as if he truly believed it was. Then he uncapped the oil and tipped Vegeta's head back, shaking a couple of drops of oil onto his forehead.

'I take it that this is the anointing,' Vegeta asked.

'Sacred anointing, yes!' said Raditz. 'And then I think there's some sacred words, somewhere, but I don't know any, so I'm going to go with…moon, blood, er, war, and…pussy. Oh, now we need the blood of your enemies for you to drink!' Raditz turned and looked around the room and Krillin leapt away.

'Hey, don't look at me! You're not having my blood!'

'You wouldn't count, anyway,' said Vegeta.

Raditz spied Krillin's lost glass between the sofas, still with a few drips of Frieza's favourite port in the bottom.

'That'll do!'

He picked it up and pressed it to Vegeta's lips. 'Taste the blood of our enemies and know that only by leading us to victory will you slake your thirst for it!'

Vegeta tipped the glass back and drained the blood red drips with all the seriousness as if this was the real deal, and Bulma couldn't help be caught up in the theatrics. All this make believe was now the most convincing and entrancing thing she had ever seen.

'I now pronounce you king of all the Saiyans!'

Vegeta grinned.

'Sire, take your throne,' breathed Tarble, holding the metal lampshade. Vegeta took the three steps with all the stately ponderousness the real event would have required. As he arranged his royal sheet about him, Tarble came up the steps as well and stood behind the chair. Raditz egged him on, and he held the "crown" up above Vegeta's head. Then he lowered it carefully over the top spikes of Vegeta's hair until it sat balanced precariously around his head. It should have been ridiculous, and it was – the hysteria was fading, even though she felt another bout of laughter overtaking her - but at the same time her heart swelled, her eyes round, seeing it at the same time as if it was a real coronation.

'All hail King Vegeta the second!' Raditz got down on one knee. Tarble leapt back down the stairs and joined him. Vegeta smiled, the gentle yet condescending smile of a great man humouring fools.

'Thank you, loyal subjects. Though there is one among you who is not so loyal.'

Tarble and Raditz looked at each other, brows raised in sudden guilt.

'I mean Kakarott, idiots!'

Goku stood up. 'I told you once, but I'll tell you again – I won't bow to you, Vegeta.'

'He doesn't need to bow to you,' Bulma interjected. 'He's still _my_ subject.'

Goku grinned and bowed to Bulma. 'But only because you're my friend,' he whispered to her.

Bulma regarded Vegeta and his smug smile enviously. She moved closer to Krillin and Goku.

'I need a throne, too.'

'And a cape?' asked Goku.

'Hmm. No, that would just be copying.'

'You could look like more of a queen though,' said Krillin. 'I don't think anyone was ever coronated in shorts and t-shirt before.'

'You're right!' she said. 'I'll be right back.'

She rushed away to the bathroom, and then emerged some minutes later, the silk of her violet gala gown swishing as she walked. The boys were still bickering away, but when she came down the steps they looked up and the conversations came to a halt. Raditz groaned out loud.

Bulma tried to act as if she were above it all, but she knew she was gorgeous in this dress. As tight and as low cut as she remembered it, it was by far the sexiest and most regal thing she had ever owned. She'd thrown her hair up into a bun and then made a suggestion of a circlet by putting the diamond-tipped hair pins in a ring around her temples. She'd even put the heavy jewelled bib necklace on.

'Where's my throne, boys?'

Krillin was staring bug-eyed, and had to literally shake his head to clear his stupor.

'Oh, here, your Majesty!'

He raced to bring another chair over from the dining table and placed it near Vegeta's. Bulma crossed the room and went up the steps on the other side to take her seat.

'What is the meaning of this?' Vegeta asked as she arranged her skirts with maximum fuss. 'Who do you think you are to sit with me?'

'I told you; you becoming king would only match your rank to mine.'

'Perhaps for now,' said Vegeta. 'But what about when I am king of all the galaxy? Then you will only one be among my thousands of tributaries.'

'Huh!' she scoffed. 'As if I would ever just be one of the crowd to you!'

Tarble tapped his front tooth with a finger contemplatively, coming to stand before them both. Suddenly he grinned.

'You know, if you were to marry Vegeta, then you'd be Queen of the Galaxy.'

Bulma took in a huge breath and she shot to her feet. 'You're right! I'm going to be Queen of the Galaxy if he's going to be king! I won't let him rule it alone!'

Raditz burst out laughing, but Tarble bounced on his feet in excitement.

'Marry her, Vegeta!'

'You soft-witted twit!' was Vegeta's answer to that. 'Why would I ever need to marry anyone?'

Tarble hesitated. 'Because…don't you _want_ to get married? I know Nappa says Saiyans didn't really marry, but-'

'Exactly. Saiyans don't marry – it's as foolish as love. And I certainly don't need a queen!'

'You need this one!' Bulma said, rounding on him. 'How do you think you're going to become King of the Galaxy without _my_ help?'

Vegeta stared at her, outraged. 'You're ransoming your help for co-rulership of the Galaxy? That's quite a fucking price!'

'Seems fair to me. I can always go find someone else to kill Frieza for me. Maybe Brolly would be up for that? I'm sure he'd let me rule the Galaxy with him.'

'What!' Vegeta shouted, coming to his feet, too. 'He couldn't! _You_ wouldn't!'

'I won't, if you make me your queen and let me rule with you.' She stared him down, and Vegeta simmered, taking her even more seriously than she was herself. The fact that this was make believe was hard to keep a grip on.

'Fine, then. I'll marry you – then I'll lock you in the bedroom all day, and see how much ruling you get done from there.'

'Ooh, kinky,' drawled Raditz.

'I'd like to see you try,' she replied, ignoring Raditz's comment. 'But it's a deal.'

'You're gonna marry _him?_ ' sputtered Krillin. 'Really?'

'It's a sacrifice I must make for the people of Earth.'

Krillin looked like he hadn't considered that, and frowned. 'I suppose.'

'Do you think I shouldn't?'

'…No. I guess…you kind of have to.'

'Do you object, Goku?'

'Er…' Goku looked confused. 'Seems okay. Are we going to just watch you get married?'

Bulma glanced at Vegeta. 'Yes. I don't see why not.'

'Will we get to try it too?'

' _Huh?_ '

'What are you on about, Kakarott?' asked Raditz, but Goku was spared having to explain himself by Tarble.

'Who is going to marry you two together?' he asked. 'On Tech-Techie the village elder or the boss of the company has the power to marry two people together. What's the custom here?'

'There's no Saiyan custom that I know of,' said Raditz. 'Or, I guess there was some mating ritual from way back in the day… When the tribes used to still exist and they bartered chieftain's daughters as mates to cement alliances.'

Vegeta pursed his lips. 'If I recall correctly, that would involve me besting Bulma in combat, biting her until blood is drawn and mounting her while the rest of you listen from the other side of a curtain. Somehow I think Bulma will object,' he said dryly, and Bulma shuddered. 'Although maybe it would make her think twice about blackmailing a Saiyan into mating her.'

'We're not getting mated, we're getting _married_ ,' said Bulma quickly. 'So Earth's custom will do. We just need a priest or marriage celebrant or something to take the wedding ceremony.'

'Krillin's a priest!' Goku volunteered.

'No, I'm not!' said Krillin. 'I'm a monk! Or I _was_ a monk!'

'Pah! That sounds close enough,' said Raditz. 'I want to see this _wedding ceremony_ business.'

'Hurry up,' said Vegeta. 'If I'm going to be blackmailed I want it over fast.'

Krillin stepped forward, then turned on the spot, looking around, seeming possessed by the same nervous energy Bulma felt. Then he hopped up the steps between Bulma and Vegeta.

'I don't know how to do this!' he complained. 'I've never even seen a wedding at my temple!'

'Come on,' Bulma prompted. 'Just do it like they do weddings in movies.'

'That's not my religion!'

'It doesn't matter!'

Krillin huffed, looking between Bulma and Vegeta. 'You two get down on your knees and face each other.'

They did. The gleam in Vegeta's eyes mirrored her own – part amusement, part challenge. She knew this was all pretend, but at the same time it seemed so real and so important. The other three shuffled closer, crowding in about their tiny ceremony curiously.

'So, we are gathered here today, to celebrate the joining of this man and this woman in holy matrimony.'

Bulma winced at that.

'Marriage is…' Krillin faltered. 'Er, a serious commitment or something. Don't they say something about that? And not entering into it lightly?' He looked at Bulma.

'Close enough,' she said. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Now you say vows or something. Repeat after me, Vegeta: I take thee, Bulma Briefs, to have and to hold, to honour and protect, to love and to cherish from this day forth.'

Vegeta's head swivelled up to look at Krillin in shock. ' _What?_ '

Bulma was surprised herself at how well Krillin remembered the lines – they sounded almost like the real deal to her.

Krillin started again. 'I take thee, Bulma Briefs…'

'Tch! I take thee, Bulma Briefs, to have and to _hold_ – though in what manner I'm not sure. I can do the honouring and protecting I guess, but you can take the loving and cherishing and stick them up your Earthling ass.'

'Hey!' said Bulma, swatting him on the arm. 'I want loving and cherishing!'

'Then marry someone else!'

'Harsh,' commented Krillin. 'Okay, Bulma's turn: I take thee, Vegeta…oh. Do you have a family name, Vegeta?'

'Vegeta.'

'I take thee, Vegeta _Vegeta_ , to have and to hold, love honour and obey-'

'We are not doing "obey"!' Bulma interjected.

'To yield in body-'

'Really?' said Raditz.

Bulma started to turn pink.

'Though sickness and health, for richer or poorer, till death us do part. Oh, that bit goes for you too, Vegeta, I forgot to do that bit in your vow!'

'There's more?' scoffed Vegeta. 'Gah!'

Bulma took a deep breath before pouring out her vow. 'I take thee, Vegeta Vegeta, to have and to hold, to love, honour and _debate_ , through sickness and health, for richer and poorer, till death us do part – and that part you need to agree to, too, Vegeta,' she insisted.

'Okay, whatever.'

' _Whatever?_ '

'Fine! I agree! Till death us do part!'

'Do you have a ring?' Krillin asked.

'What for?'

'To use as a wedding ring,' Krillin explained. 'You put one on Bulma and it means she's married. She can give you one too, but I think that's optional.'

'We don't have a ring,' Bulma said sadly.

'Yes we do,' said Vegeta, indicating her right hand. 'I already gave you one.'

Bulma raised her hand and there of course, was the alexandrite ring on her right ring finger.

'Huh?' said Krillin. 'He already gave you one? When?'

'It was just something that happened on Grenouillea,' Bulma explained. 'Just a way to turn credit into value.'

'Oh, okay. Well, Vegeta, take it off and put it on her other hand.'

Vegeta did, and Bulma found herself trembling at the feeling of Vegeta's hands on hers. He struggled to get the ring home.

'Ow-ee!'

'I'm being as gentle as I can, but your knuckle is too bony.'

Finally the ring popped past the joint and Vegeta looked up at her. Time seemed to stretch out even further, the moment taking an age in Bulma's mind. Her focus collapsed even smaller, and she even forgot about their mock ceremony. She was awed by his face, by the little puzzled frown of concern and the soft burr of his voice as he asked, 'Is that it, then? We are married?'

'Erm, I now pronounce you man and wife,' Krillin ended glibly, bringing Bulma back to the play around her. 'You may now kiss the bride.'

Vegeta flushed red. 'Don't be disgusting!'

Tarble and Raditz both burst into giggles. Disappointed, Bulma watched as Vegeta stood again and sat back on his throne, but of course he wasn't going to kiss her in front of everyone.

'You must be relieved that Vegeta didn't take up the offer,' said Krillin, though it almost sounded like a question.

'Yeah, gross,' she agreed, trying to sound convincing. 'There's only so far I'm willing to go for political gain.'

She took her throne again and then deliberately slid it closer to Vegeta's.

'So, husband, how are we ruling the galaxy today?'

Vegeta crossed his arms. 'With an iron fist.'

'Okay, you do that, and I will make sure everything is metered out in a judicial and fair way.'

'Hey,' said Raditz, taking a seat on the arm of one of the sofas again. 'So, when are we going to see an heir?'

'A what?' Vegeta asked, looking at Raditz as if he was mad.

'An heir. That is one of the points of a king taking a queen isn't it?'

'I suppose it is,' said Bulma, looking at Vegeta. He looked horrified. 'I hadn't thought of that. When are we going to have a baby, Vegeta?'

'A baby!'

She laughed at his astonishment. 'Oh, yes, a little baby!'

'We are not bringing a child into this sham of a marriage!' Vegeta said.

'It may be a sham of a marriage, but I refuse to let it be a chaste one!' she told him gleefully.

Raditz suddenly scooped Tarble up. 'Here's your baby, Queen Bulma.'

'Hey, no!' objected Tarble as Raditz forced him onto Bulma's lap. Though he was small, he was bony and heavy, and she tried to wrap her arms around him, but he was pushing away too strongly.

'Oh, he's adorable!' she mock-cooed. 'Vegeta, isn't our baby a darling! He looks just like you.'

'He looks _nothing_ like me.'

Bulma made another bid to hold onto Tarble, pressing her face into his hair. 'Hush, baby, Mommy's here.' Tarble stopped struggling and looked at her in confusion. She suddenly felt a rush of affection and pity for the boy, and her heart squeezing painfully because he didn't even know how to let himself be hugged. 'Hey,' she said. 'Hey, you can let your mother hold you, can't you?' He melted against her, staring up at her face helplessly as she rocked him and bounced him on her knees. 'My sweet, baby boy, I love you so much!' She kissed the bangs on his forehead and he let her, enchanted.

'Stop it!' Vegeta yelled.

Shocked, she looked up.

Vegeta wore an expression of disgust and rage. 'Woman, put that brat down at once!'

'Why?' she said, clutching Tarble closer. The kid had flinched at Vegeta's voice.

Vegeta cast about as if looking for a reason. Then he lifted his finger and pointed. 'You are _ruining_ that child with your soft-heartedness. How is he supposed to grow up to be a true and proud Saiyan if he's being spoiled and doted upon?'

'Maybe I'll raise him human?'

'Never! Tarble, get up!'

Reluctantly, Tarble climbed down from Bulma's lap.

'You want to be a proud Saiyan, don't you? Not some weakling human?'

Tarble nodded, shamefaced.

'Good. Now go and subjugate a planet for me. Make sure to leave no dissenters alive.'

'Yes, father.'

'You can't make him do that! He's only a kid!' Bulma objected.

'When do you think I started?' Vegeta asked.

She looked at him, upset by the thought. 'But just because you did doesn't mean you have to do the same to your own children. It's not right!'

'It _works_.'

'It works to make flawed and monstrous men who have suffered and been broken and healed back together all fucked up,' she replied, surprising herself with how bitterly she felt the words.

'Is that what you think of me?' asked Vegeta, his voice suddenly dangerous. 'Malformed and fucked up?'

'Don't you think you are?'

He stared at her, his anger cutting through the buoyant surrealism of their shared fantasy, and she felt she had really insulted him.

'It's not your fault,' she said. 'You can't control how you were raised, but you don't need to insist that it was the best way.'

'How utterly arrogant of you,' Vegeta sneered. 'Thinking that your way is better when all the evidence points to the opposite.'

'My way _is_ better! I don't want that little boy to suffer like you did! How can you be so hard-hearted that you would make your own child go through that! It upsets me enough when I think of how _you_ were treated!'

'Hey,' said Raditz quietly. 'I just want to interrupt here to remind everyone that Tarble is actually not your son, so everyone can, in fact, calm down.'

Bulma's focus was broken, and so was the spell. She was back in the ship's lounge playing pretend again, back from whatever realm of imagination she'd been taken to. She looked around at the faces of Goku and Krillin, sniggering at the drama, Tarble staring at her like she was a goddess and he a helpless devotee, and Raditz, who looked a bit freaked out.

Vegeta took a few deep breaths and then sat back and put his arms behind his head. 'Of course. If Tarble was really my son I'd kill myself from shame.'

'Vegeta!' she snapped at him, then rolled her eyes.

Raditz laughed. 'Phew!' he said. 'I thought you two had left planet reality for good then.'

'If we had it would be your fault,' said Vegeta. 'Thank the gods this shit is starting to wear off.'

And it was. The strange excitement was ebbing, as was the sense of time being stretched. She sighed and settled herself back into her pretend throne again. She rubbed her arms, calming herself and enjoying the sensation at the same time.

'I know we've already had dinner,' she said, 'but I could really go for some potato chips right now.'

'Snacks?' yelped Goku, springing back to his feet. 'Can we?'

Vegeta glanced over. 'Finally, a sound judgement from my queen. Yes, we shall have snacks.'

'I'm not getting them, though,' she cautioned him.

'Why would you need to when we have the galaxy to command?'

'Good point!' She pointed at Goku. 'You, find us something salty.' Then she pointed at Raditz. 'You, find us something sweet.'

Raditz raised a brow. 'Tarble, go find the queen something sweet to eat.'

'Hey!' Bulma objected, even as Tarble followed Goku to the kitchen. 'I ordered _you_ to do it!'

'Yeah, well, shit rolls downhill.'

* * *

They talked and ate sweets and crispbreads for another hour. The good cheer lasted even after reality had settled on them once more, though Bulma still felt a bit drunk. She liked being up on her throne, and decided to stay on it as long as Vegeta stayed on his. They had fun ordering their subjects around, those subjects becoming increasingly sassy as the drug was metabolised from their system. The rest of the crate of beer was polished off. Tarble tripped down the stairs while bringing back a bowl of sweet wafer biscuits from the kitchen, obviously quite tipsy, but he managed to stop himself mid-air before hitting the floor, thought that didn't stop all the wafers landing on the lounge carpet. Vegeta ordered him to pick them all up again without touching the floor or touching the wafers with his hands, and so Tarble hovered upside down, awkwardly bobbing for wafers with his mouth. Very soon all the boys and Raditz joined in, which had Bulma squirming in her seat, trying not to pee herself with laughter at the bumping heads and legs waving in the air. Though Vegeta refused to join the undignified mess, he did put rather a lot of effort into using his chi to levitate wafers into his mouth. Bulma complained that she was missing out, and so he then levitated wafers rather clumsily into her mouth.

'Mmm!'

'What is your complaint now, woman?'

The wafer withdrew enough for her to talk. 'You're shoving it down my throat! Are you trying to choke me?'

'This is an advanced chi manipulation technique, not an exact science. You did request wafers delivered without being touched by the hand of man, and I try and give my queen what she desires.'

'Well, I could suspect you were trying to off your queen on your wedding night, my king!'

Vegeta smiled. 'This would hardly be an efficient method of murder. Now open wide.'

The wafer swung up and tried to push its way up her nostril.

'Vegeta!'

'What? I'm trying my hardest!' he insisted, though his earnestness was undercut by the laughter he was trying to stifle. Bulma snatched the biscuit from the air and attacked it with her mouth, biting and smashing bits of wafer all over the place like a savage thing. Vegeta roared with laughter, and she felt something tickle at her bosom. Looking down she saw a large shard of wafer wedged in her cleavage. It then took to the air, zipping cleanly into Vegeta's mouth.

'You liar!'

More shards started to levitate.

'And you're a thief, too!' She dove after the shards even as they made their way to Vegeta's mouth, and snapped at them, trying to swallow them before he could, leaning into his lap to get at them. He held her back, gripping about her waist as they went after the same piece, their noses bumping. Bulma saw another chunk floating forgotten near his chin and reached out with her tongue to snag it, accidentally licking him in the process. Vegeta pulled back, and shot a look at the other boys, but they were all occupied with their own game.

'That was naughty,' he whispered to her, eyes gleaming.

' _You're_ naughty,' she said and then grimaced at her own flirty, yet lame, comeback.

'I'm not _naughty!_ If anything, I'm evil!'

She grinned back. 'You're not _that_ evil. But you're right, I _am_ naughty. I'm a very _naughty_ queen.'

Vegeta made a choking noise and then turned away, while Bulma snorted at her own playful lewdness.

Eventually the beer and snacks were gone and yawns began to make appearances.

Puar woke up just as Krillin was nodding off on the couch.

'Why you all makin' so much noise?' the cat complained weakly.

Raditz stood up and yanked the sofa cushions out from under Krillin, making the boy cry out before rolling to the floor.

'Good point, Puar. It's late.'

Raditz and Goku laid out the cushions for the bed and then Tarble threw the furs and blankets atop them. Krillin crawled directly from the floor onto his fur and appeared to be asleep again immediately. Raditz yawned and threw himself down, too.

'Started something you couldn't finish?' Vegeta teased him.

'I'm not afraid to call it quits when I'm done,' Raditz replied. Goku and Tarble followed suit.

'Who's going to carry out my orders now?' asked Bulma.

'I guess you'll have to get off your lazy ass and carry them out yourself,' said Vegeta.

'You can talk!' She was grinning though. Every word from Vegeta right now could do nothing but make her smile or laugh. She stood up though. 'Suppose I should get ready for bed.'

She went away to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and then decapsulated her wardrobe to put away her dress again. Feeling the ring on her left hand she wondered if she should move it back to her right hand, and then began laughing all over again. This night had been insane, and the mock wedding was incongruous to the point of being unbelievable, and if it hadn't been for the ring on her left hand she would have been tempted to think that she had dreamed the whole thing. Who knew Vegeta could be so much fun? Their argument that afternoon seemed far away and almost as unreal as her coronation and wedding.

Even if the coronations and wedding had only been drug-fuelled make-believe, she did feel like tonight she and Vegeta had accepted each other as equals. Sitting side by side on their twin "thrones" she felt more connected to him than ever and a little further apart from the others.

She reached for her nightdress and then changed her mind. Going from the sexy ball gown to the polycotton nightie was too much of a comedown. Tonight she decided she would wear the pale blue, silk nightdress she had picked up from the apartment on Grenouillea.

When she slipped back into the lounge all the lights were off except for the holographic fire. There were snores coming from some of the bodies on the bed, but Vegeta still sat on his throne. He watched her as she stepped down into the lounge and past the fire to stand next to their end of the bed. She saw that he'd gotten ready for bed, too. He was only wearing the shorts he slept in.

'Whatya doing up there?' she asked softly, still feeling that sense of closeness with him.

'The others are already asleep,' he said, just above a whisper. 'But I don't want to sleep just yet.'

'Party slackers. If you don't want to sleep yet then neither do I. We can keep the party going as long as we like.'

She walked up the steps to her chair, then hopped into it, bringing her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees. Vegeta watched her and wrapped his arms around the back of his chair like he was tied to it.

'Okay, then. What shall we do?' she asked, although she had a pretty good idea what she wanted to do, and she'd much rather do it on the bed than on these hard backed dining chairs. She even loved just talking with Vegeta when it was only the two of them, but she'd even prefer to do that in bed, like the night before last after the signal went off. Well, until she realised that the tracker was in his head. That had kind of spoiled it.

'What do you want to do?' he asked.

'Um…' She smiled, hoping he would read her mind so she didn't have to say it out loud. 'Oh, crap!' she suddenly exclaimed.

'What?'

'The tracker! I need to confirm the timing! Shit, I hope it's not too late! Stay there!'

She ran upstairs and ransacked the sensor suit, then came back down with it and her laptop. Vegeta groaned.

'I only need to put one wire on you this time,' she told him, crouching on the floor next to him with the gear. 'It's only to confirm the timing.' She opened the laptop and looked at ships system clock that would tell her the galactic time and date. If the timing was exactly two days then they were only five minutes off a signal.

'Oh, dammit!'

Hurriedly she ripped the suit apart down to the headpiece, and then wrapped only one wire around Vegeta's head. He was crownless now since getting ready for bed. With two minutes to spare she opened the self-made program and stood up.

'Well, I really hope this signal goes out exactly every two days, because otherwise we could be waiting for a while, or we could have actually missed it already.'

Vegeta fingered the red wire running across his forehead and growled softly, a grizzly sound of annoyance. 'I don't like being wired up.'

'You big baby,' she teased him. 'It's just one wire.' She took her chair again, deliberately sitting off the edge and almost on Vegeta's. 'Hopefully it's not long, and then maybe we could…'

'Could what?' he asked in all seriousness.

'You know,' she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, trying not to blush.

'Really? Because you told me to go screw myself earlier,' he said. The words had a little bite to them.

'Oh. So I did.' She floundered at the mention of that argument, but she was in a forgiving mood. She decided Vegeta should have another chance if he could get just one question right.

'I might consider taking that back,' she said. ' You know, yesterday you were very specific in asking what I thought of you; making sure I _cared_ for you, as you put it, but you never said whether you cared for me.'

Vegeta leaned away from her, seeming to shrink from her question.

'Ah…'

'Do you?' she prodded, not really enjoying the way Vegeta was squirming with discomfort. Was it really that awful a question to answer? He looked away, flushing, and she felt her annoyance rising again. After an unpleasantly long pause she crumbled first.

'I mean, you act like you do, and then other times you say shitty things like "Keep your feelings to yourself"! What is wrong with feelings, huh? Why do you act like it's bad to like me?'

'I do like you,' he said, his voice so quiet and hoarse that she barely heard it.

'What did you say?'

Vegeta dropped his head and made a small growling noise of frustration before answering. 'It is hardly appropriate, but I _do_ like you, perhaps more than anyone.'

Bulma was stunned. Her smile returned, and okay, she wasn't sure what to do with "hardly appropriate" but the rest was surprisingly joyful to hear. _More than anyone, huh?_

'Oh, well…that's cool then.'

He looked up again, his smile withering and sarcastic.

'You are not to repeat that to _anyone_.'

'Yeah, yeah. And keep my feelings to myself.'

He frowned. 'You overreacted about that, earlier. I just think you show your feelings too plainly, and act on them too quickly.'

Bulma felt her anger flickering again at that provocation, and bit back on it, clenching her jaw. Her mother had told her as much on some occasions. She'd never be accused of calm-headedness.

'You know you do the exact same thing, at times,' she said eventually, when she was sure she wasn't going to screech or hiss it.

' _Rarely!_ '

'What about when you beat Nappa like a steak for hitting me?'

He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at her. 'I thought you would have approved of that action.'

She shrugged, realising she'd mentioned perhaps the wrong incident. 'I guess. But it sounded like you lost your temper.' _Over me_.

'Only I know if that's true or not. And his punishment would have been the same either way.'

She thought about it longer, trying to think of another example.

'Okay, maybe you're right. What you're much more likely to do is get your panties in a bunch, but not do anything directly about it. Just be grouchy and let everyone else suffer for it. You're even reluctant to act on _good_ feelings!'

Vegeta looked like he'd just sucked a lemon. 'No I'm not! And if I was, it is far better to over-think things than under-think them.'

'But maybe there are some things that are ruined by overthinking? Like…pop, and they're gone!' As she said the words she wondered if this moment was one of them and they were wasting it bickering. Not in great seriousness, but still.

Right then the laptop beeped, and relieved, Vegeta ripped the wire off and stood, walking down the steps to the bed. Bulma went over to the laptop and checked the time.

'Well, that's convenient – the signal pulse is precisely two galactic days apart.'

'It makes sense,' said Vegeta. 'The PTO only uses Galactic time, not local time.'

Bulma padded down the steps to join him on the bed, but instead of laying down like she expected him to, Vegeta remained standing, watching her. She stood on her blanket in confusion for a second, her head still swimming a little from the drink. And then he shuffled half a foot closer.

'I don't want to overthink _this,_ ' he said, looking genuinely worried.

She smiled. She knew that, if anything, _she_ was the one overthinking this, whatever _this_ was. 'Okay, then.'

She blushed a bit as she stepped in to him, putting her hands on his naked chest. Vegeta hesitated for a moment, looking like he might say something, but then he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her.

Bulma's head was swimming twice as much now. It hadn't changed – each time she kissed him she was overwhelmed. Under the excitement, part of her rebelled against this – it was not right to do this with such a person! – but the greater part of her revelled in it, burying the objection under perverse delight. As their tongues slid against each other's, small scale invasions into the other person, she felt that basket full of butterflies flung open again; she was a hollow skin filled up with fluttering palpitations of joy. She dragged her hands down his chest, exploring the feel of him. He was the work of a master sculptor, clothed in soft skin, but he shuddered as her hands brushed over him, his own hand clenching convulsively in the silk of her nightdress. She let one hand continue to glide over his abs, but when she got to the waistband of his shorts she chickened out, and wrapped her arm around his waist instead, squeezing one of those buns she always pretended she didn't notice.

Vegeta took a handful of her breast, kneading it softly through the silk, and Bulma wilted, feeling a wave of warmth and giddiness rush from her breast through her whole body. Then he trailed his hand down her stomach, over her hip to the thigh, then up again, taking the hem of her nightdress with it. Back up, over her buttock, her hip and ribs he went until he had a handful of her breast again. She made a whimpering noise into his mouth; she couldn't help it, and then his other hand was at the small of her back, pulling her hard against him. She almost moaned again as a bolt of pure lust emitted from where his rigid erection pressed against her. She put both arms around him now, feeling up and down his bare back and the ridges and knots of muscles there, teasing down the waistband of his shorts to grab at his ass.

Their kiss became deeper, and Vegeta more demanding. Bulma staggered, pushed off balance by the force of Vegeta's passion, but she couldn't fall with his arms around her. He lowered her to the bed instead and covered her with his body, pressing down on her, her nightdress practically up around her armpits. Right then their kiss broke with an alarmingly loud smacking noise, and Bulma turned her head quickly towards the others.

'Vegeta,' she panted quietly, 'do you think they're all asleep?' Practically naked on top of the covers with Vegeta on top of her was the very definition of a compromising position.

'You only think to ask this _now?_ ' he whispered in return. 'Yes, you took so long in the bathroom they were all asleep by the time you got out.'

'Okay.'

'But we should take this upstairs in case we wake them.'

Bulma's pounding heart made a giant leap and then hit the ground running. She _knew_ what he meant, and she _knew_ what he expected, but she still hadn't made her decision. But what had she just said to him about overthinking things? She couldn't see his face well when he was looming over her, blocking the light from the fire, but his expression seemed almost neutral. This was fun, what they were doing. It was exciting and erotic – why should she stop? Why shouldn't she let him take it further? She needed to stop worrying about possible consequences and get on with it. At least then she would be rid of this tiresome virginity.

'Okay, then.'

That neutral expression of Vegeta's hardened into something eager. He didn't get up immediately, but kissed her again first, and then took her hand and pulled her to her feet. He bent to take an armful of fur, pillow and blanket, and she did the same, still holding his hand, but starting to shake a little.

 _Oh no, this is not the time to get nervous_ , she told herself, but it was no use.

Still breathing hard, they tiptoed across the lounge and up the stairs to the flight deck. Vegeta threw his bedding on the floor and let go of her hand to lock the door. Bulma leaned against the map table and watched, feeling awkward.

'I guess we should make a bed then?' she suggested, and then blushed because that alluded too closely to what they were about to do.

 _Are we really gonna?_ she questioned herself. _I guess there's still time to chicken out._

Vegeta nodded and crossed to the couch that circled the back half of the room. He pulled the sofa cushions to the floor and then tried to make them fit together - a geometrical impossibility with the curved shape of the cushions – to make something wide enough for two people to sleep on. Yes, they were really going to do this.

He threw both their furs down on top – it was a bit lumpy where the corners of the cushions overlapped, but it would do. He stood up and faced her.

The flight deck was very dimly lit by a few of the instruments on the console and by the streaking stars overhead. Compared to the fire below it was a very cool light, and under it Vegeta almost looked like he really was carved from stone. She could see his mouth open and his eyes black and kind of vacant as he looked at her, and she could see the way his shorts were tented at the front. That reality made her rather weak at the knees.

Vegeta walked slowly towards her, then stopped. The sight of him took her breath away. She knew he wasn't classically handsome – her own initial reaction to him proved that – but now she wondered how she could ever have been blind to his appeal. There was something extreme and untameable about him that fixated her.

He bent slightly to take the hem of her slip in both hands and then slowly lifted up, and up, again moving as if he expected her to tell him to stop or that he was doing it wrong. Bulma lifted her arms like a child being undressed and he pulled the silk right over her head and dropped it to the floor. She barely resisted the urge to cover her chest with her arms, and forced herself to keep her face calm as his eyes dropped to take in her body. He was breathing raggedly, but otherwise looked quite grave about was he saw. It was one of the most contained reactions she'd ever seen to her topless figure, but a thousand times preferable to Master Roshi's gross displays of arousal.

Vegeta stepped closer and kissed her, raising his hands to cup her breasts. His touch arced through her like warm, lazy sparks from her breasts to her groin, lighting her up inside. She slid one hand down between their bodies to grip Vegeta through his shorts and his breath hitched, pausing in his kiss, and pushing himself into her hand. Then he let go of her breasts and slid both hands to the sides of her panties, pushing them down.

Her lazy sparks were briefly spiked with prickles of nervousness, and then were electrified completely by Vegeta's open-mouthed expression of hunger.

Hurried along by his urgency, she pulled the front of his shorts down, and then he helped her, pushing them down over his hips until they felt to the floor. Bulma took the chance to look down and see what she'd only felt before now – as smooth and pale as marble in the starlight, bouncing free, jutting out from dark pubic hair.

 _Looks human enough_ , she confirmed, out of breath and almost swooning against him as he kissed her again, feeling the thing digging into her belly as they pressed together now. Vegeta burrowed a hand between them and between her legs, his fingers sliding freely against her, his mouth stilling against hers as his mind was occupied with what his hand was doing. He rubbed back and forth, setting off tremors of pleasure in Bulma, and then he found her entrance, dipping inside, a little more gently this time. Right on the heels of pleasure came another wave of misgiving, but she forced it back, fighting against the feeling that this was too fast, too soon. No, this was meant to just be fun!

She leaned back a bit, looking Vegeta in the eyes as she wrapped a hand about his erection and pulled up the length of it. He gasped, closing his eyes, his expression of concentration shattering into something almost pained, but she knew it wasn't pain. Entranced, she did it again and again, and watched Vegeta hunch, his mouth open in a silent exclamation. He joined her rhythm, moving his hand against her, digging deeper. She tightened her grip, but then was afraid that she _had_ somehow hurt him as he pulled away with a groaned, 'Stop!'

'What's wrong?' she asked.

He shook his head. 'Nothing. Do you…want to get in the bed?'

 _Already?_ Bulma's panic returned only for her attempt to banish it again. _No, this is all fine! I want this._

Feeling incredibly unnatural, she hopped around him and onto the bed. She reached for a blanket, and covered herself with it as she rolled onto her back, feeling it too embarrassing to lie naked before him when he was still standing, but as soon as she did, he got down on the bed and slid under the blanket with her, almost displacing it entirely.

He kissed her neck again, which she liked, and then moved lower to suck on her nipple, which she really liked. She stared at the stars, holding in a giggle as Vegeta's hair tickled her nose and his tongue swirled over her. It was so weird to be this close, this naked, this intimate with someone, but in a good way, and it was almost unbelievable that the someone was Vegeta. Bulma from a month ago would have said she was mad to even consider it.

He reached down to rub between her legs again, skipping over the best bit - maybe he didn't know which the best bit was? - then he slid his finger into her again, starting to move quickly – too quickly. Soon it stopped being stimulating and started to become irritating.

She flinched. 'Can you…'

Vegeta's head came up, but she wasn't sure how to say what she wanted to say. He looked almost frantic now. He heaved up onto his hands and knees and then settled between her legs.

_Wait, does he think I meant…?_

'Now?' he asked with a shaky breath.

She hesitated, wondering if it would be impolite to ask for more foreplay, but she guessed she kind of was ready. _I'm just trying to put it off_ , she told herself.

She nodded and Vegeta rocked forward, his tip poking her somewhere impenetrable. He tried and failed again, so then she reached down and guided him where he needed to be. He felt wide and way too big to fit.

_Oh, god, I hope this doesn't hurt too much._

He pushed in a mere inch, and stopped, letting a breath out while Bulma was holding hers. She felt stretched and she was sure it was only going to get worse, but it was Vegeta who was trembling, not her. What if he just ploughed into her? She'd never actually warned him that as she was a virgin he needed to go gentle with her.

'Hey,' she squeaked. 'I…I've never done this before, by the way.'

She felt the tiny jump of his surprise where her thighs gripped his hips. There was a moment's pause and then he said. 'Neither have I.'

_Well, duh!_

And then he rocked his hips, pushing in deeper, and then again, deeper. Bulma bit her lip, determined not to make too much noise, but it wasn't so bad. There was no tearing, no sting; she just felt really, uncomfortably stretched. After a few more strokes she relaxed again, and then realised she could make it more comfortable for herself by changing the angle of her hips. It did mean that he slid in more deeply but, though she felt at the limit of what she could take, pleasure started to return despite the discomfort.

Vegeta collapsed from his elbows to her chest, hiding his face in the crook of her shoulder as he now gasped with every stroke. She brought her legs up, feeling how it pressed her against him as he moved over her. _Oh, wow, this could be fun after all_ , Bulma thought, and then one, two, three more thrusts and Vegeta grunted and stopped, tensing.

_Huh?_

He gave one more thrust and then let a strangled breath out, deflating on her, and feeling quite damn heavy, too. She felt the pulsing inside her – he was coming.

_Oh, what? Okay, then._

She tried to rock her hips to see if she could get him going again, and he gave a few slower, half-hearted strokes and then rolled off.

 _Damn_.

Vegeta flopped on his back next to her, catching his breath.

 _I suppose I shouldn't really expect an orgasm on our first time_ , she consoled herself as she found the corner of the blanket and pulled it back over her. She waited for him to say or do something, to hold her to him, but he didn't.

Silence stretched on. She turned her head to look over at him, but he was staring straight up at the stars. Had he forgotten she was here? Why didn't he at least say something?

And now Bulma realised she had no clue how to behave when Vegeta didn't follow the script in her head for how this moment should go. He was just lying there, not even touching her. What did that mean? Did that mean that he _had_ only wanted sex after all? Right at this moment, while a hot stream of something trickled down her sore cleft and mingling with the frustration of the sexually unfulfilled, she felt that would be rather a slap in the face to be so coolly discarded after use.

Or maybe he was just being Vegeta? It wasn't like he was a natural in the personal affections department.

She took a steadying breath and rolled over towards him onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbow.

'So…that was _good_? Right?'

Vegeta chuckled up at the stars. 'Yes. _Good_.'

That heartened her a little. 'Good!' she confirmed, inanely. Then she took his arm closest to her and forcibly pulled it away from his body.

'What _are_ you doing?' he asked.

'It's customary,' she said dryly, then lay down under the crook of his arm, her head on his shoulder and her arm over his chest.

'An Earth custom?'

'Yes. Compulsory, I'm afraid.' She felt a little lump in her throat, but refused to give in to it.

He laughed again, and then seemed to get the idea, wrapping his arm around her to squeeze her for a second, and managing to kindle a little flame of happiness in her heart. Then he dropped his arm to the makeshift mattress again. They lay like that for some minutes, Bulma trying to keep the flame alive, before Vegeta shook her.

'We need to sleep,' he said. 'It's really late and we need to get up before the others so that we can cover our tracks.'

Bulma frowned and then realised what he wanted. He wanted her to get off him.

Dismayed, she rolled onto her back. He extracted his arm again and they lay side by side, not touching.

_Oh. Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note. And so that was that.
> 
> Also, I know I've said it before, but I don't always condone the behaviour of the characters. Especially, in this chapter, Raditz, who crosses WAY over the line of what is funny and forgivable and safe. Don't be Raditz.
> 
> And thanks to my lovely beta, Adli again. I really flooded her busy life with three chapters to beta, and I required a special "deep rinse cycle" on this chapter. Also to Froglady15 who previewed this and gave me her comments too. I really needed my hand holding on this one!
> 
> Next chapter could be a long wait. In the meantime you'll all have to wonder how this action will affect the mission.


	57. Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: OMG it's been 76 days since I last updated! I regret it a lot, but it's not been my choice. I have been in deadline mode at work pretty much that whole time, and when I'm not at work I'm usually cooking. God, life can get repetitive at times. Hope you have not forgotten me and the story! Thanks for all your reviews in the meantime (and for the few messages of concern that I may be sick/dead/over fan fiction, and therefore not able to finish the story).
> 
> Recap: Last time on Never Ever Land, Raditz got the gang wasted and Bulma and Vegeta finally, finally, made a bit of an anti-climactic mistake and did the dirty. tuning in, right were we left off...

He was happy.

Hands reached out and touched his skin; warm and welcome.

A woman spoke. He couldn't make out her words, but at the sound of her voice, the warmth of her skin seeped deep inside him, where it seemed to swell his chest, filling him up like liquid joy.

He was pressed to the curve of a bosom, skin to skin, and the smell of that skin filled him with deep content. The woman laughed. He looked up at her face, sure she must be the most beautiful, fascinating thing in his universe, but her face was only a blur. He could make out her smiling mouth, and reached up to touch her lips, but somehow he couldn't reach them. He caught her chin instead and she leaned down and kissed his fingers before returning him to her breast. Vegeta searched for a nipple and took it in his mouth. He had no memory of the world outside their two bodies. All he knew was that he felt safe - as safe as if fear had never existed.

A woman whimpered, then sighed; a different woman.

Vegeta opened his eyes to pale skin in the dark. He was tangled up in limbs, warm under the blanket with another body, a breast in his mouth and someone else's hands in his hair. The feeling of the dream stayed with him though, and memory stayed at bay. He took perfect joy in running his tongue over and over the nipple.

'Ooh!' said the woman, or rather, girl, and he knew who it was, though he couldn't, and didn't need to at that moment, recall her name. She reached down with one of her hands, reaching for his crotch, but he was too far out of reach for her to grasp him. He tucked his hips up, obliging her, and when she took hold of him a surge of something powerful rocketed up through his stomach and chest. The happiness and safety of the dream remained, but now it was overlaid with joyous, carnal hunger. His shaft became rock hard as her fist moved up and down it.

Between her legs and the top of her thighs, stickiness was turning to wetness. He stroked her mysterious topography –she gave tiny sighs and the rocked her hips when he did it well, and pulled away when he was too rough, but he learnt as he went until her sounds became a soft, almost continuous whimper.

How long they went on like this he didn't know. Still half asleep, he had little sense of time, and even less of the future. He suckled her other breast and she moaned aloud. Later she wriggled down, taking her breast away from him and replacing it with her mouth. Then she pushed him onto his back.

She smelled so good. Her face delicately illuminated by the starlight; blue eyes dark, lips plump and open as she looked down at him. He was fascinated by her small, smooth body as she straddled his hips and then carefully pushed herself down on him, vanishing his erection inside of her.

'Ah! Bulma!' he groaned, suddenly recalling her name.

She laughed shakily and then leaned down to kiss him in response.

She began to ride him, very slowly and a bit awkwardly at first. Vegeta didn't mind – the sensations were blowing his mind. Like last time, he almost felt like he was melting into her; like their flesh was fusing with warmth and pleasure where he pierced her, except somehow this was even better than the first time. When she pushed herself up onto her wrists her breasts swayed back and forth, and he couldn't help reaching up to touch them. She mewled as his fingers slid across them, picking up her pace. Vegeta planted his feet and pushed back up into her, bringing their bodies together almost forcefully. He wished he could go on like this forever, but he could feel the pleasure building, fast.

He concentrated on Bulma's face, how her mouth was open in an O shape, and a tiny frown creased her brow. Something was happening where they joined – it almost felt like she was growing tighter.

'Oh,' she said, and the sound pulled him another step closer to the edge. He couldn't take it anymore. He gripped her hips and drove home, controlling his few, last frantic strokes before he exploded inside her, crying out softly as he came.

Bulma didn't stop though, and kept moving on him, faster than ever and her frown deeper. As his pleasure ebbed he wondered if he should tell her that he was finished, because she didn't seem to realise. Maybe she hadn't noticed him crying out, which would be good because he was now wishing he'd held it in.

She grabbed his hands and placed them back on her breasts, and then she made a little gasping noise and he _felt_ , suddenly, the tiny clenching of some nether muscle of hers around him. Her face looked pained for a moment, and then relaxed again as she slowed her movements and caught her breath.

Was that an _orgasm?_

She hadn't done that the first time! But then, why not? He'd thought at the time that maybe she wasn't capable, or that perhaps it was too subtle for him to detect, but he could detect this, though only just. Had he just not noticed, or…? He knew he hadn't lasted long the first time, and probably not much longer the second time – not like in the porn that Nappa and Raditz had forced him to watch where the males banged on and on until it was quite boring.

She grinned and collapsed over him, hiding her face against his neck, giggling a bit. Vegeta put his arms around her and then, fascinated by the narrow back and smooth skin, trailed his fingers up and down it in a daze.

'Okay,' she said, 'that was much better.'

Vegeta's hands faltered and a wave of embarrassment as her words confirmed that he had failed to satisfy her the first time. The sour sensation washed away the last warmth of the dream, and in its wake more pragmatic thoughts of things outside of their makeshift bed intruded.

For one, they needed to clear up all the evidence of their night before the others awoke, and judging by the fact that the light strip had just come on at its lowest setting, it must be getting close to morning. For another, now the euphoria of sex was wearing off he was starting to become aware that he felt quite woozy and had a headache.

Bulma was kissing his neck gently. If she was trying to start another round she was going to be sorely disappointed. He hadn't even meant this second time to happen, and it baffled him how he had come out of sleep and found himself already in the act. He'd slept next to Bulma plenty of times, as well as next to various soldiers and Saiyans, and he'd never woken up with a body part in his mouth. She must have attacked him in his sleep. And the dream… What was that about?

He actually suspected what it was about – he could _feel_ it – but he couldn't admit it, because what kind of deviant would that make him?

Oh well. The second time may not have been strictly necessary, or advisable, but it had been even better than the first. He certainly knew why Raditz and Nappa were always hankering after sex now. At the same time, he couldn't work out what he felt about it himself.

Enjoyable was too weak a word for it, but also not complicated enough - it came with a bundle of messy sensations that still had his head swimming. The intimacy was confronting – it was as if lust had lowered his guard, and now in the aftermath of the deed that intimacy was rapidly becoming uncomfortable as he returned to normal. Already he felt awkward with her on top of him, and unsure about what to say to her or how to act. He could see now how high-jacked he'd been by his lust, and he lay there, galled by the way he'd lost control of himself. And it really felt like he had been losing himself; like he'd been physically melting and melding into Bulma as he pushed into her. He hoped that she hadn't been able to tell how overwhelmed he'd been, and still was, and cringed as he remembered the pathetic grunts he'd panted out into her shoulder, or the way he'd cried out at the end.

Wasn't getting this out of his system supposed to cleanse him of his feelings for her? When was that meant to happen?

He looked at his hands moving up and down Bulma's back, and they stopped, as if caught doing something unseemly, and flopped to his sides. Bulma still clung to him like a wet towel, though.

'Hey,' he said, and then cleared his throat.

'Yeah?' she said, bringing her head up and smiling at him. Her hair was a mess, and her skin was paler than usual, but her cheeks and lips were pink and her eyes bright with happiness. He was quite unready for that sight, feeling it like a squeeze around his chest. _Damnit_ , she still had her hold on him. He felt vaguely shameful, as well as suddenly irritated with her for doing this to him.

'That was quite a wake-up call.' She stroked a finger down his cheek, and he shook his head viciously to rid himself of the gentle affection, and managed to rid himself of the sight of her smile, too. 'Huh? Are you ticklish?'

'No. But we need to shower and put these bed clothes in the wash before the others wake up.'

'Right now?' she complained, and then smiled again, making herself comfortable on his chest once more. 'I just want to stay like this for a few more minutes.'

He tipped her, rolling her off back to her side of the furs.

'Hey! Vegeta, you jerk!' she said, not too hotly. 'That's no way to treat your queen!'

The words made Vegeta's irritation flare up further, and he remembered last night's ridiculous drug-fuelled pantomime, with the sham marriage and Bulma imposing herself as co-monarch of the Galaxy. He remembered his _coronation_.

For a moment he was frozen with the horror of recollection, and then felt himself flushing red with painful mortification. If there was such a place, his father and ancestors would be rioting in Hell! Raditz and Tarble had had him lampooning his birth right for a laugh! It was pathetic! So pathetic! And worse – that was probably the closest he'd ever get to the real thing!

Bulma pulled the blanket up over her and sat up, still smiling though less brightly.

'Hey – is something wrong?' she asked.

'I'm going to kill Raditz.'

'Yeah. It would be best if he didn't do that again, but don't be _too_ hard on him – we did have an excellent night, after all.' Her smile broadened, turning coy. 'I mean, marrying the King of the Galaxy comes with more perks that I expected if mornings are often going to be like this one.'

Her words seemed to have the power to arrest his breath for a moment, his chest and stomach squeezing in what must be happiness, because he felt the sides of his mouth pull back in an involuntary smile. Marriage was bunk, but King of the Galaxy? And though he knew he should resist the thought, with her by his side and in his bed…

 _Wait a minute!_ _M_ _arrying_ the _King of the Galaxy for "perks"_? He had his breath back but lost it again as all the pieces slotted together. Maybe that was her _real_ end game? Maybe this was why she had been teasing and seducing him all the way along – not out of desire, and not even just for wishes and dragonballs, but for the power of being at his side? She sought to ride him to the top!

The awful thought crashed straight into his doubt over his ability to actually _become_ the King of the Galaxy and caused him to feel even more sickened, but he pushed it down. He _would_ be king of the Galaxy, but not with a parasitic whore clinging to his side.

His teeth drew back as he spoke. 'We need to get one thing clear. You are not, nor will you ever be, my queen or my _wife._ '

'Ah?'

He turned and stood, not wishing to see the look on her face, then found he was naked and went to shove his underwear back on.

'I know that!' he heard her eventual reply. 'I was only joking, you realise?' Her voice sounded strangely thick.

'Good. As long as we both know it was a joke.'

'Who'd want to marry an asshole like you, anyway?'

When he looked back she was grim faced, her chin jutting out in anger. He walked over and picked up his blanket, pulling his fur out from under her.

'I'm going to go down and shower. Follow me in ten minutes. I'll leave my bedding in the laundry – when you get down there you can put it and yours in the wash.'

She stared up at him like she didn't understand.

'And make sure you wash yourself thoroughly, _inside_ and out,' he went on. 'I don't want any of the others to pick up the scent of what happened here.'

The girl looked stunned. And well she might if she thought her scheme was on track and now she could see it was foiled. Vegeta felt his lip curling in a sneer of victory, as if he had just outwitted an enemy, but inside his heart and guts seemed to weigh ten times more than normal. He felt ill.

 _Probably last night's whisky_ , he told himself as he turned and unlocked the door.

* * *

Bulma stared after him, unable to make sense of Vegeta's sudden about-face. There she'd been, thinking that things were coming right, and then…

Her throat and chest felt tight. She thought she should cry, so she began coughing out sobs, but her eyes remained dry. She was so stunned she didn't even feel sad. She felt hollow. She felt like a fool. A used and discarded fool.

 _No!_ she told herself as soon as she detected the thought. _I wanted to do this! I knew if wasn't going to be all sweet and romantic with Vegeta, but I did it anyway. I used him as much as he used me!_

This steadied her, even if she knew that the last bit wasn't entirely true, and she sat up, inspecting her body. He hadn't hurt her last night like he had in the freezer – or at least he'd only hurt her with his penis. She ached a bit, deep inside, and when she gingerly reached down to touch between her legs, she was a bit tender. Surprisingly, when she examined her fingers afterward she could see no signs of blood. What did that mean? They'd definitely had sex, twice, so where was the signs of the hymen she'd been so scared of breaking? Did she not have one? Or did she have one and it didn't break because Vegeta had been too gentle? Not that it had _seemed_ all that gentle, but… Maybe it would break some other time, unexpectedly, in the middle of wild sex? She'd wanted to lose her virginity in part to get the hymen breaking over and done with and not have it hanging over her head, but it still might be there. Huh!

'Romance novels have a lot to answer for,' she muttered, finally stirring herself from her contemplation.

She crawled over to her nightdress and panties and pulled them back on. Her stomach wobbled – she felt quite rough now that she was up. She could really do with a glass of water, or - even better - some cola. She gathered up the blanket and fur and put the cushions back where they belonged, and in doing so felt even more wronged by Vegeta. He'd made the bed so eagerly, and now after the deed was done she was left with the clean up.

 _He's an emotional toddler_ , she reminded herself. _Stupid idiot. Why on earth did he feel he need to point out that we would never get married? Is he a commitment-phobe? He acted like I was trying to trap him into marriage or something_. Then it occurred to her that the night before she had actually pretended to trap him into marriage. _But it was only in fun! Does he really think I'm that serious about him? What a dipstick! Obviously I'm not. And doesn't he realise that when he got so twisted up at the thought, that it's a real turn off? He'll be lucky if we sleep together a second time!_

She succeeded in working herself out of despondency and into annoyance at Vegeta before she crept downstairs. All the boys were asleep as she tiptoed past. In the laundry she found Vegeta's fur and blanket and stuffed them and her own into a cleaning pod while she speculated that the reason she was cleaning them was that Vegeta still didn't know how to use the washing unit.

The bathroom door was locked but the shower had been off for a while. She stood awkwardly in the dark corridor waiting for Vegeta to open the door. When he did she was flooded by warm light and steamy air from the bathroom and Vegeta's dark eyes looking at her like he was surprised to see her. She held his gaze defiantly, waiting for him to acknowledge her or recognise her anger and the reason for it in some way, but instead he just dropped his eyes and shuffled out the door being careful not to touch her. Bulma felt her cheeks burning with insult.

 _Asshole_ , she wanted to hiss at him as she watched him walk away. He was only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist and his broad shoulders and muscle etched back were all on display. _Am I so boy-crazy that I would bang a guy just because he has a drool-worthy body? Because that's all I got! A couple of quick pokes._

In the shower she washed herself thoroughly, 'As instructed!' she noted to herself bitterly, appalled all over again at being told to wash _inside_ , like she was the maid being asked to clean out a soiled boot. When she got out of the shower she observed the unhappy look on her face in the mirror and had to clench her fists to stop from making some outburst at herself. This was _not_ the look she should be wearing post-virginity!

 _Get over it,_ she told herself. _The deed is done, and it was no big deal after all. You knew Vegeta is barely socialised, so you can't have expected him to be full of cuddles and giggles afterwards_. Her mind automatically went to her broken fantasy of what losing her virginity would be like, and there suddenly was Yamcha's smiling face in her mind's eye. Her heart sank like a lead balloon. She _knew_ that Yamcha would have given her cuddles and giggles, just as she should have known that Vegeta wouldn't. She could only blame herself for abandoning the nice guy and throwing herself at the bad boy. It was funny – she used to think of Yamcha as a bad boy, but not anymore. He was sweet. He was _thoughtless_ and a horrible flirt, but he was sweet, and now she felt too low, too base for someone like him. She'd gone and slept with someone who definitely _wasn't_ a nice guy, whom she didn't love, because he turned her on and because she didn't want to be a virgin any more.

_What does that make me? A slut?_

She felt a little pang of pain and, perversely, pride; it cheered her up a little.

 _Bulma Briefs, a bit of a slut if the truth be known_. She tried on the words and smiled. She'd been proud of herself, too, for getting her orgasm the second time. That had been different, waking up already turned on and raring to go… She'd felt much less self-consciousness than the night before, and she'd been so happy afterwards until Vegeta opened his stupid mouth.

She sighed.

Dried and dressed, she went back into the lounge where the lights were coming up properly now, but the boys were all still asleep. Vegeta was curled up on one cushionless couch, asleep again, too, and her chest constricted at the sight. Ignoring the ache she lay down on the other couch, feeling exhausted and slightly ill.

* * *

'Get up, Krillin,' Goku complained. 'We want to put the cushions away.'

'I feel gross,' Krillin protested, his eyes still shut. 'Why can't you just leave me alone?'

Goku glanced at Tarble, who was looking a bit pale too, and helping, though reluctantly, to pack up the bed. Tarble shrugged.

'Just leave the cushions on the floor,' said Raditz, who made it up as far as the couch and pushed Bulma's legs out of the way aside so he could sit. Grouchy at being awoken she kicked back, earning herself precisely no reaction. 'It's not like we're going to be in the ship for much longer.'

Puar landed in front of Bulma's face, as chipper as ever.

'How come you and Vegeta are sleeping on the couches?' she asked. 'What happened to your blankets and stuff?'

Bulma opened her mouth and then stalled, rubbing her eyes while she tried to think of a good lie. 'It's too early in the morning for questions, Puar.'

'No it's not. It's practically lunch time – you guys have been asleep for ages! Goku and me had breakfast a couple of hours ago.'

'Oh. Really?'

'So why were you sleeping on the couch?'

'Bulma spilt a drink on our end of the bed,' said Vegeta. Bulma dragged herself up in surprise to look at him where he was sitting up on the other couch. She hadn't even realised he was awake yet. He was smiling sardonically, though he looked away quickly.

'You stayed up drinking after we went to sleep?' asked Raditz.

'Yeah,' replied Bulma.

'Bulma was so blitzed that she couldn't hold her drinks – literally,' said Vegeta, prompting a laugh from Raditz.

' _So_ sophisticated,' drawled Krillin, still prone on the floor. Bulma felt herself turning red, feeling the great injustice at having given up her virginity only to have her dignity sacrificed to excuse the last evidence of the act. She looked away.

'So where's _our_ breakfast, Kakarott and Puar?' asked Raditz.

'Er…' said Puar.

Raditz clapped his hands together. 'Chop, chop!'

They had a hearty brunch eaten on the couches, and Bulma had two coffees with plenty of sugar in them. She didn't feel too bad, just tired and a little crusty. She didn't have much to say, either. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she felt a trifle distant from everything else. The only thing that could pierce her bubble was Vegeta - when she could no longer help it she would look over to see if she could discern what he was thinking or feeling. He was distracted, too, but always his gaze would snap to hers whenever she looked. His expression was alert, but she couldn't tell if what he was thinking was good or bad. If anything she would have said he looked nervous. _Probably nervous that I'm going to say something about last night in front of the others_ , she thought glumly.

As she turned away from him for maybe the dozenth time, Raditz tapped her on the knee with the spoon he had licked clean.

'Chatty today, aren't you?' he observed. 'You and Vegeta just won't shut up.'

'What are you talking about Raditz?' said Vegeta from the other couch.

'Sarcasm – have you heard of it?' Raditz asked.

'I know what you meant, imbecile! I just dislike the implication that there is something wrong.'

Raditz pursed his lips. 'Well, maybe not with you.' He turned to Bulma again. 'Are you gonna hurl or cry? Because it looks like it could go either way with you right now.'

'Neither!' she said, taken by surprise.

'She's probably got the worst hangover out of all of us,' said Krillin, who had rallied considerably with food in his stomach.

' _You_ have the worst hangover, Krillin,' she said.

' _You_ do.'

'No, _you_ do!'

Raditz laughed. 'Oh, quit arguing; you're _both_ losers.'

Goku came to her side and squinted at her. 'You're okay, right?'

'Yes!'

But after that Bulma wondered if she somehow seemed different to the others. Maybe they could see the effect of the secret she held, even though she didn't feel altered or transformed by it. _I am not a virgin any more_. It was just words, like it meant nothing at all. _I had sex. I'm not a virgin_. _Neither is Vegeta. Vegeta is an ass._

The ass joined her, and bent over the open door of the unit just as she did.

' _Are_ you okay?' he asked very quietly.

Bulma looked at him sharply. He did at last look a little concerned. It was a little late, but she decided she appreciated it.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' she whispered back. He nodded and stepped away again. She felt her anger towards him start to soften again. He _had_ told her he liked her more that anyone, although, now she thought about it, that wasn't much of a bar to get over. But he did seem to care, at least a bit. Maybe he just needed time work out how things would be between them now? Maybe she would have to show him?

* * *

The streaks of the stars outside the window had been growing shorter as they slowed down, and now Raditz came down to announce that they were closing on Baccanelli. The gang filed upstairs to join him.

'Where's Nappa?' said Raditz, taking one pilot seat while Vegeta slouched in the other. He pressed buttons, searching for the signal from the freighter.

'Plenty of other ships around…'

'You won't be able to see them if Nappa still has the ship's transponder turned off,' Vegeta pointed out dryly.

'Oh. Yeah.'

Vegeta rolled his eyes and pressed the button to hail the other ship. The communication feed was still open and Nappa answered straight away. He was saggy-faced and half asleep still, and next to him in the co-pilot's seat, Brolly looked miserable.

'Where are you?' Vegeta asked with no preamble.

Nappa put a hand to his face and slowly looked about the dashboard as if this was a very complicated question with much resting on the answer. 'Just a little way behind you. The ship is…showing an hour to Baccanelli as the ETA.'

'An hour?' replied Vegeta. 'Our ETA is half an hour.'

'I told you that junker would be slow,' said Raditz.

'Yeah, well, it's a freighter, isn't it?' said Nappa. 'It's not going to be exactly nippy at less-than-lightspeed. This is actually pretty good for a freighter.'

'Very well,' said Vegeta. 'We'll find some place for us to berth. Nappa, perhaps you should leave that thing parked in outer orbit until we have some idea what planetary security and customs there are in place. Just bring the shuttle and some of the less obviously illegal or tariffed goods down with you.'

'Righty-ho, your Highness.'

Almost as soon as they hung up on Nappa another voice rang about the flight deck, and the display screen came alive.

'Welcome to Baccanelli, where dreams become reality,' said a throaty woman's voice. Bulma made a gagging motion at the contrived seductiveness of the tone. The screen was displaying the same words in text and the holographic display came to life, too, showing a planet that looked almost like Earth, except that the continents were in all the wrong places.

'If you are visiting our planet, we hope that you will enjoy your stay. Our resorts, facilities and themed towns have something for every taste and budget, from family fun to the most esoteric of delights.'

The screen flashed images of a water park, a lavishly set dinner table and a – Bulma blinked – it looked something like a naked person in a tub of purple octopi tentacles.

'Baccanelli operates under basic Cold Empire law with some bylaws governing trade and industry. The flexibility of basic Cold Law allows for many entertainments that are illegal on some planets. Guests are warned, however, that each location or resort operates under its own house rules – please see each for specific condoned behaviours and expectations for guests. Violation of house rules may result in eviction and fines.

'If you have yet to choose a location for your stay, an electronic catalogue is being transmitted now for you to browse at leisure. Or, if you prefer, please press the assistance button and one of our holiday specialists can talk to you one on one about which destination most suits you and your party.

'If you are here seeking employment opportunities, Baccanelli has many hospitality and service positions available. Please fill in the jobseeker application form so that we may guide you to areas and positions that are suitable, and be aware that jobseekers must have enough credits to pay their way until they find employment. Entrepreneurial activity of any kind is strictly controlled on Baccanelli and squatting is illegal.

'Lastly, if you are involved in trade we advise you to have all the necessary paperwork ready for customs before landing and enough credits to cover the import tariffs. Please make non-leisure craft available for inspection by our customs officers. Failure to do so will result in substantial fines and possible detention.'

The voice went silent and the crew looked amongst themselves.

'Well, they didn't offer to blow us up,' observed Krillin, remembering their approach to Grenouillea II.

'They're pretty up front about their policy on smuggling, aren't they?' observed Raditz.

'It's not much of a surprise,' said Vegeta. 'You've seen how these planets operate – they make sure that everyone doing business is paying a hefty tariff or tax to do so, and greed like that invites smugglers. The more the people of the planet pay for their goods the more we can charge them for ours and still undercut the official channels.'

'Hmm. I guess. Where should we stay?'

Vegeta stuck a finger in the holograph of the globe and flicked it. It appeared over the map table instead, larger and easier to examine. The group shuffled around to see.

The planet's resemblance to Earth remained. Its seas were pretty much the same blue, and the land was a mixture of green forests and grasslands, tawny and gold desert, brown arid areas and snow-capped mountains. The names of towns and cities dotted one continent only, mostly on the coast, but also in the mountains, a few in the desert and even a couple near the pole. The rest of the planet appeared to be uninhabited, or at least not open for business yet, according to the floating signs affixed over the land masses. Other names and information popped up as Vegeta spun the ball of light and poked at points of interest.

The largest city and administration hub was called Metrophillia and promised to deliver one of the best night life experiences in the Galaxy, with multiple nightly stage shows, musicals and concerts, casinos, thousands of restaurants offering hundreds of cuisines and home to three of the Galaxy's Top 10,000 eateries of last year. It was also the site of the planet's largest hospital and a number of clinics specialising in everything from plastic surgery, to body modifications, to cybernetics, to venereal disease, to mental disorders. There were two hundred thousand hotel beds to be found, and for lonely travellers, companions for hire to fill them.

Raditz gripped the edge of the map table excitedly. 'I wonder how much a top-ten-thousand restaurant costs?'

'Too much,' said Vegeta flatly, already flicking through a few of the featured hotels.

'But we've got lots of money, don't we?'

'Not that much when a standard suite costs five hundred credits a night. We don't want to stay in the city anyway. I think we want somewhere low-key and out of the way where we'll be as little observed as possible.'

He began looking down a string of resort towns along the coast, sometimes clicking on a name when it seemed promising or when one of the other's demanded to know more. Krillin read the names out loud.

'Fairy Tale Dreamland, Brewtopia, Crazy Town, Unhinged… These all sound great, don't you think?' he asked cheekily.

'My vote goes for Fairy Tale Dreamland,' said Bulma, sticking her finger in the town and hijacking control from Vegeta. A rainbow shot out of the dot and cascaded pictures of beautiful fantasy castles and princesses with wings and small children on a mechanical dragon. She grinned at Vegeta.

'You've got another thing coming if you think I'm tolerating _that_ ,' he growled and attempted to take back control of the globe, but Krillin jabbed his finger in another spot.

'Wet'n'Wild Town!' he said. 'Maybe that's where the water park was…'

He trailed off – the images were definitely not of a water park.

'What _is_ that?' gasped Puar.

'Oh, jeez,' said Bulma, reaching out to pull Krillin's finger back out. Krillin turned red.

'That's a different kind of water sports,' said Raditz, sniggering.

'Why would anyone want to do _that?_ ' asked Goku.

'Some people do,' was all the explanation he got.

'What about Boy Town?' Kakarott asked next, reaching out to touch the dot underneath. Vegeta snatched his wrist before he could.

'No.'

'But we're all boys, except for Bulma and Puar. But I'm sure they could pretend.'

Vegeta rolled his eyes, foreseeing that life on Baccanelli was going to be tiresome with someone as innocent as Kakarott in tow.

'It's not _for_ boys, you idiot, it's _selling_ boys!'

Krillin gasped but Kakarott looked completely stumped. 'You can _buy_ people?'

Vegeta snorted with disgust. 'Was this kid raised by wolves in the forest?' he asked Bulma.

'Just about,' she admitted, smiling. 'Until a couple of years ago the only person he'd ever seen was his grandpa, and he couldn't tell boys from girls, so I think he's doing really well.'

'Hey!' protested Kakarott. 'I'm right here! Just tell me about buying and selling people, okay? It doesn't sound right.'

Raditz then gave Goku a very brief description of slavery and prostitution while Vegeta kept looking.

'You don't know what _sex_ is?'

'No. So what?'

The last town on the coast before giving way to uninhabited land was a place called Blue Lagoon. At that point there was only a thin strip of jungle near the ocean and inland was desert. The lagoon that was the namesake could be seen when zooming in, and was indeed blue. The pictures of the town were reassuringly beautiful and more restrained – pale golden sand beaches, hammocks, cocktails served on the beach, tropical sea life and a gilled woman nipple-deep in the water, pouting artfully at the camera. The blurb promised tranquillity, relaxation, diving, and the chance to swim with real life mermaids. The town was only small, and at the end of the road. Even the hotel prices were cheaper.

'Here,' he announced. 'Blue Lagoon.'

Bulma inspected the blurb. 'I agree,' she said. He was about to tell her that it didn't matter if she agreed or not, but then he remembered their alliance agreement. Shared decision making. Pain flared again in his chest. It was like she had been trying to lay the groundwork for their entire future with that agreement. The more he thought about it, the more cold and calculating her actions seemed, and it filled him with shame that he had been used and manipulated. _Not that is matters_ , he told himself, even though it felt like it mattered. _I was only using her in return_. Bulma smiled at him and he felt himself cracking inside, like she was breaking him with these conflicting queues, because when she looked at him like that part of him believed that she really liked him.

'I want to see a mermaid,' she said.

'So do I,' said Raditz. 'Shall I tell Nappa to meet us there?'

'Yes,' replied Vegeta, shaking his head to clear it. He was already dreading the next several months.

* * *

They parked the ship in the small compound on the edge of town and walked the short, sandy road into the town. It was getting on for sunset and still hot, the air was full of the smell of green jungle and briny puddles and definitely spiked with smells of fish both fresh and very dead, as well as the various pungent stinks of habitation and cooking. The street turned till it was parallel with the beach and they walked past open fronted bars, eateries with diners sitting out on the street or on the beach in the sand, and tourist shops. The woman who had taken their money at the ship compound had told them there were only a few places to stay in town – a boutique hotel, some apartments, a lodge and the big resort hotel. At the gracious, modern frontage of the boutique hotel, Vegeta immediately turned his nose up at the price of the rooms. Further down to road the apartments had no vacancies, and the lodge was poky and on the wrong side of the road from the beach. He saw Bulma's face fall as they stepped into the tacky lobby, at the ugly and cramped aluminium counter and the disinterested snot-coloured alien lounging behind it, and he was inclined to feel disappointed too. He'd been infected by the promise of the holographic brochure as much as the others had, though he wouldn't have admitted it.

'Not here,' he announced, after returning from inspecting one of the rooms. It was new and clean, but narrow, dimly lit, and featured bunks. 'Let's try across the road.'

Bulma fell in behind him as the others filed out of the front door.

'I thought you wanted to conserve money?' she said softly in a voice meant to be heard only by him and not the others.

'I have limits,' he said. 'We'll only be here a few nights at most; we don't need to conserve money _that_ much.'

'I should have known that the Prince valued luxury,' she teased him.

'You can talk, mercenary rich girl.'

She giggled, like he'd made a joke, and maybe the quiet voice he'd used did make it sound like a joke and not the jibe he'd meant it as. As they crossed the sand-covered road she slipped her hand into his, and he looked at her in shock. Something made him grip it tight for a moment, rather than throw it away while he quickly made sure that none of the others were looking back and witnessing this, but as soon as they entered the foyer of the Mermaid's Rock Resort he dropped it, as confused as ever about his reactions. His heart was pounding; the small contact excited him, and also scared him.

The Mermaid's Rock Resort was not without its own brand of tackiness, but it was a considerable step up in size and luxury from the lodge. The two young, pretty, blue skinned women behind the lobby desk smiled as if to split their faces in half when the group walked in.

'Hello! Are you looking for accommodation or dinner?' one of them asked.

'Accommodation.'

'Wonderful! Do you have a booking? If not, it's no worry – we have plenty of rooms still available.'

Vegeta poured over a menu of the various room types and tariffs, and Bulma joined him, elbow to elbow. This close to her he could smell her skin, and feel the warmth of it on his, even over the heat of the evening. For a second he was overwhelmed by a dizzy rush of lust, and he almost despaired that he was still subject to these feelings. As if that wasn't distracting enough, Raditz loomed over the tops of both their heads to see, too, while the shorter boys and Puar looked around the lobby, pointing out things of interest. There were floor to ceiling windows that looked over a landscaped sand-bottom swimming pool on the far side of the lobby, and doors leading to a restaurant, a bar, and what he assumed to be the hotel rooms. They ooh-ed and ah-ed at the pool and at a potted tree that could move its leaves and shirked away from them when they touched its feathery foliage. The words on the page ceased to have any meaning to Vegeta when Bulma leaned closer to him, pressing her entire side gently to him.

'These two bedroom suites can be adjoining,' she pointed out. 'We could probably fit all of us in four bedrooms – it says each suite sleeps five people.' Then she grinned at him. 'Although…we could have two two-bedroom suites and one double room, and that would be way more _comfortable_ , I think. Don't you?'

Was she…hinting at what he thought she was? He looked up at Raditz, who looked like he was puzzling over her proposal.

'No!' said Vegeta. 'Why would we need that? Four bedrooms will do.'

'Oh. Okay.'

The woman behind the counter cast a curious eye over the group as she checked them in. 'Are you a family group?' she asked.

'No,' said Vegeta, at the same time as Bulma said, 'Yes.'

He gave her a look laced with annoyance. Their team only needed one spokesperson when it came to lying.

Bulma winced and then smiled again at the woman. 'Well, no we're not a _family_ group, we're a sports team, but some of our members are related. We have two more turning up later.'

'I was going to say, I thought I could see a family resemblance amongst you. Well, except for you, of course, and the felinoid. What sport do you play? I don't know of any sports competitions or tournaments happening around here except for…well, the Sphere Field Tournaments.'

Vegeta groaned inwardly as he watched Bulma's smile turn a little stiff. What hole was she digging for them? He had no idea what the Sphere Field Tournaments were, and neither did she. He almost rolled his eyes when the next words came out of her mouth.

'Yes, that's what we're here for.'

The woman flinched with shock. 'Oh! Well. Even yourself and the cat?'

'I'm the team manager,' replied Bulma. 'Puar is our physiotherapist.'

'And the _children_?'

'They're very skilled, and stronger and older than they look.'

The woman looked quite upset. 'Well, I wish you all the greatest of luck in the tournaments, then.'

He paid up front using one of the chips from Grenouillea, and they were ushered down the hallway to their rooms. They were fairly plain, but new and tidy and spacious, with the occasional point of interest, like the floor lamp shaped like a jellyfish and the sea shells set into the floor of the bathroom. The greatest asset of the rooms was the front wall of them, which was glass from floor to ceiling, showing the deck, the beach, and the sun lowering to the glittering horizon. The porter showed them how to slide them open and then wanted to imprint the doors with each of their biometrics.

'What do you do with the biometric information?' asked Vegeta suspiciously.

'Oh, discard it after checkout, of course,' said the porter. 'We value our guests' privacy. The keys are not even stored on our network – only in the door in question.' Even so, Vegeta declined and asked that they be given electronic keys instead. Even Bulma had a biometric record in the Cold system now.

Each suite had a room with a large bed and a room with a large and small bed, as well as bathrooms, lounge and dining and a kitchenette. The brats raced around, checking out the four bedrooms in turn. Tarble, Kakarott and Krillin all called dibs on a room each.

'For that, you all have to share a room together,' said Vegeta.

'Then who sleeps where, then?' Tarble asked.

Vegeta looked around. 'Raditz, Nappa and I will take this suite. Nappa will get the room with one bed and Raditz and I will share. The rest of you get the other suite, and I don't care how you arrange it.'

'How come there's three people in one suite and five in the other?' asked Krillin. 'That doesn't seem fair.'

'Well, you're welcome to share a room with Nappa if you want,' Vegeta pointed out.

'Oh. Never mind.'

Raditz emerged from the bathroom throwing a drying cloth over his shoulder.

'When's dinner, your Highness?'

Vegeta shrugged. 'We'll wait for the others.'

'Right then, if I may suggest, we could fill in that time with an ocean swim?'

Vegeta regarded Raditz's hopeful expression and felt anger simmering under the surface. The overgrown page-boy was not off the hook yet. However, a cooling swim sounded ideal. 'Fine.'

Grinning, Raditz shucked his shirt and ran off down to the beach. The boys ransacked the bathroom and went careening after him. Vegeta was about to follow when he noticed Bulma hadn't shifted.

'Are you coming?' he asked.

'Yeah,' she said, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly. 'I just need to get changed into my bathing suit. I'm not going in my underwear like those heathens.' She glanced out the open door. 'Or naked, like Goku is.'

He was about to accept that explanation, but then hesitated, something about her manner suggesting that that wasn't her only issue.

'Are these rooms not up to your exacting standards, Woman?'

She pressed her lips together and then smiled, a blush coming up from her t-shirt.

'I was just disappointed that you didn't put me and you in a room together,' she said.

Now it was Vegeta's turn to blush. ' _Why?_ '

'Why do you think? Well, not that you deserve it after what you said this morning, but I thought…' She trailed off, looking embarrassed. She looked entirely innocent and not conniving at all as she smiled at him hopefully. He felt suddenly doubtful about his assessment of her motives. Maybe she really did just _like_ him? He suffered a sudden vivid recollection of their night together, and the desire to make himself a fool for her all over again almost melted him where he stood. His breath quickened.

'That's not happening again,' he said quickly, before his resolve collapsed completely.

'What do you mean?' she asked, in obvious surprise. 'Why not?'

'I am done playing this game with you,' he said. 'We are not having sex again.'

Her mouth popped open in shock. He saw the pain in her eyes and guessed she was either suffering the mortification of rejection or of seeing her scheme coming crashing down. He turned away, clenching his jaw on the regret that was already welling up. He strode out the room and towards the lapping waves of the lagoon where the boys and Puar were horsing about.

What had she _done_ to him? He could never have imagined himself torn up over a girl of any type. And _torn up_ was a good description for the mess he felt inside. Half of him was furious that he'd denied himself this thing he wanted so much, and the other half of him was furious that he even wanted it in the first place. This was obviously the best course of action if he was already so affected by her.

He dove immediately into the water and swam hard for the reef that bordered the lagoon, ignoring the others, swimming underwater as much as possible so that he would only hear the sea in his ears. Then he flew over the reef into the ocean on the other side, aiming for the last arc of the orange sun before it slipped below the horizon, willing the mechanical motion of swimming clear his mind.

It was only after he returned to the others in the twilight and they headed back inside that he noticed that Bulma had not come out to swim after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I think I will post the next chapter soon. I feel bad because this is a shorty and not a lot happens in it - it is in truth only half a chapter. The original one was so long it would have been a pain to read online, plus splitting it in two allows me some more time to polish the second half.
> 
> Thank you to Adli again for beta-ing!


	58. Mothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter :) I hope I have more time soon to write. The cooking won't let up, but we've passed the first big deadline on the project I'm working on. If any of you find yourself at Disney World in Florida, go to the new Pandora exhibition in Animal Kingdom and take a ride on a banshee for me. I doubt I will ever get there, and I've just spent a year of my life helping craft it.

Raditz and Goku were sent out to get food not long before Nappa and Brolly showed up.

'You could have let us know where you were staying,' Nappa complained.

'There are only four hotels in this town and you can sense chi,' Vegeta pointed out.

'Yes, but we still wasted some time.'

'I'm very sorry, Nappa – what can I do in apology?'

Nappa stiffened. 'No, that's quite all right, your Highness, I'm sure you were busy with other things and didn't have time to call the freighter.'

Brolly squeezed in the entranceway around Nappa, scanned the room and then headed for Tarble and Krillin who were gathering bowls, plates and crockery for their expected dinner.

'Hiya,' said Krillin.

'Hi,' said Brolly quickly in greeting and then plunged immediately into his first concern. 'Where's Bulma?'

Krillin frowned. 'In her room, I think. She says she's busy.'

Brolly looked about the suite, zeroing in on her chi. It wasn't in either of the bedrooms he could see, but instead on the opposite side of the wall from the kitchen. There was a door a little further along the wall. Going over and opening it he found another suite on the other side, the exact mirror image of the one he'd just been in. On the other side of the dining and lounge area he could see another bedroom, door open, and a second closed door with Bulma's energy behind it. He went over with Krillin and Tarble following curiously behind, and tried to open it. It was locked.

'Who is it?' croaked a voice inside.

'Brolly.'

There was a pause. 'Oh, hey, Brolly. What do you need?'

'Just making sure you're all right, is all,' he said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. While his concern had been pressing, voicing it now it suddenly seemed silly. 'How come the door is locked?'

'Dude,' whispered Krillin. 'Isn't that kind of a rude question?'

'Of course I'm all right! Wait a minute.'

There were the sounds of movement inside and the sounds of the pages of a heavy book flopping open. The door opened, and there was Bulma smiling at them, though both her face and eyes were a little pink and moist. The sight made Brolly's stomach clench in an echo of the pain he sensed behind the smile. It made him uneasy.

'I've just been reading this scientific paper and needed to concentrate is all,' she said, waving her hand at the bed where a large loose-bound sheaf of papers was lying open.

'How was your night last night?' he asked, watching her closely. After he'd gotten over the hurt of her not wanting to stay on the freighter like he thought she would, he had begun to hope that it wasn't because she didn't like him, and spent a long time thinking of other reasons that she might not want to. He was inclined to think Vegeta was somehow involved. Of course, it could also be the truth that she preferred the cruiser over the freighter despite the crowding on the cruiser. But her reaction was not reassuring – she flinched, and looked up at him with penetrating eyes.

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'We had a party,' said Krillin. 'Bulma got really drunk.'

That haunted expression was gone from Bulma's face in a flash, replaced by something much more usual – a scowl. 'I wasn't _that_ drunk, Krillin, not as drunk as you were anyway!'

Tarble giggled. 'I think we were all a little drunk. And Raditz got us all wasted on some weird poppy juice stuff. It was funny, but Vegeta is going to pummel him as soon as he gets the opportunity.'

'Yeah? What happened?' asked Brolly.

Tarble shrugged. 'Nothing much. We all got silly play-acting and laughing at each other.'

'Raditz made Tarble be Bulma's baby,' Krillin reminded him, and Tarble blushed.

Bulma stepped out of the doorway to put an arm around Tarble's shoulder and squeeze him, grinning.

'Oh, that's right, my baby!' she said, and Krillin laughed. Tarble shucked her arm, embarrassed. Brolly tried not to look as unhappy as he felt at missing out on something that sounded fun and Tarble getting hugged, not him.

'What did you and Nappa get up to?' asked Krillin. 'Nappa at least looked like he'd been partying when we talked to him over the link this morning.'

Brolly's mood soured again at the memories. 'Well, if he was partying, it was a party for one. He got _very_ drunk, and started talking about a lot of gross stuff. He started calling me by someone else's name in the end, so I went to bed to get away from him, but then in the night he started yelling and screaming and stuff… Talking to people that weren't there and banging into the walls. I was worried he was going to blow a hole in the ship, so I crept into the shuttle and closed the door in case he did. I found him passed out in the corridor in the morning and he'd pissed himself.'

The others made noises of disgust.

'I guess it's not that much of a surprise, though,' said Tarble. 'It's not the first time he's done something like that when Vegeta wasn't around.'

'I guess,' admitted Brolly. 'But the other times didn't bother me…' He trailed off, realising that probably the reason why it hadn't bothered him so much the other times was because he'd had the crown on that made him not bother much about anything. He felt heat rising up from his collar at his own reminder that he had not been sane. This new world around him still glittered with sharp points to cut oneself on, and was still piercing and intense, but he was getting used to the idea that this was normal now – that this was what everyone had to put up with.

'You shouldn't have stayed on the freighter,' Tarble told him.

'Yeah. Well. I did.'

Just then there was the sound of Raditz's voice from the other suite, and Vegeta called out for Krillin and Tarble, asking them where the rest of the bowls were. Bulma's sadness returned at the sound of the Prince's voice.

'Come on, let's go get some dinner,' said Krillin. He grinned at Bulma. 'It's got to be better than Grenouillean, right?'

Bulma shrugged. 'You guys go ahead – I'll be out later.'

With that she stepped back into the room and closed the door again. Brolly frowned, following behind the other two more slowly. Whatever had upset Bulma, he was sure it was to do with Vegeta. He felt his dislike for the prince intensify.

* * *

The table in the other suite was entirely covered with takeaway containers, with more waiting off to the side for when these ones were empty.

'We had to go to three different places to get enough,' Raditz told the salivating all-male crowd.

Vegeta looked around.

'Someone go and tell Bulma that dinner is ready,' he commanded.

'She knows,' said Krillin. 'Says she'll be out later.'

He supposed he should be grateful he didn't have to see her again. 'All right then.' He selected his first plastic tub, full of greasy, spicy smelling noodles and a tub of raw marinated fish, and then Nappa and Raditz made their choices before the buffet opened for the brats and the room table became a site of chaos and destruction.

Puar hopped down to the table and looked about between the arms snaking out to snatch the best smelling things before someone else did. Only Krillin showed restraint in his human way, filling his dish with a little bit from a few containers rather than grabbing a whole one to himself.

'Daemon, do you want this?' Vegeta asked. He held out the marinated fish.

Puar floated back over and sniffed it. 'Oh! Yes!'

Vegeta suppressed a smile. He had noticed the cat's preference for white fish as raw as it could be, and selected this pot from the table because it was the only one, and he wished Puar to have it. Surely _this_ would seem an act of friendship? He was determined to gain the cat's loyalty by hook or by crook.

'Then here.'

Puar took it happily and dug in with a fork while Vegeta got back to the task of pushing food from his bowl into his face. Oily noodles went down easy, even if the spiciness made his eyes water, and quickly he was back for sticks of crumbed fish, battered molluscs and a rainbow-coloured stir fry. There was not much conversation during this frantic glutting other than grunts of appreciation or the odd comment on taste. Bulma, Krillin and Puar usually chatted away during meal times and this distracted the Saiyans enough to slow down and join in, but without Bulma it seemed that Krillin and Puar didn't have a lot to say. The table was emptying fast and Raditz was already clearing space for the next round. If Bulma didn't hurry she was going to miss out.

He saw a second tray of crumbed fish sticks come out of the bag and decided that Bulma would probably enjoy them, whereas she would hate the molluscs he'd just had (he was indifferent to them, but they were hardly enjoyable). Still, she couldn't eat a whole tray with her tiny human appetite. He opened it and took half. As soon as he withdrew, Kakarott's paw was on the tray.

'No,' said Vegeta, stopping him with a hand on his wrist.

'Why not?' asked Kakarott.

Good question. Instead of answering he issued and order instead. 'Make up a bowl of food for the female, including these fish sticks and take it out to her. Choose the most Earthling suited foods, mind. You gluttons would probably eat her share before you even thought of it.'

'True,' said Kakarott with a giggle. Then he quickly loaded a new bowl, using the one-for-you, one-for-my-mouth method, and rushed it off to the other suite to Bulma.

Nappa looked at Vegeta shrewdly but his tone was light when he said, 'That's awfully considerate of you, your Highness.'

'I have an obligation to keep the leader of our allies fed,' he explained. He also felt guilty – a very uncomfortable feeling that he usually liked to avoid at all costs. He hoped that saving some decent food for her might alleviate the sensation a bit.

'I would have thought that "the leader of our allies" could take care of herself.'

Vegeta studiously ignored the comment.

* * *

When Goku rushed into Bulma's bedroom (without knocking, of course, because when one grows up in a one-room house with only your grandpa such things don't come naturally) he found her sitting in the dark. She jumped up in fright, but then slumped down again.

'Oh, it's you,' she said. 'You scared the crap out of me!'

'Oh. Sorry. But I brought you some food.' He offered up the bowl.

'Thanks, Goku,' she said absently, crawling down the bed to take it from him before throwing herself back against the headboard. Goku frowned. Something was different about Bulma. She was…sad.

'What're you doing in here?' he asked her. 'Why didn't you come out to eat with us?'

'Too busy,' she said.

'Doing what?'

She looked at the big open book on the bed next to her. 'Er… Reading.'

'In the dark?'

'Okay, I was thinking.'

'About what?'

'About stuff.'

'What stuff?'

'Stuff you don't need to know about,' she said.

Goku hesitated. He was rather with Krillin on the point that Bulma shouldn't be making decisions for all the Earthlings unless there was a very good reason, even if Vegeta did think she was their leader. He certainly didn't think the Earthlings should be keeping secrets from one another.

'Is it about our mission?' he asked.

She shook her head.

'About how we're going to get there?'

'No.'

'About the alliance?'

'No. It's not about anything like that,' she said, a little more tersely.

'About Earth?'

'No!'

'Then what is it about?'

'I can't tell you!' she said, and rather than angry, she seemed upset. He came closer and saw that her eyes were beginning to get swimmy, like she might cry.

'Why not?' he asked more gently.

'Because I just can't,' she replied.

Goku jumped up on the bed next to her, senses coming alert. She didn't smell odd, except for the saltiness of tears – a slightly different scent to that of the sea air wafting in the open sliding door. He couldn't smell any sign of sickness, though it could be one of the types that he couldn't smell, and she wasn't radiating any heat as if she had a fever. Her chi was a little low, but not nearly as low as when she slept, so that might be nothing.

'Are you sick?'

'No, Goku,' she said with a sigh, and relaxed back against the headboard again. 'Look, don't worry about it. It's no biggie - I'll get over it.'

Goku was relieved. 'Oh, good! I didn't want there to be anything bad. I thought you might be sick or something, not showing up for dinner.'

'No. But thanks for thinking of me,' she said a little more cheerfully and lifted a fork to sniff the noodles on the end of it.

Goku chuckled, a little embarrassed. 'Well, actually, thank Vegeta - he was the one who told me to bring it out. He wanted to make sure you got some of those crunchy fish bits and some of the other good things before they were all gone.'

Bulma stared at him. 'He did?'

'Yeah.'

She continued to stare at him for far longer than seemed normal.

'Er, Bulma? You still there?'

'Yes,' she said, and her eyes snapped over his shoulder, looking through the open door and straight through the other open door to the other suite. Goku followed her gaze and saw the backs of some of the others around the dining table. It looked very empty.

'Hmm,' she said.

'I better get back before it's all gone!' he said. 'I can come back though – do you need more?'

'No, this is more than enough, Goku. I doubt I'll finish it.'

'Okay, good!'

He raced away, leaving Bulma sitting in the light cast from the lounge. She could see a sliver of the back of Vegeta's head.

'What the hell is going on?' she muttered.

Then she got up. She didn't want to eat on the bed, but she didn't want to eat with the others either, so she stepped out the glass sliding door that connected the front bedroom to the deck outside. It was still warm out, despite the seabreeze, and she felt perfectly comfortable as she padded quietly over the deck and onto the sand. There were some permanent-looking beach chairs sitting out, just out of reach of the light coming from the rooms, and she took a seat in one, looking out to sea whilst she ate. The tide was out and the lagoon's surface was flat and almost oily looking with the small undulations that quietly rippled up on the shore. It was so still she could hear music and the clinking of utensils on plates coming from the restaurants further down the beach and every word of the boys' conversation as it drifted out of the open patio doors.

'Does anyone want the last black squid ink fritters?'

'Eurgh, no! Those were the worst thing on the table!'

'Anyone?'

'Can I try?'

An evening spent in tears and soul-searching and rage had just been called into review. She hadn't expected at all that Vegeta would tell her that they were over – or at least, that's how she'd interpreted his declaration that they would never be having sex again – nor had she expected it to hurt so much. Why? _Why?_ He hadn't said, and she wanted to ask him, but at the same time she didn't want to even look him in the face. It was a blow to the pride, sure, but this was more than just her pride hurting. And she was angry, too, at him daring to not want what she was offering.

And now he'd gone and done something as thoughtful as save her food that she would like. What did that _mean?_ He didn't want to have sex with her, but was being kind to her… Did he feel sorry about _letting her down_? Or did it mean that he still wanted to be friends, or whatever substituted for friendship amongst the Saiyans? This was so embarrassing, so painful…

'You're not going to bed, are you, Vegeta?' Nappa's voice drifted out the open door, and Vegeta's name caught her attention. Curious, she turned around in the chair and peered over the back of it to watch the men inside. Vegeta was about to enter the front bedroom.

'I'm going to take a shower and wash the salt off. But then, yes, I'm going to bed.'

'But it's still early.'

'So?'

She watched as Vegeta stepped into the bedroom, flipped on the light switch and then just sat on the bed, shoulders hunched, staring vaguely at nothing while the others chatted on next door, clearing the table and shoving cutlery and plates haphazardly into the kitchen sink. Finally Vegeta moved, rooting about in the small bag he'd brought from the ship, coming out with a fresh set of underwear and a book – his journal. He hesitated over his journal before searching again for a pen and then flopping down on the bed. Though she knew she would hate to be spied on herself she didn't feel at all guilty watching Vegeta; his words and actions had so confused her that she felt justified, and besides, he had spied on her for more than a week before they even met.

He lay on his back with his knees bent and propped the journal up on his thighs as he wrote. She tried to determine whether he looked unhappy, or if this was just his usual resting-bitch-face. Was he writing about her? She hoped so. It would be galling if she were all wound up about him and he wasn't even thinking about her.

Before long though she realised that watching someone write is a very boring pastime, even if the person writing was the unappreciative jerk who had given her the big brush off. Her attention wandered back to the others, moving about the living area. Nappa had found the minibar and helped himself to a small bottle of spirit and a beer before taking a seat in an armchair that barely contained him.

'Good idea,' said Raditz, doing the same.

'Didn't you drink enough last night?' Brolly asked.

Nappa gave a dark chuckle. 'I'm still here, so no. Brolly, you're getting some cheek on you these days, huh? You should watch how you talk to your superiors.'

Brolly retired to the couch without saying anything more.

'I knew you'd be on the piss as soon as we got off the ship,' said Raditz, taking a seat with his beer in hand. 'Did you leave anything for us to sell?'

'Hardly made a dent!' said Nappa. 'Don't worry, it won't be missed. You should have stayed on the freighter with me – we could have had ourselves a little party.'

'I had one anyway,' said Raditz, grinning. 'I took a stash back on board the cruiser with me, so we had ourselves a merry time.'

Nappa looked surprised. 'What? Everyone?'

'Yes, _everyone_.'

'Huh. I bet Vegeta took some warming up to the idea.'

'Of course - he always does. He was as sour as an old mother for the first half an hour.'

'Your mother wasn't sour. She wasn't old, either.'

'Says the old man. Anyway, I said _an_ old mother, not _my_ mother. My mother wasn't particularly bad tempered – not like _your_ mother.'

Nappa uttered a harsh bark of laughter. 'You never met my mother - a bad temper was the least of her issues.'

'Yeah?' said Raditz, watching Nappa closely. 'What was she like then? You've never talked much about her.'

Nappa's lip curled and he shook the liquor in the little bottle before downing half of it. 'What's to tell?' he asked, staring at the wall rather than at Raditz as he spoke. 'She was a neglectful, lying bitch who was forever wheedling me to do this, that and the other for her, but most of all to keep out of sight whenever she had a man around, and she'd sooner beat me than look at me.'

The boys' conversation had trailed off and their attention was fixed on Nappa as he finished. Bulma sat straighter, suddenly not wanting to miss a word.

'She doesn't sound all that different to the average Saiyan mother,' said Raditz.

'Ah, well, maybe,' admitted Nappa, 'though I think it was a rare mother who put her kid in the infirmary at least once a month.'

Raditz looked like he wasn't sure what to say to that, and neither did the boys; their mouths were hanging open.

'Why'd she do that?' asked Goku.

' _Why?_ ' repeated Nappa. 'Because she was a grasping bitch trying to fuck her way up the social ladder, and she blamed me for ruining her figure and her chances of getting back in the Chieftain's bed.'

'How did _you_ ruin her figure?' asked Raditz.

'By being born, according to her! She told me often enough that she wished she'd taken a blow to the stomach while she was pregnant with me. I'm sure it wasn't her utter laziness and greed and drunkenness that ruined her figure!'

'Yeah, you're right, she sounds worse than average,' said Raditz. Then he grinned. 'But what I'm hearing is that your other was a fat, lazy, slutty drunk. Like mother, like son?'

'Fuck _you_ ,' growled Nappa, ignoring Raditz's light-hearted tone. 'I'm not like her at all. She used to shirk her official duties when she was too drunk or too busy fucking some prospect. She used to send me to do them for her! _I_ take duty seriously, and I don't let the drink stop me.' He cracked the beer.

'Why did you do her job for her if she was so horrible to you?' asked Krillin, sounding genuinely confused.

'Well, someone had to do it, and I didn't mind if it was me if it got me away from her. Plus she'd come crawling to me, being sweet and calling me her dear son every time she wanted something, apologising for "losing her temper" and saying it wouldn't happen again. A fucking lie every time, though I did believe her, oh, the first few hundred times.' He tipped the beer back, grimly drinking it like it was a chore rather than a pleasure.

Silence reigned in the suite for a moment, the boys staring around, lost in their thoughts. Bulma herself was feeling an uncomfortable and unwanted swelling of sympathy for Nappa. If he was a monster, he'd been raised by one. Then Nappa laughed, making her flinch in surprise.

'You know, the last time she tried to beat me I had just got back from my first long campaign in the Tuffle Wars. I was about Tarble's age, but just started my first big growth spurt so I was as big as she was. She thought she could treat me the same as ever, but after she laid that first punch I hit back. She was hard to get down, but I put that bitch in the infirmary, fighting for her life.' Nappa's eyes grew distant, a smile lingering on his lips. 'I always regretted not killing her, but I never saw her again, either, so it was not so bad an outcome.'

Bulma's sympathy had a hard time surviving the sickeningly callous end of his tale, and goose bumps broke out on her arms and the back of her neck.

'That's awful,' said Goku, breaking the heavy silence that followed. Raditz nodded, but Bulma doubted that they were agreeing on the same point, as Goku's voice was laid with tones of judgement.

'She was playing with fire, treating me like that,' said Nappa. 'She got what was coming for her and I swore that'd be the last time I ever let a woman get the best of me. Just remember that, boys; women always want something. Money, power, status, special treatment. Deep down, they're all whores for something.'

Bulma's mouth came open in rage and she gripped the back of the beach chair, preparing to get up and give Nappa a piece of her mind on that point, but Raditz spoke first.

'I think you may be exaggerating a little, Nappa!'

'Not much,' said Nappa. 'Trust me – if they can use force they will, but if not, it's sex and manipulation and promises and flattery.'

Krillin, getting up from the floor to be closer to eye-level with the seated Nappa, looked like he had taken exception. 'I don't think you're right. And I don't think all women, or even most women, or even _many_ women, are whores!'

'Think what you like, but you'll change your tune one day after some girl's taken you to the cleaner and hung you out to dry.'

'I agree with Krillin,' said Tarble. 'I've known lots of women – mostly Tech-Techies, but you know – and they're just normal people.'

' _Bulma's_ not a whore,' said Brolly suddenly.

'Yes, Bulma's not a whore,' repeated Tarble, blushing red at the word "whore".

Nappa laughed. 'Isn't she? I'd say she's a prime example!'

'Hey!' said Goku, jumping to his feet. 'Don't talk like that about my friend! If Bulma wants something it's to get the people of Earth back – the _same thing_ me and Krillin and Puar want! Are we "whores" too?' He looked angry – he'd only just learnt what a whore was earlier that day.

Bulma held her breath as she watched the boys defend her character for her.

'It's all in the method,' said Nappa. 'I don't see you and Krillin sucking up to Prince Vegeta. Puar, though…'

Puar was watching from the coffee table, but sat tall at this vague accusation. 'I can be friends with who I want without having to have a reason for it,' she said.

'Oh, you're his _friend_ now?' asked Nappa mockingly.

'Well…' The cat looked uncertain. 'It doesn't matter whether I am or not, you're just wrong!'

Raditz grinned at Nappa. 'Looks like the verdict is in, and you're just a cynical old man with a chip on his shoulder.'

'Go choke on it,' said Nappa, putting the empty beer bottle aside and leaning back. 'And don't say I didn't warn you.'

'You know, my mother told me you reap what you sow with people,' said Raditz. 'Might work with women, too.'

Nappa's eyes snapped to Raditz, wide in incredulity. 'What the Hell was your mother doing spouting touchy-feely crap like that for? Gods, that air-head Gine! I swear, if it wasn't for her tail you'd never have known she was a Saiyan! She didn't even like to _fight!_ It's a small mercy that you and your brother take after Bardock and only turned out as weak-minded as you did.'

Raditz's smug look turned angry. 'Did you _really_ know her? For all I know you just make this stuff up to piss me off!'

'Yes, I did,' Nappa insisted. 'I knew practically everyone who was anyone, including your third-class, weirdo parents.'

Nappa and Raditz glared at each other, long enough that Bulma wondered if maybe blows were coming. She'd never seen Raditz and Nappa angry at _each other_ before. But Nappa rolled his eyes and sighed.

'Don't believe me then, if you don't want to.'

Just then Vegeta rose from the bed in the bedroom, the movement grabbing Bulma's attention for a second. He opened the bedroom door but stopped with it halfway open and his hand still on the doorknob as Tarble broke the silence.

'You knew my mother, too, didn't you, Nappa?' Tarble asked hesitantly, changing the subject slightly. 'Did _my_ mother like to fight? Was she…very Saiyan?'

Nappa chuckled low in his throat. 'Oh, fuck yes! Aubergina was so fucking Saiyan I'm surprised she didn't fire you out of her womb with a chi blast on the battlefield.'

Tarble's mouth popped open with shock at that mental image, as did most of the listeners'. Raditz and Nappa's backs were to the bedroom door, and Nappa's bulk hid the sight of Vegeta from the rest of them. Only Bulma, watching the diorama from outside could see them all.

'If she was so damn Saiyan, why did everyone hate her then?' asked Raditz, still bitter about Nappa's description of his own mother.

'It's hard to like a hard-boiled bitch, that's why,' replied Nappa, and then he paused a moment, considering. 'Well, that wasn't the only reason of course. She was one of King's Vegeta's most trusted generals, and it was how she got that position that made everyone hate her.' Nappa's tone made it clear that he included himself in the "everyone" he mentioned. Bulma quickly looked over at Vegeta and he still stood motionless in the doorway, listening as hard as he could. Wasn't Aubergina the prime candidate for Vegeta's mother, too? Why wouldn't he just come into the room too to hear about her? Or maybe that would be too close to admitting kinship to Tarble. Also, Nappa was slagging her off. Maybe he'd say different things with Vegeta present – after all, he wasn't afraid to offend Tarble.

'How'd she get the position, then?' Raditz asked.

'Well! She was only born second class. Her mother was a third class, so you'd have expected Aubergina to be third class too, but she was a moderately powerful infant. Her father was supposedly the last chief of the Wolverine Tribe, unacknowledged, but she got several helping hands up the ladder of authority within the tribe, so _someone_ was pulling the strings.'

'There were tribes?' asked Goku. 'Am I from a tribe?'

'The tribes were abolished when King Vegeta united the Saiyans against the Tuffles,' Raditz replied. 'You and I would have been Jackal tribe if it had still existed when we were born.'

'Old King Vegeta was both Wolf tribe and Bear Tribe – my tribe,' Nappa added, puffing his chest out a bit, subconsciously, Bulma was sure. 'It helped a lot when he was uniting the others. Anyway, _Aubergina_ made a name for herself in the Tuffle wars. She was a good warrior, I'll give her that. The Wolverine took heavy losses in the battle of the Chalk Cliffs. There were some field promotions, and long story short, Aubergina ended up leading her tribe in the retreat and later when they joined the Bear and Jackal tribes. After unification she fought as a general – can you imagine anything so ass-backwards? A _second_ class general! Half the people even within her own tribe that thought she was unworthy, but it got worse, because after we won the war the King granted her Elite status!'

Bulma looked at the other's faces, but Nappa was the only one showing offence at this notion. Nappa wasn't reading his audience though, and continued justifying his grievance.

'The Elite status is more than just power level and fighting prowess. The thought of handing it out as a reward was maybe the one thing I disagreed with the King on. Elites are the ruling class, and they've had that responsibility bred into them over generations. And then we had this arrogant brat placed as a general at the King's right hand. It was offensive.'

'You mean you all hated her because you were upper class snobs?' Krillin asked, and then shrank back at the sharp look Nappa gave him.

'Actually, no. She was also corrupt.'

'How?'

'All the other generals and the top staff at the palace knew that whenever Aubergina wasn't on campaign she was in and out of the King's chambers like a Baldashian ferret and a hole. She always said it was just intense debriefing and consultation, but the chambermaids reckoned that the "consulting" had a rather messy effect on the King's bedsheets. The other generals were pissed off that she always had the King's ear because she was the only general who got to ride the King's dick. I don't think it takes much imagination to work out how she got her promotion to elite status!'

Tarble blushed and even Goku looked like he'd kind of understood what Nappa was saying, and sat there slack-jawed and staring into space. Feeling uncomfortable on Vegeta's account she looked over at him. He was still rigid in the doorway.

'Hang on,' said Krillin. 'Wouldn't that have made King Vegeta just as corrupt as she was? Or, actually, _more_ corrupt because he was the one who was abusing his position?'

Nappa growled in both warning and reluctant acknowledgement. 'I was the most true and loyal subject to King Vegeta. He was about as close to perfect as a Saiyan can be, but Aubergina was his biggest mistake. When he started putting that grasping bitch on equal footing with those of us who'd have flown through the heart of a sun for him…Well, it was hard to take.'

Abruptly, Vegeta slammed the door closed again, making Nappa and the others jump with surprise. Grim-faced, he stomped through the bedroom and opened the sliding door, coming out onto the deck and marching out towards the sea. Bulma immediately turned in her seat in order to be not caught watching.

'Was he listening?' she heard Raditz ask behind her.

'Uh. Maybe,' said Nappa. 'If he was eavesdropping it's only his own fault if he heard something he didn't want to.'

Vegeta walked past her and glanced down in surprise.

'I was just eating dinner out here,' she said.

But he kept going, and then took off, leaping into flight and was soon lost in the dark. Nappa's voice boomed out, closer than before.

'Are you out here eavesdropping as well?' he asked.

Trying not to look guilty she stood up and revealed herself. 'No. I was just eating my dinner in the pleasant night air,' she said, brandishing her mostly empty bowl as she walked back towards the room. 'I can't help it if the door was open and half the neighbourhood could hear what you were saying.'

' _Eavesdropping_.'

She went to put her bowl in the dishwasher drawer while Nappa snatched more from the minibar and took his seat again.

'Why do you think Vegeta got bent out of shape just now?' asked Raditz.

'Nurgh,' said Nappa non-commitally. 'He's probably just annoyed that we're talking about her because he hated her so much.'

'How could he hate her?' asked Tarble. 'Wasn't he just a little kid when he left Planet Vegeta?'

'Oh, he managed it! After he left the nursery, Aubergina was on campaign for almost a year. When she got back again he took exception to her presence.' Nappa smiled. 'It was hilarious to watch. Just a tiny little kid and he _loathed_ her.'

'I suppose you did nothing to help that dislike along?' asked Bulma from the kitchen. She leant against the benchtop and fielded Nappa's facetious grin.

'I didn't need to. It came naturally to him.'

They were silent for a while, contemplating the complexities of Saiyan family life. Bulma wanted to know if Vegeta was alright and why he'd flown away, but the worry was overtaken by the unpleasant certainty that her concern would not be appreciated if she had the chance to ask him.

Into the silence, Brolly spoke.

'Nappa, did you know _my_ mother?'

'You don't know who your mother was, so I can't really answer that, can I?' said Nappa.

Brolly pushed himself to the edge of the couch seat and leaned around to see Nappa better. 'I know I didn't before, but remember more about her now. After Namek I could remember a lot more. At least I _think_ they're memories.' Doubt crossed his face. 'Her name was Cera.'

'Cera?' pondered Nappa. 'I knew one or two Ceras. Can you remember anything else? Do you remember who your father was?'

'His name was Paragus.'

'Paragus?' Nappa frowned and looked at Raditz. 'Paragus?'

Raditz suddenly looked ill. 'Oh. _Yes_ ,' he muttered. Bulma frowned. What significance did that name have?

'What?' asked Brolly. 'Is there something bad about that?'

'No, nothing,' said Nappa. 'Do you remember much about them?'

'A little bit. I remember they both came to see me in the nursery. I was upset afterward because I wanted to go home with them. I didn't want to be in the nursery, and Kakarott was always screaming his head off. Then later on…' He shuddered suddenly at whatever he saw in his mind's eye. 'Something really bad happened. Some men attacked my father and they hurt me, but I don't know why. I think my father might have died, because I remember touching his face but it didn't move. I was scared, but I don't think I even knew what dying was.' He touched his chest, rubbing at a few spots as if they still hurt. 'I remember the pain though. I could barely breathe because it hurt so much. I was really cold and scared, but then my mother came.' His troubled expression cleared a little. 'She picked me up and took me away, told me I couldn't die and then put me in a pod. She said she'd find me, but I guess she died with all the others because she never did come after me to Horten.'

A chill ran up Bulma's spine. Raditz and Nappa's eyes were saucers.

'Oh, right. That's interesting,' said Nappa.

'So, did you know them?'

Nappa's eyes darted to Raditz's again. 'Yeah. Paragus was…he was a well-respected Saiyan, and your mother, she was brave.'

Brolly smiled. 'Was she pretty?'

'One of the prettiest.'

Brolly beamed.

'Paragus was an elite, and Cera was the daughter of the Bear tribe chieftain.'

'Wow,' said Brolly, becoming more excited. 'So I'm not just third class?'

Nappa paused for a beat. 'It would seem not.'

'Can you tell me more? What did they look like? I remember more the feel of them than what they looked like.'

* * *

Brolly asked Nappa an endless stream of questions about his parents, and eventually the other boys' attention wandered and they started their own conversation. Bulma took a seat at the dining table and tried to keep an ear on both and succeeded mostly in becoming distracted by her own thoughts. Brolly's questions were mostly inane, although probably not to Brolly. She supposed that if she'd never really known her parents she'd have wanted to know what their favourite foods were if someone could answer that question for her, though Nappa's memories of them were apparently not that extensive. However, Brolly's memory of his maybe-murdered father was disturbing, as was Raditz and Nappa's reaction to the names Cera and Paragus.

Eventually the yawns started appearing. Last night seemed to be catching up on everyone. Nappa retreated to the back bedroom and Vegeta reappeared momentarily. Bulma looked at him as he strode across the lounge to the bathroom, glad he was back but feeling quite uncomfortable to be in his presence, but he avoided her gaze entirely. She lingered in the lounge a little longer, chatting with Raditz even after the younger boys went next door to start getting ready for bed. Raditz flipped through the channels on the holovid unit, making comments. Many of them were pay-per view, and many of them were porn.

'Euw, don't stop and watch it!' she complained at a particularly explicit preview.

Vegeta emerged from the bathroom, showered and fresh and grumpy.

'Raditz, get ready for bed,' he said as he swept past. 'I don't want you keeping me awake.' Then he closed the door to the front bedroom, and Bulma suddenly felt like she was invisible.

She needed some reason for Vegeta's shutdown. It was doing her head in wondering what had gone wrong. Surely it couldn't have been because she was crap in bed? If she'd been crap, he'd been worse, but it was a foundation that _she_ at least had been willing to build on.

Raditz followed her into the other kitchen to get a glass of water, as all the glasses in the other suite were in the dishwasher already. As he turned from the sink he caught the absent, miserable expression on her face.

'What?' he demanded.

'Nothing,' she replied.

'Doesn't look like nothing,' he insisted as he stood aside to let her fill her own glass.

Then Bulma recalled something she could reasonably be thinking deeply about that wasn't a secret and deeply personal. 'Okay, then - what's so strange about Brolly's parents? You looked like you'd seen a ghost.'

Raditz's easy manner fell apart again. 'I think I _did_.'

'What do you mean?' she asked.

He took a breath, hesitated and then looked around the room, probably tracking the whereabouts of everyone. The door to the back room was ajar, and the boys could be heard talking inside. The door to the front bedroom wide open. Raditz moved to the bathroom set near the door of the suite and beckoned her to follow. She did, thinking that it was amazing that she now trusted him enough to follow him into a confined space. He shut the door quietly behind them and pressed his back against it, eyes a little wild. His manner was moving her from curious to alarmed.

'Spill it, Raditz!' she hissed.

'It shouldn't be possible!' he said, quite dramatically.

'What isn't?'

'Look, if I tell you, you _can't_ tell Vegeta or the others! Especially not Vegeta or Brolly, okay?'

'Okay,' she agreed.

He looked her in the eye. 'You know how Vegeta says he's the strongest Saiyan ever born?'

'Yeah.'

Raditz shook his head, and another little piece if Bulma's tiny universe crumbled away from her, leaving her foundation that much smaller. Vegeta _had_ to be the strongest – that's who she was banking on beating Frieza for her!

'Why do you think that?' she asked, desperate for him to be wrong somehow.

'Because I was still working as a page in the King's court when it happened. Vegeta was just a little kid and he was already living on Frieza's ship with Nappa. I don't think he ever would have heard about it.'

'About _what?_ '

'About Brolly. Or about Cera and Paragus's kid, which, now that I think about it, they might've called Brolly. Vegeta was the strongest Saiyan ever born when he was born, but only for a few years. Paragus's kid was unreal – like two thousand at birth, or something like that.'

'That means nothing to me.'

'Well, put it this way – Vegeta was about eight hundred at birth, and the average was about fifty.'

'Oh,' she said, and then could come up with no more for Raditz. She was angry with him as the bearer of bad news. She felt winded. She felt ashamed and dismayed on Vegeta's behalf.

'Vegeta thinks he'll be the Super Saiyan because he was the strongest Saiyan ever born,' she pointed out.

'I know,' said Raditz, looking kind of distressed about it too. 'Me and Nappa have always known that wasn't true. King Vegeta swore everyone to silence – I probably shouldn't have told Nappa, but it happened the day I was sent to Frieza's ship to replace the other page, and I was young… I thought Nappa needed to know or something. I don't know – I couldn't keep my trap shut, but he told me we shouldn't tell Vegeta, and there didn't seem any point in taking the strongest-Saiyan-ever-born title away from him because we thought Paragus's kid had been put down, and pretty soon after that the whole planet was gone.'

'What do you mean, "Put down"?' she asked, though stupidly, as she already strongly suspected what he meant.

'Paragus had always been one of the King's strongest supporters, but when his kid was born with that power level the King charged him with treason and sentenced them both to death. I saw Paragus and the baby stabbed to death in the throne room with my own eyes.'

'They stabbed a _baby?_ ' cried Bulma, the story taking on far more disturbing aspects, and then she covered her mouth with her hands, realising how loud she'd just been.

Raditz nodded.

'What kind of a fucking monster _was_ Vegeta's father?' she hissed more quietly.

'Quite a hard bastard, but having a baby stabbed to death was cold even for him. Anyway, it sounds like the baby didn't die after all and his mother put him on a pod to Hortens… Wow, things make so much sense now!'

Bulma stared sightlessly at the bathroom tiles, her mind whirling though the implications. If this Super Saiyan thing that Vegeta was pursuing was even real, the chances that it was going to happen to _him_ were realistically zero, and he'd been pinning his hopes on it, labouring under a lie his whole life.

'Raditz, he's got to know!'

Raditz shot across the bathroom, grabbing her tightly by the arms, making her yelp, and pinning her against the sink as if she'd been about to sprint next door to Vegeta right that second.

'No, he fucking _doesn't!_ ' he hissed. 'You _can't_ tell him! Nappa and I have held onto this secret _way_ too long, and if he finds out now, not only will he be spectacularly pissed, but he'd take it all out on us two! He'd only see us keeping that from him all these years as a betrayal!'

Bulma glared up at him and pushed back at the hands that held her. Anxiety crossed Raditz's face and he spoke again, taking another tact.

'Bulma, he's half destroyed right now. He doesn't even have a tail, and now you want to tell him he's never going to be a super Saiyan? That'll push him over the edge for sure!'

She wrenched at his grip again and he let her go this time, and she put space between them, pacing the width of the bathroom. _Half-destroyed?_ She supposed he had been a little lower than normal after Namek, but that hadn't stopped him climbing into her pants. And back out again. Was she supposed to believe that Vegeta was some delicate blossom, waiting for a gust of wind to tear his petals off? She knew his meltdown would be epic, though. She would not want to be around for that, but also, she would not want to _not_ be around for that, because she would worry about him, and what if he needed her help? _Urgh!_ Her clashing impulses of anger and sympathy towards him were completely confusing!

'Well, now you've made me a keeper of your destructive secret too,' she complained. 'Gee, thanks! Why would you even tell me this, Raditz? Now I'm in the shit too if he finds out I knew!'

Raditz looked a little ashamed as he leant back against the wall. 'I dunno. I guess if Brolly is this wonder kid, and it makes sense that he is, sooner or later this is going to be a problem. I mean… He's probably _still_ stronger than Vegeta. Did you know he punched Frieza to the ground when Frieza was in his final form? When Brolly told us that I didn't know whether to believe him or not. Vegeta was almost killed by Frieza in his third form! I think things are gonna get ugly, and I figured you should have a heads up. I mean, you know how to handle him better than anyone.'

In the midst of her anger she was brought up short by those words. Raditz thought she could "handle" Vegeta. Suddenly she wondered how she and Vegeta looked from the outside. And then she wondered how Vegeta normally was before she had met him. Did the others not handle him better? She thought of Nappa's various beatings by Vegeta, and Raditz's complete subordination sprinkled lightly with low-level minor mutinies, and how Tarble had been quite scared of Vegeta, though less so lately. Brolly and Vegeta only seemed to antagonise each other since Brolly was healed. She might just be the best at handling Vegeta after all, and that was a terrifying thought. Or at least she had been until last night. Her heart sank further, wondering if Raditz was expecting to rely on her strange relationship with Vegeta, when that relationship may have just been blown out of the water.

She dropped her head. Surely it wasn't her responsibility to nurture the galaxy's biggest, most volatile, tender ego through soul-crushing disappointment?

'You can't go telling Brolly either,' Raditz warned her.

'Of course not,' she muttered. The thought of Brolly being stronger than Vegeta made her uneasy. 'Raditz, what if _Brolly_ is the Super Saiyan?'

'I don't know,' admitted Raditz. 'I guess that's up to Brolly.'

Raditz turned to go but she had one last question for him.

'Was Aubergina Vegeta's mother?'

Raditz shrugged. 'It's almost a certainty but we don't know for sure. I remember her – she was a little Saiyan, small and short but strong and kinda scary, and she had dark hair like Vegeta's. He actually looks a little like her, and so does Tarble.'

'And is Tarble King Vegeta's son, too?'

Raditz made a face. 'Now that doesn't seem like it should be possible.'

The odd wording caught her attention. 'But…?'

'But he looks like King Vegeta, too.'


	59. Mermaids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Last time on Never Ever Land - Vegeta put a pin in his budding relationship with Bulma, deflating both it and her, Nappa shared some family history and Raditz dropped a bombshell on Bulma regarding Brolly's origins and potential. Basically no one did anything but eat, mope, talk and eavesdrop, so lets see if we can't change that.

The complimentary buffet breakfast had not been offered with Saiyans in mind, Bulma decided. The resort staff who witnessed the decimation of the breakfast spread looked on in astonishment and then alarm. Bulma, Krillin and Puar, who weren't the problem, seemed to be the only ones who suffered any embarrassment when the maître d' asked if the group would kindly give the other guests access to the food and not empty the fresh tureens and platters as soon as they arrived at the buffet table.

'Hurry up with the service, then,' Nappa told the man, still loading a plate with crispy sheets of fried starch root and sticky-sweet meat globules.

She was relieved when the Saiyans were finally glutted and they went back to their rooms, even though once they were there she knew she could avoid Vegeta no more. They had managed to not talk or even look at each other as far as she could tell during breakfast, though that was not hard when Vegeta had his face in a bowl whenever he wasn't leaving the table to serve himself more. Now as they passed through the door and into the living area of Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz's suite, she steeled herself.

'So, what's our next move?' she asked, as neutrally and calmly as she could. It still sounded a little snippy, even to her ears, but she thought she did well. No drama here – cool and casual Bulma, business as usual, even if her cheeks started to burn as she waited for him to answer.

Vegeta turned away from her, looking out towards the beach as he mused.

'I suppose you should figure out what you need might need to make these training aids you promised. We need to think about where we are going to set up in the longer term.'

'There is one thing I need to do today,' she told him. 'In fact, I need to do it before I do anything else. I need to rig up something to scramble that signal in your head.'

Vegeta glanced back at her, slightly disturbed.

'Do you need anything for that?'

'I don't think so.'

'Well our visit here is going to be very short if you're wrong.'

'I'm pretty sure,' she clarified.

'Then Nappa and I will go into the city and scope out whatever hardware and electronics suppliers there. If you realise you desperately need anything you can call us over comms and we will see if we can pick it up.'

'You're going to go thousands of kilometres up the coast just in case I need something?'

'Nappa and I have an errand to run anyway.'

'Oh. What errand?' she asked, questioning the vague statement automatically.

'Nothing _you_ need to concern yourself with,' he said.

She frowned. 'But you can still _tell_ me.'

'I will tell you when we get back, perhaps.'

She stared at him overlong, feeling exasperated at her lack of grasp on him. He turned away again, quickly.

'What are _we_ going to do?' asked Raditz. 'Can we come to town, too?'

'No,' said Vegeta. 'You and the others should investigate the hinterland and find a good place for training. You're all going to have to work hard if you want to actually be of use to me in my own training.'

Having suitably insulted most people in the room he headed back to his bedroom and came back out, attaching the band of the comms device around his neck. He'd also tied his hair back roughly with one of Bulma's hair ties that she had used on him on Grenouillea. The sight stung her. Apparently he no longer wanted her services as a hair stylist.

'Are you really going to leave me _alone_ here?' Bulma asked, sure this was an oversight.

Vegeta cast her a quizzical look. 'Why? Can you not be trusted?'

'Of course I can!' she protested. 'I mean that this is a strange planet. What if I'm, you know, attacked or something?'

Vegeta hesitated for just a moment, but Nappa filled in the empty air, telling her with a mocking voice, 'You're in a _hotel_ room, Princess.'

'But I need to go back to the ship for my electronics.'

'Which is a two minute walk through a sleepy resort town. I'm sure even a powderpuff like you will survive.' Nappa looked a Vegeta. 'Shall we be off, your Highness?'

Vegeta nodded, and then looked around the group. 'Everyone, put your earpieces and neck ties on,' he said. 'If anyone encounters something unexpected or suddenly needs something you can let the rest of us know instantly.' His eyes stopped on Bulma for a second before he broke for the door, lowering his face to hide the pink that started to come to his cheeks. 'Come on, Nappa.'

'What about me?' asked Puar. 'Aren't I going with you?'

Vegeta shook his head. 'There's no need. Stay here.'

Bulma watched him go, her personal misery morphing into suspicion at this. What was he up to that he didn't want Puar to see?

* * *

In the end Puar opted to go with the boys on their "sight-seeing" mission as she called it, and twenty minutes later, Bulma was back at the ship, letting herself in. She had to admit, Nappa seemed to be right. The tiny town was the picture of seaside relaxation. It was very warm, but not unpleasantly so, like on Grenouillea, and very pretty. Most of the trees were palms of some variety, but here and there were flowering bushes or big evergreens. Small drifts of sand filled the gutters and piled against the trunks of palm trees and small winged reptiles dove off the roofs to catch insects baking on the hot surface of the road. The people she had passed had seemed happy, not threatening, and not even interested in her, but still, she was not entirely at ease alone and so many lightyears away from home. It made her feel a little more grown up though.

 _Bulma Briefs, bravely negotiating alien worlds alone_.

Reaching the compound, she let herself into the ship and immediately set to, working on a signal blocker for Vegeta. She had already decided that one of Brolly's old diadems would be ideal for the use as they were both designed to interfere with and modulate electromagnetic signals within the brain already. She would have to change the frequencies it worked on, and amplify it, as well as set it up to only work when triggered by the signal, but she was sure it could be done.

An hour later, sitting at the map table on the flight deck, she found she was right.

'Well, that was easy,' she said, admiring the silver and green diadem hanging from her hand. She smiled, imagining Vegeta's reaction to having to wear the pretty thing, and then she grimaced, remembering how horribly awkward things were between them now, and with a much heavier heart she packed up and went back to the hotel room.

Once there she puzzled over what to do next. There was the paper on wormhole propagation that she really _should_ read, and not just pretend to in order to cover her emotional wreckage, but there was also the training aids, which she still hadn't really had any decent ideas about. She decided to read some of the paper now, and later she would get her laptop out and see what this planet had in the way of wireless communication. It would be a good first step towards information gathering and seeing what resources were available for the training aids. Maybe she would get some ideas that way, too.

As she passed through the lobby she stopped, viewing the lush garden and pool on the other side of the glass. Other guests lounged in the sun, sipping on drinks and having a proper old holiday. Huh. Well, the boys weren't here – who was to know if she read her book in a sun lounger between dips in the pool?

'Would you like a drying cloth for the pool, Miss?'

One of the smiling desk clerks had sidled up beside her, holding out the "drying cloth".

'Oh, a towel! Yes, thanks,' Bulma replied, it.

'Is there anything else I can help you with?'

Bulma considered. 'Yes. Does this planet have...the internet?'

'The inter-net?' repeated the woman doubtfully. 'No, I don't think I've ever heard of that, but I could look it up on the official directory.'

'What's the official directory?' Bulma asked, following the woman back to her desk. The woman looked back in surprise, a frown creasing the thick, tight skin of her forehead. Bulma thought it looked like blue neoprene. She was trying hard not to stare at all the aliens she found in space, but really, some of their appearances took some getting used to.

'The planet-wide official information directory,' the woman said slowly, sitting down. 'Surely your home planet has one? Perhaps with a different name?'

'Oh. Yes. Of course,' Bulma said, watching the woman fire up a holographic console and wave her hands over it.

'I'd like to search the directory for the inter-net,' the woman told the console.

'No exact matches,' it told her, a series of text entries displaying in the air. 'Would you like to know about inter-sex?'

The woman looked at Bulma inquiringly, and Bulma shook her head. 'No. Never mind – it must just be something from my home planet.'

The woman smiled. 'It happens all the time. There's nothing like interplanetary travel to burst one's bubble!'

'This official directory,' asked Bulma. 'How do you access it?'

'With any standard connection device,' replied the woman. 'Just turn it on and a connection will be made. All inquiries are free, though some entertainment and information is paywalled.' She was frowning a little again, as if she was explaining something she thought Bulma should know already.

'And how about an _un_ official directory?'

'Huh? Oh, you mean private information channels! Yes, there are lots of these. You should be able to easily connect to whatever service you're looking for.'

Bulma thought that this didn't really sound like what she wanted, but there was only one way to make sure.

Ten minutes later she was poolside in her bikini, tackling the forward of Dr Calliper's masterwork. The writing was dry, but reassuringly competent and she had no trouble following it, so that was a good start. Alice had a firm grasp of gravitational theory and sub atomic theory, with a few left-field assertations, which considering she was proposing something current physicists had no idea how to so, might _not_ be a bad indication of her intelligence on the subject.

'Convince me, Alice,' she muttered at the pages. 'I have a lot riding on you.'

* * *

Raditz took the boys North first, until the desert became grass land, dotted with the occasional wooded valley and lush floodplain. These choice spots proved to be inhabited though, or at least in use. The river valleys were farmed with neat, fields of crops and livestock, and here and there settlements and even hotels were under construction. Clearly Baccanelli was still in a phase of rapid growth.

'This is a waste of time,' he said over comms. 'We'll try South and inland again.'

Heading back over the desert the terrain was far less settled, and soon even the meandering roads petered out. The occasional oasis stood out here and there, but otherwise they flew over a varied but barren land of yellow sand, rock, hills and dry scrub. It sure was hot though. Even flying they could feel the heat reflecting back off the bare earth.

Stopping at an oasis in the shape of a tear, nestled against a large rocky outcrop. Raditz decided to take them down for a drink. They touched down and headed to the pool to slake their thirst – they all had capsules from Bulma with some water and other supplies inside, but it seemed far less bother to drink straight from the pool than open those.

Raditz looked around at the arrangement of palm trees and hardy, dry shrubs and the sense of familiarity that had been with him all morning, deepened.

'I think I've been here before,' he said.

'We know,' said Krillin, standing up from the edge of the pool and wiping his arm across his mouth. 'You told us you purged this place years ago.'

'Yeah,' said Raditz, ignoring the censorious tone Krillin used. 'But I think I've been _here_ before. In this very spot.' He was pretty sure this had never happened before. He'd never returned to a place he had purged, and certainly never stood in the same place. He tried to remember what the old inhabitants had looked like. Had they been the brown, leathery skinned people with the eyes out on short stalks? Still using bows and arrows and swords? They hadn't been necessarily weak compared to the galactic average, but definitely primitive. What had they called themselves? He couldn't remember. For a second he felt guilty about it – he was one of the few people in the galaxy who might actually remember, but he didn't. He sighed.

'I suppose here is as good a place to train as any,' he said. 'Let's have lunch and start. I feel like I haven't used my body in weeks.'

They arranged themselves along the top of a dune, a short way from the oasis.

'As I need a work out, you can all come at me one at a time,' said Raditz. 'When you get tired, or when I knock you down the next one comes at me, okay? So, Kakarott first.'

His little brother at the head of the line grinned and immediately raised his hands, squatting into his stance.

'Begi-'

Raditz hadn't even gotten the word out when Kakarott was in his face, a blindingly fast kick delivered to his ribs. The sand shifted under his feet and instead it was Raditz who fell, although he was airborne before he hit the sand.

'What happens if we knock _you_ down?' Kakarott asked cheekily.

'Not going to happen!' said Raditz, blustering to cover his surprise. 'You started before I said to and took me by surprise!' Well, he _hoped_ that was why, anyway. 'Here's the rules. No chi, so no blasts or flying for now. You can jump, but you can't land off the dune or you're out. Okay?'

'Okay,' they all nodded. He noticed Brolly was hanging back, looking nervous and at the sight of him Raditz suddenly regretted proposing this training exercise. He was not all that keen to spar with someone who had a history of turning into an insane rage-beast, especially after what he'd learnt about the kid's origin last night. He'd been "healed" now, and Gross Elderly Guru had been quite convinced that Brolly wasn't a warrior, whatever that meant, and Brolly looked like he was practically quaking in his boots, but still, he would have preferred to have Nappa and Vegeta here to back him up.

'What should I do?' asked Puar, hanging in the vicinity of Krillin's shoulder.

'You can play ref and call the outs,' he suggested. 'And try not to get squashed. Okay, Kakarott, come at me now.'

As if to defy him, this time Kakarott stayed where he was standing, feet still planted in the sand. His smile was not the usual one of half-witted happiness, but devious in a way that made Raditz blink. Kakarott looked just like their father at this moment, despite being half the height and still childishly round-faced.

'Or I can come to you,' growled Raditz. He jumped forward, feinting to Kakarott's left where he held his hand lower, trying to shift Kakarott's balance and lower his guard on his other side. His knee was already coming up and across to catch him on the right before he realised that Kakarott hadn't fallen for the feint and was instead ducking the kick, his arm coming up to get Raditz in the upper thigh as it swung over him. A couple of inches to the left and he would've gotten him in the nuts. As it was, it hurt, but Raditz didn't have time to react to the pain before Kakarott was popping up behind him, trying to trip his other leg.

Acting on instinct, Raditz leapt into the air, scissoring his legs to catch Kakarott between them. The kid squawked and they hit the sand, rolling a way down the steep side of the dune before Raditz had the fortune of landing on his ass, enabling him to sit up and take charge. He had Kakarott between his knees, face down in the sand and he grabbed him by the legs even as Kakarott was wedging his knees back open like a jack.

'Hey!' said Kakarott as Raditz attempted to throw him off and down the slope, and he clung onto Raditz's thigh like a titanium vice. They struggled, and then they grappled, rolling further down the slope, each trying to pin the other while breaking the other's grasp.

Raditz was dismayed. When had Kakarott gotten so strong? Well, he knew when, but how can it have been so such a degree? The power ups they received couldn't have been so different that Kakarott now equalled him, could they? He cursed himself for resisting the old Namek – he'd far prefer to be altered in some small way than risk falling behind his younger brother!

Kakarott landed on his feet and leveraged against the sand to break free. In desperation Raditz swung out his long arms and grabbed Kakarott's tail.

'Murhh!' moaned the boy, crashing to the sand. Raditz let go quickly, feeling guilty. If Nappa or Vegeta were here they would have told him off for using such a cowardly move.

'That's your own fault for not keeping your tail tucked around your waist!' he told Kakarott. This was a good lesson for the boy to learn, but he knew he still shouldn't have done it. Kakarott just _couldn't_ be stronger than him! He should have played the fight to its conclusion and proved his superior strength.

He stepped away from the dazed brat, catching his breath.

'Goku's out!' called Puar. 'Krillin's turn!'

* * *

Bulma's hand scraped the bottom of the empty bowl beside her, and so she laid down to the book to check that none of the crispy fried tentacles remained. No, all gone. She sighed and stood, stretching her back. She'd baked on her front, her back and now her front again, but what she really needed was a break and a swim. And maybe a nice drink from the swim-up bar she's been eyeing since she got out here.

She slipped into the water, which was just the right temperature – not quite blood warm – and swam across the largest part of the pool to the bar. She was almost there when a head appeared from the water before her, with a long sheet of vibrant orange hair plastered over her scalp and back. Almost immediately and silently the woman, because it seemed to be a woman, dove back under the surface with a gleam of pale, naked back and a flash of green fish scales. Bulma was almost hit in the face by the wide, green fish tale that surfaced and then disappeared again with a splash.

'Ah!' She looked at the bar man, leaning out over his counter towards her. 'Was that a _mermaid?_ '

'Sure was,' he replied, grinning.

Forgetting all about the drink for now, she tracked the shape of the woman under the water towards the outer pools and paddled after her as fast as she could. Swimming down a channel lined with vegetation she lost sight of her for a second, but then saw the orange head reappear on the other side of a tiny sand island with a sun umbrella and loungers on it. Excited, she hurried on, giving up on swimming as she got to the shallower far side, and wading instead. Did this mean that maybe mermaids were a real phenomenon – just not an Earthly myth? Was this just a co-incidence of naming? Or did Earthlings have some sort of ancestral memory of other beings from outer space who maybe visited Earth, or even use to live there? This raised so many questions!

_I should have brought a camera!_

Bulma now entered a narrow, uneven channel made of natural rock that widened out into a pool. Small waves rippled across it from the far side. It was not clear whether this was still swimming pool of if this was now part of the natural landscape. The mermaid was lounging in the shallow water, her tail glittering in the sun just under the water, and the rest of her bare except for literal sea shells cupping her small breasts. Bulma couldn't help but stare as the mermaid looked up in alarm, apparently surprised by Bulma's entrance.

'Excuse me-' she started, but the mermaid darted as quick as the fish her hindquarters resembled, slicing through the water of the rock channels towards the sea. Bulma caught her breath, but then continued on, more cautiously. Perhaps mermaids were not creatures of higher sentience, but wild and wordless? She would try approaching quietly and observing from a distance.

The water was only knee deep now, though this surged higher and lower with the waves washing in. The sound covered Bulma's footfalls and she crouched low. Up ahead she saw one glimpse of hair trailing on the surface of the water, but then it was gone. When she got to the same place she saw that the channel broke up into several openings between rocks. There was no sign of the mermaid; she could have gone any way and be out to sea.

Disappointed, she stood up straight again and saw she'd come alongside the rugged spire of rock that gave the resort its name – Mermaid's Rock. And then she stared, seeing the draped forms of several mermaids around its base, like seals hauled up to sun themselves.

 _Maybe it's a breeding colony_ , she thought to herself. _Do mermen exist? Maybe I can get a bit closer to see_.

She started climbing the rock next to her – they were nice and rounded and weathered and easy on her bare feet – reaching over the top to get a better handhold and getting a handful of something soft and fleshy. Two voices exclaimed in shock at once and the head and shoulders of the mermaid Bulma had been following appeared above her, glaring down in outrage.

'What the actual fuck?' the mermaid screeched. 'You full-on groped me!'

'I'm sorry!' said Bulma, stepping back down into the water. 'I was just trying to climb the rock, and I didn't see you up there.'

'No, you _followed_ me out here,' corrected the mermaid. 'Triton, I don't get paid enough to be stalked and molested by tourists!'

'I wasn't trying to molest you! I just wanted to meet a mermaid!'

'Well, if you want to "meet" a mermaid, go next door to the Mermaid Lounge! They actually get paid to entertain the guests!'

'Wow,' said Bulma, beginning to get over the surprise of the encounter. 'Hopefully they have better manners that _you_.'

'Fuck off,' said the mermaid, laying back down again. 'I'm just the living decoration.'

Bulma stomped and then swam angrily back to her lounger by the pool. As she waded ashore she noticed the sign over the garden gate to the left - The Mermaid Lounge. She told herself she was not interested and sat down, putting aside Dr Calliper's paper until her hands dried. But twenty minutes baking in the sun perversely cooled her down a bit. Now, what _was_ the Mermaid Lounge?

She picked up the paper and tip toed over the terrace to the tall gate. It was made of wrought iron, but with so much vine growing through it, it was hard to see much. She heard laughter and voices on the other side. People sounded like they were having a good time at least.

She undid the latch and went through the gate, finding herself in a smaller, but just as lovely garden and pool area. It was a little busier than the main pool, but straight away she noticed that there were a lot more women in this area than the other. She felt a little unsure – was this the employee's area or something? All the women were young looking, or at least the ones of a species she could guess the age of were young, and they were all bikini clad. A few men wandered around, chatting to the women in turns, and she figured they must know each other as there was a lot of flirting going on. Maybe this was where all the receptionists and chambermaids hung out? But it seemed too nice to be a staff bar. The sun loungers were cushioned with fancy fabrics here, and nestled under the veranda was what looked like a small dancefloor, and there were sofas and swing seats, too. A VIP area?

Figuring that if she wasn't supposed to be here they would ask her to leave, she picked an unoccupied swing seat and dropped the paper in it. The lounge had two bars – one under the veranda and the other a swim up one in the pool. Bulma decided to live out her daydream of using the swim-up bar and headed into the water again, getting to the shade of the awning and taking a seat on the underwater stool.

'What'll it be, miss?' asked this bartender, smiling at her like she was an adorable kid.

She picked up the drinks menu. 'I just need a minute or two.'

She read through an extensive cocktail menu, completely lost. She decided she did want a cocktail, but all the names and ingredients were foreign to her. She was still reading when a movement from the side of her eye made her look down at the water next to her. A head broke the surface; another mermaid! This one had electric pink hair and purple scales, and she surged up to the bar, placing her hands on it and bending like an S to sit on the stool. She definitely wasn't a woman in a mermaid suit – no one with thigh bones and shin bones could bend like that. This one's breasts weren't covered with shells – they weren't covered with anything. As soon as she was seated she turned to Bulma, who flinched, expecting to be told off for staring.

'Hiya,' she smiled. 'Are you the new girl?'

New girl? Apparently the mermaid thought she was an employee. Maybe this was the staff bar after all? Bulma blushed. 'Ah, no. I'm a guest, actually. I just wandered in here because I was curious, you know?'

The mermaid laughed. 'Oh, it's fine! Curiosity is the start of many adventures. How long are you here for?'

'A couple of days, I think. I'm not sure yet.'

'You checking out other places on-planet?'

'Yeah, probably. We just flew in last night and chose this place as a nice, quiet wind down after travelling.' She felt awkward making small talk with these half-truths, and the mermaid's gorgeous face made it hard to concentrate. She wasn't attracted to girls, but this one had large, amazingly purple irises that glittered like crystal shards, and the curves of her face were so soft and shimmery it was like she was formed of a single petal bent to the shape of an angel. When she spoke, her voice was beautiful too, like the soft chimes of small silver bells. She felt like a hoarse-throated lumberjack next to the mermaid.

'Yeah, it's nice here,' agreed the mermaid. 'A good place to relax. So, you here with your husband? Boyfriend?'

Bulma shook her head.

'Girlfriend?'

'No. Just travelling with a group of friends. But they're all guys,' she said, completely discounting Puar. Then she thought of Nappa and Vegeta. 'Well, actually, I say friends, but only _some_ of them are my friends. The others are just guys I have to put up with.'

'Well, that doesn't sound like much fun. Can't you ditch them?'

'No, I'm kind of stuck with them for the time being. We have kind of an agreement. They do things for me and I do things for them.'

'Oh, I know the type of agreement,' she said knowingly. Bulma wondered what the thought she knew. 'The kind you regret once it's too late to back out of, right?'

'I guess if could go that way,' said Bulma, 'but no. I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed the contract. I just have to endure.'

'Yeah,' the other woman agreed, stretching and draping herself across the counter, her outstretched neck showing off the gills on the side of her throat. 'It's an endurance, all right.' She winked. 'I bet you're missing some girl time, am I right?'

'Oh, _yes_!' said Bulma, wondering if it would be too weird to tell a stranger about her relationship woes. 'You know, I think this is the most words I've said to another woman in weeks. I can hardly think of the last time, actually. Well, a grown woman, that is. I feel like I've almost forgotten how to do it.'

'You seem to be doing all right to me! I get it. You miss girl-company when all you have is the dudes you're working for to put up with. I'm cool with it - I like my girl-time, too.' She raised a brow, still smiling. 'So, does that mean you're buying?'

Bulma looked down at the menu in her hand. Did she want her to buy her a drink? She wasn't sure. That seemed odd, but then again, she was sitting in a bar on a planet she'd never heard of until a few days ago, so who knew what the social expectations were? They had enough money right now – she could afford to at least offer a drink.

'Of course,' she said. 'Do you want a cocktail?' She offered her the menu. 'I can't decide because I have no idea what's what.'

The mermaid took the waterproof menu and opened it at the second page. 'Well, I like this one, but you're not a mermaid, so I don't think you will. Unless you do like fermented molluscs?'

'No, I don't think I do, actually.'

'Do you like sweet drinks? Fruity? Creamy? Tangy? Bitter?'

'I think all of those, except bitter.'

'Well, lots of the girls say this one is very good. It's tangy and fruity and blue. Sound good?'

'I guess, yeah.'

She turned to the bartender. 'Hey, Muso, one Oyster Purse and one Blue Lagoon Night for the guest.'

'Coming up! What's the room number?'

'One thirty one,' Bulma supplied and then watched the tender assemble the drinks. The guy had no hands, but four tentacles coming from his upper torso, complete with suckers which he used to pick up, spin and pour multiple bottles at once. Bulma felt a little guilty queasy thinking about the deep fried tentacles she'd eaten earlier.

The mermaid trailed a hand down her arm, calling her attention back to her. The gesture was overly familiar, but Bulma figured she was just very friendly.

'What's your name?' she asked dreamily.

'Bulma. What's yours?'

'Starfish,' she replied.

'Oh, wow, pretty name.'

'Yeah? My mother thought so. And so did the mothers of about twelve other girls in my school.' She laughed softly. 'We Starfish are as common as our namesakes.'

'Surely you can't be that common? I mean… Well, actually I don't know. Are there many mermaids? I've never heard of a real one before.'

'Oh, yeah,' Starfish laughed a little again, but this time it sounded sad. 'We are a little _endangered_.'

Bulma wondered if she had reminded the woman about something painful, and then realised…

'My people are endangered, too.'

'Really? Let me guess – the Planet Trade Organisation?'

'Yes,' said Bulma, her throat starting to close with anxiety. What was she doing here drinking cocktails with a stranger when she should be doing everything she could to get her planet and people back?

'Well, that's life in a capitalist Galaxy for you. Sure does suck at times.' The barman placed the drinks before them and the mermaid picked up the murky grey one. 'But hey, I'm sitting here in Baccanelli drinking mollusc ferment from the Coromandel Constellation and rum from Sorretta, so it can't be _all_ bad!'

Bulma sipped her drink to ease the lump in her throat. It was quite good, but she sucked it back as fast as she could, thinking to hurry back to the room as soon as she was done, where she could actually concentrate on her reading. There was a lull in the conversation, and she could feel Starfish watching her. Then the girl slid off her stool and came closer.

'Did bad stuff happen to you?' she asked.

Bulma looked at her in surprise. How did she know? 'Yes.'

'Oh,' said Starfish, slipping an arm around Bulma's shoulders and squeezing her. 'You poor girl.'

Bulma was closer than she wanted to be to the mermaid's naked breasts.

'I'm fine, it's okay,' she said, attempting to lean out of the embrace a little without hurting the woman's feelings. She wasn't sure if Starfish was drunk or just overly sympathetic, but she was way more comfortable with nudity than Bulma was. Looking around she reached for the first thing her eyes alighted on – something that looked like a little specials menu, standing up on the counter, only it displayed time, not food. Half an hour, a whole hour, day time up to eight hours, overnight and Private Pool per hour.

'What's this?' she asked.

'Oh, that's the prices of course,' said Starfish.

'What's the private pool?' asked Bulma, astonished by the price. Two thousand credits per hour? Even in the most exclusive spa her mother liked to visit, a private pool only cost a fraction of the equivalent in zeni.

'That's what you'll have to get if you want me to come with you,' Starfish laughed, still refusing to let go of her.

'Why?' asked Bulma. She was starting to feel like she was missing something of the puzzle here.

'Because I don't do very well out of water, silly!' she replied, flicking the end of her tail up out of the water.

'Is it really worth that much?'

Starfish gave a sharp jerk on her shoulders. 'Of course it is! It's the absolute best!' And then she laughed, softening all over again. 'A mermaid isn't your average girl.'

'Hey, ladies,' said a voice behind them. Bulma turned in her seat, breaking the hold Starfish had on her. Two men stood behind them, chest deep in water. Both were fleshy tan, but both were covered in elaborate folds of skin that hung like ruching over their bodies and faces, though other than that they looked quite human. Looking at the dark eyes under hanging skin, Bulma had the distinct impression she was talking to a pair of Shar-Pei puppies, the way they grinned playfully at them.

'We couldn't help noticing the two of you lovelies getting cosy together out here, and wondered if you'd like to join us in a private pool,' said the slightly shorter one.

'Sorry, boys, but I've already been hired,' said Starfish.

'Oh,' he said, disappointed.

'I can call one of the other mermaids over, if you like,' said Starfish.

'Okay. That'd be nice.'

'What about you?' the taller one asked Bulma directly. 'You haven't been hired yet, have you?'

Bulma frowned, for a second unable to work out why they were talking about her as if she was a pool for hireage. And then she _got it_.

Starfish wrapped a proprietary arm around Bulma again. 'Sorry, no, she's not for hire.'

'Why not?' asked the man, a bit annoyed.

'Because I'm not a whore!' snarled Bulma.

'Steady on,' said Starfish, tittering nervously. 'You say it like it's a bad thing.'

The man looked properly annoyed now. 'You look like a whore to me.'

Bulma could feel her wrath swelling, fed by her embarrassment.

'Why? Because I'm wearing swimwear?'

'You're in here!'

'She's a customer!' said Starfish.

'Well, you look like an asshole,' said Bulma. 'Do you want to know how I know? Because you're in here!'

' _I'm_ an asshole?' said the man. 'You're in here too!'

'Look, boys,' said Starfish sweetly. 'Back off, and chose one of the other lovely ladies, or Muso here will see you out.' On cue the bartender laid his thick tentacles on the bar in a menacing manner.

The taller man huffed and strode back off through the water to the shore. His friend shrugged in apology and followed.

'Now, where were we?' asked Starfish as they watched them go, and then slipped herself into Bulma's lap. Bulma sat up in alarm, dropping the mermaid.

'What's wrong?' asked Starfish.

'Sorry, I just have to go back to the room,' said Bulma.

'Did you forget something?'

'No, I… I can't hire you,' she said. She wondered if she should tell her that she wasn't into girls, but that would make herself look like the utter fool she was.

'Why not?'

'I can't spend that much money,' said Bulma, and decided to lay the blame elsewhere. 'The guys will hit the roof if they find out I spent that much.' She started swimming back to shore again, but with a powerful surge, Starfish shot past her and rounded on her.

'Wait a second! I just totally told those guys to take a hike for you! And _now_ you're saying you won't hire me?'

'I'm sorry,' said Bulma, and went around her, getting her feet under her and almost running up the shore to the paper she left in the swing seat.

'Unbelievable!' cried Starfish behind her. 'Triton's tits, do you know how much money you just cost me?'

People were staring as she hurried out, via a door under the veranda this time, back into the lobby, she saw the Shar-Pei guy talking to a woman at a desk she hadn't noticed before. He gestured sharply at her, but she didn't stop, instead walking as fast as she could back to the suites.

* * *

Vegeta brooded in the waiting room, ignoring all the other miserable inmates. He had made this appointment this morning as soon as he had awoken, going down to reception to ask for their knowledge about the best place. The man who took his call had said he could squeeze him into the afternoon schedule, as Vegeta had insisted it was urgent, and so he had arrived at the appointed time, but still he'd been kept waiting more than an hour, filling in forms and trying to keep his irritation in check. When he'd complained to the same man who'd answered the phone on reception, the man had explained that that was the nature of the hospital's imaging department – that appointments might run overlong, or be moved aside for emergencies.

'Your own appointment, being last minute, will have pushed out the times of those who come after you,' the man concluded in mild admonishment.

Snarling, Vegeta had sat down again.

Now a willowy, scaled and olive green woman wandered absently into the waiting room, reading a tablet.

'Victor Prince?' she read out from the tablet, looking up.

Vegeta was on his feet in an instant, and the woman smiled automatically, even though Vegeta certainly wasn't.

'I'm doctor Velocerapper. This way,' she motioned, pointing down a corridor that technicians, doctors and gown clad patients wandered between offices and suites. 'Your father can join you if you need a support person, or he can stay here in the waiting room, whichever you prefer,' she added.

Vegeta stopped, wondering what she was talking about, and then glanced back at Nappa who had gotten to his feet also. Nappa grinned.

'Do you need me, _son?_ '

'Shut up, you old fart,' Vegeta muttered. 'But yes, come with me.'

He followed the woman down the corridor until they turned into a small office with a small window that looked out over the pleasant Metrophilia street below. They arranged themselves in the wooden framed chairs, Nappa barely fitting, and the doctor turned over the notes again.

'Now before we get started, I'm just missing one or two things,' she said. 'You never filled out the species field in our patient form. I can see you're a bipedal warm-blood, and you can breathe in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, but I will need a little more than that.'

'You won't have heard of our species,' Vegeta said.

'Perhaps not, but our databases certainly will have.'

'No, not even these will have it,' Vegeta lied. 'We are an unlisted species from an unchartered planet. You won't have our species on the database.'

The doctor made a face of disbelief. 'Then how do you come to be _here?_ '

'We are an unknown race, not a primitive one.'

'Well, this could be a problem. I'm not sure how well we can assess you without some idea of your anatomy.'

'We're similar to Hathasan,' replied Vegeta quickly. 'And Qorr. Maybe even Grenouillean to an extent.'

The doctor frowned. 'I guess that gives us a ball park in terms of brain and cranial structure. Now it says here that you think you may have a foreign body lodged in your head? Is that so?'

'Yes.'

'What sort of object are we talking about?'

Vegeta stared at her. 'A piece of electronics. Perhaps a circuit of some sort.'

'Oh. Big? Small?'

'I wouldn't know.'

' _Alright_. How did it come to be there?'

'Surgically implanted.'

'Is it causing you pain?'

'No!' Vegeta growled. 'I put all this in the form!'

'I know, but I'm looking for more clues about what we're dealing with. You'd be surprised what people leave out of their forms. _How long_ has it been there?'

'I _don't know_.'

'Why is it there?'

'You don't need to know that.'

'Well, who put it there?'

'You don't need to know that either! Will you do the imaging or not?'

She looked taken aback and looked at Nappa as if expecting him to answer for his "son's" manner. 'I'm just wondering if there is actually something in your head or not, as you don't know when, who or what is in there. What makes you think that there's anything there at all?'

'I was told there was, and this is why I am here – to find out!'

'Agreed, it would be good to know, but I am failing to understand just what is so urgent about knowing. Someone could just be messing with you if you haven't had any symptoms.'

'It _is_ urgent. Take my word for it.'

'Is that so?' she asked Nappa.

'Yep.'

She waited for further explanation, and when it didn't come she sighed and wrote a few things on the tablet.

'Well, as I have already shifted my appointments for the afternoon, and a quick scan should put your mind at rest…' she said, rising to her feet. 'Follow me.'

The next room over was dominated by a console, a massive machine and a gurney.

'No need to change as we're only doing your head.'

Vegeta removed his earpiece and neck tie and laid himself on the gurney, and the doctor wedged his head between foam pads to immobilise him.

'Don't move,' she warned him.

The gurney slid into the machine. Vegeta stared up at the smooth beige cladding of the space he was inside and waited. But nothing happened.

'When are you going to do the scan?' he called out.

'I was doing the scan, and now I will have to start over,' replied the doctor over an intercom that rang around the machine. 'If you keep still this time, please, it can be over in just a minute.' Pouting with irritation, Vegeta endured another minute before his gurney slid back out of the machine, and then he joined Nappa and the doctor behind the console.

'Is it there?' he asked sharply.

The doctor frowned. 'It's too early to say. I need to review the data, so if you could return to the waiting room, please.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' said Vegeta, almost beside himself by now. 'It can't be that hard to interpret a foreign object inside someone's skull!'

The doctor looked at him humourlessly. 'Mr Prince, I must ask you to calm yourself or I shall call security to remove you. Would you like that?'

'No!' snapped Vegeta, and then reigned himself in with effort, taking a seat slowly. The threat of a security guard didn't worry him at all, but it might mean he wouldn't get the results, which was the whole point. 'Sorry,' he said, forcing the word out. 'I will stay calm.'

Inside he was anything but calm. Inside he may or may not have a beacon implanted by Frieza, and Bulma may or may not have tried to fool him into being dependant on her.

The doctor gave him a cool smile with her thin reptilian lips and said, 'I'm afraid it's not a matter of calmness. I can see you are anxious to know the verdict, but I need some time for the computer to assemble the data and some quiet to interpret the results. There's a variety of refreshments downstairs, if you want to pass the time that way. Just let reception know that you will be down there and someone will come to collect you when it's time.'

Reluctantly they obeyed her, and because he couldn't stand the waiting room any longer, they went downstairs to the hospital food bar which was selling over-priced, pre-packaged, reheated junk, to waste another half an hour. Vegeta ordered a hot drink and sipped it very slowly, starting to feel sick, while Nappa ate several hot pies despite them having a large and tasty lunch only a couple of hours ago.

Vegeta had come up with the idea of getting someone else to test Bulma's assessment yesterday while wondering if he could ever bring himself to have brain surgery, and made the appointment from the hotel reception first thing in the morning before Bulma was even awake.

He and Nappa had spent the morning and part of the afternoon searching out places that sold the kind of hardware they envisioned Bulma needing while they waited for the appointment. At first they'd rather predictably only found consumer electronics, and there was no such thing as a market or even a warehouse for components and parts. But by asking around they had found that other businesses did hold parts for their own use and others. There was a robotics company that sold and serviced droids and automatons and also imported all manner of parts to repair and maintain them. There was also several computing stores with long lists of electronic components, and a couple of spaceship mechanic shops with many parts, and they all promised they could get any part required in. Not that Vegeta wanted to be waiting weeks for parts to come in for Bulma to do her thing. Having seen what was available he supposed he would have to bring her into town so she could see what she had to work with, rather than designing something they didn't have the time or the money to build. And it was going to be _expensive_. He could now very well see the possibility of running out of money on this greedy planet. They would have to sell the cargo on the freighter soon, and maybe the freighter itself if Bulma's plans were too grand.

Afterwards Nappa had managed to talk him into treating themselves to lunch at a fancy restaurant to 'cheer him up', but Vegeta's mounting anxiety about the imaging appointment had not been overcome so easily.

'What're you going to do if it's there?' Nappa asked between mouthfuls.

'Wear Bulma's signal blocker and hope it works,' said Vegeta without looking up.

'What're you going to do if it's _not_ there?'

'I don't know,' he answered honestly. 'Never trust her again for a start.'

Nappa snorted. 'You shouldn't trust her either way. She's not one of us, and she's got her own game.'

Vegeta grit his teeth.

* * *

Raditz took a break after sparring with Krillin. All three of the boys had been surprisingly hard to put down, and he felt rattled. He didn't want to fight Brolly when he was already puffed. Brolly was relieved when Raditz said he was taking a break, too.

'Spar amongst yourselves,' said Raditz, taking a seat in the sand between two large dunes to watch. After a little discussion, Krillin was paired with Brolly, and Tarble with Kakarott. Kakarott and Tarble got started straight away, and seemed fairly evenly matched, although Tarble seemed a little intimidated by Kakarott.

'They're so fast!' said Puar, who had joined him. I can't even follow them properly! Who is winning?'

'Well, they're only sparring so it's hard to say,' Raditz told her. 'Possibly they're about equal, but maybe not. If they were fighting properly though, my money would be on Kakarott. He's bold and takes risks, but Tarble is cautious and spends too long on the defensive.' Raditz rolled his eyes. Tarble was a classic loser, and it seemed like nothing would change that.

Puar looked the other way.

'But Krillin seems better that Brolly, though!' she said brightly.

' _What?_ ' The lack of any particular action on top of the other dune had made him forget about the other two, and what he saw now shocked him. _Brolly_ was _running away_ from Krillin!

'Stop!' he shouted, suddenly channelling his inner Nappa. 'What the hell do you call that?'

Krillin and Brolly looked at him and then back to each other.

'Sparring?' suggested Brolly.

'Maybe Krillin was sparring, but you were too busy running away,' replied Raditz. 'Start over.'

Krillin immediately brought his hands up and took a fighting stance. Brolly started to copy him, but only half-heartedly; his feet weren't planted wide enough, nor his hands high enough. He looked self-conscious, like someone who knew they had no idea what they were doing.

'Your feet a bit wider,' Krillin prompted, and Raditz rolled his eyes. As Krillin sprang forward, Brolly stepped back, raising his hands instinctively but turning his head. Krillin kicked him rather gently in the forearm, aiming for the proffered defence rather than actually trying to attack his openings, and Brolly batted him away.

'Oh, man,' groaned Raditz. 'Stop!'

The two boys halted again.

'Brolly, have you been trained _at all_?' asked Raditz harshly.

'No,' the boy admitted.

'But I've seen you hang Nappa out to dry! And you half destroyed Hortens before we rescued you!'

Brolly flushed red. 'I guess I didn't need training for that.'

Raditz screwed his face up. 'You've _watched_ us train for the last year or more! Did you not pick anything up? You're a Saiyan, and you fight like a shrinking violet! You should have more brass fresh out of the womb than that!'

Brolly lowered his head and glowered at the sand. Raditz sighed. Brolly would need to be trained from the ground up, and though he hadn't been keen to fight him before, the boy was currently useless and too intimidated to fight back properly. He decided that it was not as risky as he'd feared to get hands on with Brolly, at least not yet.

'Now, I know you have it in you, Brolly,' he said walking to the top of the dune. 'I just have to bring it out.'

'How?' asked Brolly.

'Like we did with Tarble – I'm going to beat it out of you!'

'Huh?' Brolly was petrified, but Raditz pounced, leg coming up to smack the boy around the head. Brolly was fast though, putting aside hesitancy in favour of lighting-evasion, throwing himself down the side of the dune and under the kick. Now that he'd gotten things moving, Raditz took things up a notch; he came down on Brolly from above while the kid was still trying to get to his feet on the sliding sand, and when Raditz saw his eyes open in anticipation, Raditz used his chi to accelerate into him elbow-first.

Breaking the rules just like Raditz had, though much less intentionally, Brolly used his own chi to try and push himself up and past Raditz to avoid the blow. The elbow grazed his ribs, but Raditz's shoulder still slammed into his chest, pinning him back down with an explosion of sand. Brolly lost his breath and dull pain bloomed through him. His heart, pounding in fright already, boomed and he felt himself inflating with potency born of outrage and fear. He moved on instinct, grabbing Raditz round the neck before he could disengage, and exploded up from the dune. He spun Raditz by the neck, releasing him in a cartwheel of muscled limbs to fly at high speed over the dunes and the oasis to crash into the cliff on the other side, shattering it. The quiet of the desert was rocked with the sound of immense blocks and small shards of rock raining down on each other and the gasps of the others. In that instant Brolly's fear flipped into concern for Raditz.

All four boys took to the air and headed into the rubble, but before they even got there they could see Raditz sitting up, heaving a jagged rock out of his lap and shaking rubble from his hear.

'Are you okay?' Brolly asked, and Raditz hooted, then grimaced.

'Of course I'm fucking okay!' he said, and then coughed and dragged himself up slowly, his expression betraying some amount of pain.

'I'm sorry,' said Brolly, worried that Raditz was about to get mad at him. 'I didn't mean to hurt you.'

Raditz made a face of disgust. 'Brolly, you idiot, I was _trying_ to get you to hurt me.'

'What? Why?'

'Why? If you want to be any use to us at all, you've got to learn not to run away. Do you know how ridiculous you look? _You_ , running away from _him?_ ' Raditz pointed at Krillin, making the Earthling pinken. ' _Why_ were you running away?'

Brolly knew why, but didn't want to say.

'You were scared,' Raditz finished for him eventually. 'Weren't you? Scared to take a hit, scared to give one.'

Brolly felt himself begin to burn in shame. 'It just doesn't seem natural, is all,' he replied quietly.

'It's _completely_ natural! You're a fucking Saiyan! A fucking _strong_ Saiyan! You need to get used to pain – giving it and receiving it.'

'But didn't it hurt, when you went through the rocks?'

'Of course it did, you moron! But I'm not afraid of a little pain! Vegeta's put me through ten times worse just in training and I bounce back to shape. Do you even realise how strong you are? How much you could take? You could just stand there all day while these three did all they could to hurt you, and if you didn't want them too, you'd be absolutely fine. In fact! That is going to be the next lesson.'

'What is?'

Raditz was still dusting himself, and coughed a bit more, his hand moving to his shoulder when he did.

'You're going to stand there and not move a muscle while Kakarott, Tarble and Baldie try and hurt you.'

'What?' cried Krillin and Puar. Brolly's fear came rushing back.

'That's a bit over the top, isn't it?' asked Krillin.

Raditz snorted. 'When we were trying to teach Tarble the same thing we had me, Nappa and Vegeta attack him all at once. Isn't that right, Tarble?'

Tarble nodded solemnly, and Brolly thought he looked just a tiny bit pleased.

'And he's still alive. So, Brolly doesn't have much to complain about.'

Brolly supposed he didn't, but his palms were sweaty and he shook a bit as he looked at his soon-to-be attackers. _Will I be all right?_ he asked himself, and though he knew that based on what Raditz said he would be fine, his body refused to accept it.

'Now, are you going to be a good boy and take your lumps without running away?'

Brolly started to hyperventilate, but he nodded. He needed to find the pride and courage to stick this out.

 _I should raise my chi!_ But he was so distracted facing the three small fighters that he could barely grasp his chi. They took positions around him, taking stances like they were about to fight.

Kakarott suddenly smiled at him.

'Don't look so worried, Brolly!' he said. 'I think Raditz is right.'

Brolly hoped he was.

'Now get on with it!'

* * *

Bulma was thoroughly embarrassed by the misunderstanding in the Mermaid Lounge, and very glad none of the boys were around to see it. The Resort had seemed a lovely place to relax, and now she couldn't wait to leave. She was also no longer feeling grown up, nor very brave about navigating alien planets alone.

_What kind of an establishment runs a brothel inside a resort, anyway?_

She showered the sea salt off and was still towelling her hair when a knock came at the door. The sound jangled her nerves, but she told herself that it was probably only housekeeping, and not to be silly. She wrapped the towel around her and went to answer the door.

Two men stood outside, and Bulma closed the door again immediately.

'Please open the door, Miss,' one of them said. 'We would like to talk to you.'

'Who are you?' she called out.

'Hotel management,' he replied.

'If you're hotel management then you'd be able to let yourself in!' she said, and then regretted doing so as the door beeped cheerfully and sprang open. She staggered back several steps and prepared to flee to the bathroom. Even though she'd made the comms devices waterproof this time, she'd taken it off to wash her hair.

'Do you mind?' she screamed. 'I'm not dressed!'

'Sorry,' replied the first man, sounding everything but. The two were the same species – both a similar tawny shade with patterns of glossy brown feathers down the side of their faces and backs of their arms, and pointed muzzles that distorted their speech somewhat. 'Though I would have thought that a woman in your occupation was rather beyond modesty.'

'What the hell? My occupation? What do you think I am?'

'A prostitute, madam. One of the girls in the lounge reported that you were here with a group of men, as their travelling sex worker. But we do not allow prostitutes to operate in this hotel except for our own. It states this quite clearly in the house rules.'

'I'm not a prostitute!' she screamed, going red in the face. 'I never said that! She got the wrong end of the stick!'

'And there was also a very irate guest claiming that you were touting for business in the Mermaid Lounge and then you insulted him and refused his business.'

'I refused because I'm not a prostitute!' she yelled again.

'Are you saying he lied as well?'

'Yes! Are you saying you believe him over me?'

'Well, two accounts against one certainly points the finger at you, madam. Starfish and the guest have nothing to gain by lying.'

'Starfish was just pissed off because she thought I was going to hire her, but I wasn't! And I was only in the lounge by mistake! I had no idea it was a brothel!'

Oh man, she was done with these people! She turned and ran to the bathroom.

'Where are you going?' demanded the first man as she closed and locked the bathroom door.

'It's all right,' said the second, 'she can't go anywhere that way.'

Bulma shoved her clothes back on, nearly blubbering as she shouted out, 'Why won't you believe me? I'm a manager of a sports team!'

'I find that highly unlikely that a band of blood-sport competitors would hire a young woman as a manager.'

'Sexist, ageist fuckers!'

'Please don't make this any harder than it needs to be, madam. If you leave the premises quietly we will waive the fine, but if you make this difficult we will call the police.'

'I'm calling the guys!' she warned them.

'Now there's no need to be making a scene! The men are welcome to stay as long as they don't bring another escort back to the hotel.'

Bulma was outraged by this discrimination. 'Damn, you!'

* * *

A young nurse hurried down the stairs and looked around, then made a beeline for Vegeta and Nappa, starting to run before apparently remembering herself and walking instead.

'Victor Prince?' she guessed as she came close. 'Could you come back upstairs, please?'

They found themselves in a larger office this time. The doctor stood beside a wall-mounted lightbox and a holographic unit, and another man sat to the side, both his sets of long, purplish arms crossed, and his legs, too.

'Who's this?' Vegeta asked immediately, suspicious.

'This is Doctor Gorognroth, a consulting surgeon here at the hospital. I've asked him in here to give his own assessment of what we found.'

A chill went down Vegeta's spine.

The doctor waved an arm and a grey-toned holograph of Vegeta's head appeared from the holographic unit, three feet high. She flicked her wrist once and Vegeta's skin was gone, leaving a polished bone skull that made him grimace, then flicked it again to reveal his brain. It was coloured differently in different sections that he guessed indicated different structures.

Now the doctor did something else that turned the whole thing semi-transparent, and zoomed in. It wasn't hard to miss the hard edged object nestled low in the centre, coloured dark violet for added contrast.

'Urh, it's really there,' observed Nappa. 'Damn.'

Vegeta felt sick, but resisted the urge to grip his skull.

'Yes, it was rather easy to see,' said Dr Velocerapper. 'I could have called you back in a moment after you left, but first I wanted to have some answers for your inevitable questions, which is why I asked Doctor Gorognroth to attend. He is a brain surgeon.'

'Can it be removed?' Vegeta asked to gaunt looking surgeon as he unfolded himself from his seat.

'Well, assuming that your species _do_ have similar brain structures to the Hathasan and Qorr, and it does _look_ like you do, with some variety in the sizes of each area, then I would say most likely not. Or at least not without a rather high chance of brain damage or even death. It is nestled right between the amygdala and the pons, one of which regulates memory formation, emotions and fear response, and the other controls your breathing, heartbeat and other involuntary functions.'

Vegeta said nothing, absorbing the blow. Bulma hadn't been lying, and all his hope rested on her now.

'I'm quite surprised that someone managed to get the thing in there,' the doctor went on, moving to the hologram and using his hands to zoom in further. The image was amazingly detailed – tiny folds and striations could be seen on his brain even when the area they were looking at could only be an inch cubed at most. 'I mean, it's precisely placed with minimal scarring, but whoever did it showed remarkable recklessness towards your well-being.'

 _No kidding_.

'Now, as to the nature of this thing…' The doctor rotated around the beacon. It was a cylinder with curved top and bottom like a capsule and a tail snaking out into his brain stem with little hooks holding it in place. 'Would you say that looks like a piece of electronic equipment?'

'Yes,' agreed Vegeta, tonelessly.

'These hooks are why I think we can't remove it. It will cause a lot more damage coming out than going in, I think. Quite devious. Now, we have no idea what this is, but my colleague and I thought that perhaps this device was being powered by your body's own electrical energy, like some brain implants for injuries and enhancements. But what does it do, and is it medically harming to you? That's the real question. Having a look at this scaring, it seems well healed and old, so I would guess you've been carrying this thing for years. Have you had any neurological symptoms?'

Vegeta shook his head.

'And you, the boy's father, have you noticed and change of behaviour or ability in your son over the years?'

Nappa thought hard. 'Not so much, other than is normal for a boy growing up. Or maybe, not even that much.'

Vegeta cast Nappa a dark look, but the big man was being serious.

'He's always been a serious and thoughtful kid, and clever too. Bad tempered sometimes, but he's always been that.'

'Well, I can only think that if it's not altering your behaviour that maybe it's some sort of tracking or monitoring device. It does remind me of the trackers we need to put in our pets on this planet, though of course, we don't go to the extreme of burying them in their brains! Obviously someone wanted this device to be very secure and next to impossible to remove.'

'And you have no idea who put this inside your head?' asked Dr Velocerapper.

'I have _some_ idea,' Vegeta said softly.

'Can you tell us who?' she asked gently. 'It might help us figure out what it does.'

' _Enemies_.'

'You must have quite the enemy for a boy your age if they're willing to go to this extreme,' said Dr Gorognroth. 'I'm sorry that this has been done to you.'

Vegeta was sorry, too. He felt all the energy drained out of him. He would be tracked by the PTO until he was caught, or died, or Frieza was dead. He took a seat. He was going to be reliant on Bulma's signal blocker. Would that protect him forever? He felt a surge of gratitude and relief towards her then. She hadn't been lying; and she was trying to protect him, even if it was for her own ends. Despite whatever Nappa said, he felt he _could_ trust her, at least with his life and ambitions. He even felt some gratitude to the doctors who it seemed were only trying to help, too.

'Are you all right?' asked Velocerapper. 'Can we get you anything?'

'I know it's a shock,' said Gorognroth.

'I'm fine,' said Vegeta woodenly.

'The hospital will do all it can to help,' said Gorognroth, 'but I'm just not sure what direction to take this now. Do you want to talk to the police? This may be evidence of a crime. They could bring charges against the person who did this to you, or even send out an arrest warrant to the Galactic Patrol if the person is not on planet.'

'No,' said Vegeta. 'No police.' He looked up at the highly detailed hologram. He was fairly sure he could be identified by this, and even if not, if the images were sent out across various agencies someone in the PTO may recognise the tracker for what it was.

'Can this be erased from your system?' he asked, nodding at the hologram.

'Yes,' said Gorognroth. 'But you shouldn't need to. You're covered by patient confidentiality here.'

'Against the request of all agencies?' asked Vegeta. He knew Cold Law. Nothing was off guards to Lord Frieza.

'Well, not _all_.'

'Wipe it. And any record of my appointment. For your own safety as well as mine.'

Both doctors froze in shock.

'Who-' started Velocerapper, but then she jumped in fright as her own tablet chimed.

'What's that?' asked Vegeta.

'Just the results come back from the comparative anatomy search,' she said, flicking the screen open. 'I wanted to make sure we were comparing you to the nearest species using your scan as a key to search out database. It says your nearest match is... _Saiyan_?'

The atmosphere in the room, already tense, became icy. Vegeta felt it trickle down his spine as he looked at Gorognroth. The doctor's purple complexion was fading to mauve.

'Y-you're not actually...' started Velocerapper, but then faded off, perhaps thinking better of the question.

'Of course, we don't think you _are_ aSaiyan,' said Gorognroth. Velocerapper glanced at her tablet again and whatever she saw there made her clamp her thin lips shut.

'Erase the search, too,' Vegeta instructed. Velocerapper apparently made moves to do so. The hologram turned off.

'It's gone. It's all gone,' she said.

'You won't tell anyone?'

The two doctors shook their heads empathically. 'Patient information is strictly confidential,' Velocerapper insisted.

'Good.'

Nappa swung his arms in a circle, as if warming up.

'Wait outside,' Vegeta told him.

'What?'

'You heard me.'

The doctors looked confused as well as anxious as Nappa left them alone with Vegeta.

'Is he really your father?' asked Velocerapper.

'No.' Vegeta felt unutterably depressed. 'Thank you for your help,' he said, and dropped his eyes as relief washed over the doctors' faces. For whatever reason, their wish to help him had touched him. 'Thank you for telling me what I needed to know. And for your concern.'

'That's what we do,' said Gorognroth. 'Help people.'

'And I will thank you for your silence.'

'Of course.'

'As far as the world outside this room is concerned, this never happened,' added Velocerapper.

'Good.'

He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Nappa was on tenderhooks outside.

'What?' he whispered. 'You're just going to let them-'

'Shut up!' Vegeta spat back and stalked out of the corridor, through reception and down three flights of stairs to the lobby. Once they were safely across the street and into an empty service ally he grabbed Nappa and hauled him down to look him in the eye.

'Of course I can't let them live!' he hissed.

'Well, then why didn't you deal with it then?'

'You think I should have created a crime scene and started a manhunt looking for one giant idiot and one man who looks suspiciously like the Galaxy's Most Wanted?'

There was also the matter that he actually felt bad about it. This was new. Until now the only person that he had felt bad when he thought about killing them had been Bulma. He supposed he would not like to ever have to kill Puar, or Raditz, or Nappa, not that he'd seriously considered doing so. He realised now that he would also not like the thought of killing the other toerags, not even Kakarott, who he'd been about to kill without compunction only a month or so ago. Well, perhaps the jury was still out on Brolly, who he found far less biddable now than before his healing. But these doctors were strangers – he shouldn't care either way. What was coming over him?

'Oh,' said Nappa. 'So what's the plan?'

'Did you get a good chi reading on them?' Vegeta asked.

'Okay, I guess.'

'Good enough to track one of them?'

'Maybe.'

They chose a bar across the road from the front entrance and underground vehicle park of the hospital and seated themselves at the bench table that looked out the open window. Vegeta supposed there could be other exits, but it was not a large hospital by any means. Nappa had just brought back a pair of tall draughts for them to pass the time with when a call cut over the comms link, making Vegeta jump.

'Vegeta! You're got to come back and help me! The hotel management is trying to evict me! They think that because I'm one, pretty girl travelling with a bunch of guys that I must be a BYO whore or something!'

Vegeta was on his feet before he even thought about it, but Nappa brayed with laughter.

'That is too funny!'

Vegeta ignored him and touched his transponder. 'Did you tell them you weren't?'

'Yes! They didn't believe me, and they don't believe that I'm the team's manager, and they say they are going to get the resort police if I don't leave now! I locked myself in the bathroom. They can't get in without taking the doorhandle off, I think, but they say they will do it.'

'Stay there. I'll be back as soon as I can.'

'Thank you!'

Vegeta stepped back from the table, but Nappa caught his arm, then hurriedly dropped it again as he realised his mistake.

'Vegeta! You're not actually going back are you?'

'Yes.'

'But what about these doctors?'

'You can take care of it alone.' An idea that had some appeal.

'Oh, come on! She's only being evicted. At worst she'll spend a night in a police cell.'

'Well, I would rather not have any encounters of any kind with the police, and you have _no_ idea what the police will do with her – you're only guessing.'

'Then send one of the others. They're probably way closer anyway.'

Vegeta eyed Nappa with annoyance. He didn't like the thought of sending someone else. He'd much rather sort this situation out himself.

Nappa raised one brow. 'Would you really put yourself out so much for a girl?'

Slowly, Vegeta sat back down again, angry with himself and angry with Nappa. He doubled tapped his transponder. 'Raditz?'

'Yes, boss?'

'How close are you to the hotel?'

'About ten minutes away if I hurry.'

'Do you have money?'

'Some.'

'Go take care of Bulma's problem.'

'Okay!'

'And make sure the police don't get involved! Use words and money if need be, but not fists! Understand?'

'Yeah, okay, I got it.'

Vegeta grabbed his beer and drank half of it down in one go while Nappa watched him carefully.

'You're still acting like that nervous butterfly over her,' he big man suggested lightly.

'Shut up, Nappa,' he said, slamming his glass down and causing the remainder to slosh up and out the window.

'Well it pains me to see it. If you could see yourself… Well, if you want my advice-'

'I tried your advice!' Vegeta cut him off. 'It didn't work!'

'Huh? Which advice?'

'To "get it out of my system"!' Vegeta hissed in contempt. 'It didn't work!'

Nappa was shocked. 'You had sex with her?'

' _Yes!_ ' He knew he might regret admitting this, but he was sick of the older man's attitude towards him on the subject and was ready to rub Nappa's worthless advice in his face.

'I also said _don't_ have sex with her!'

'By which time it was too late!' lied Vegeta. Yes, he had ignored Nappa's later advice because it had suited him to at the time, but he wasn't about to tell Nappa that.

Nappa fell into silence for a while, looking at his beer while Vegeta glared out of the window.

'Well, if you've gone that route,' Nappa said eventually, 'you've only gone part of the way. You need to follow through.'

'You never mentioned a "follow through".'

'Well, I'm mentioning it now. You've gone step one, and now you've got to take step two.'

This was so frustrating! Now he felt like a clueless brat again. ' _What_ is step two?'

'I'll show you later when we get back to the hotel.'

'Tell me.'

'No, it's better if I show you, I think.'

Vegeta growled, but let it drop. He felt an uncomfortable sensation, like someone had claws in his chest, pulling him towards the hotel and telling him to go make sure everything was okay, and it filled him with anxiety almost like a pain to ignore it. He shouldn't feel like this. He knew he shouldn't. He didn't like to admit that there was anything wrong, either, and even less submit to be helped, but a little voice inside was telling him he was broken somehow.

_You've got to let Nappa fix us, because I can't stand feeling like this!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yep, you guessed it - we've come to the end of my chapter buffer, and they'll be another while to wait for the next. However, don't lose faith, my followers! I will return. In the meantime offering of reviews and fan art will keep the spirit alive! (Hee hee hee! Nothing flatters a fic writer's swollen, needful ego like fan art for their story. Bitchii-usa on Tumbler did one a while back for the freezer scene, and I just thought I'd mention that here. It made me squee.)
> 
> Many thanks to Adli again for her excellent beta-mation. I am always grateful.


	60. Gin and Sympathy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello everybody! Thanks to Adli for her beta magic again.
> 
> We left the last chapter of Never Ever Land with Bulma locked in a bathroom being harassed by hotel officials wanting to throw her out for soliciting, Vegeta in a bar with Nappa awaiting the chance to murder some good Samaritans, and the boys taking turns beating up on Brolly. Let's see how it all shakes out.

Bulma had rifled through her wardrobe, turning up the closest things to weapons she could find – hair scissors and curling tongs. She clutched the scissors and had gone to plug the other in only to realise of course that no one had yet invented an Earth-to-Baccanelli power point adaptor. She held the tongs by the cord instead, ready to swing them at whoever came through the door.

The sound of the electric screwdriver stopped, and she tensed, ready to attack and scream, but instead of the manager and his cronies bursting in, there was a conversation outside.

'What are you doing to our manager?'

'Rad- Randy!' she cried, remembering to use the codename at the last second. 'Don't let these morons throw me out!'

'That  _is_  the idea, Bulma,' Raditz replied.

'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't quite believe that this woman  _is_  your manager,' the hotel manager explained. He sounded far less aggressive than when he had spoken to her. She had grown used to the sight of Raditz by now, but his towering height and bulging biceps and quadriceps were an intimidating sight, and it must be working in their favour now.

'Why not?' he asked. 'Can't you take a person at their word about who they are? Do you make all your hotel guests prove their occupations?'

'No, but we must protect our income streams, and we have reason to believe that she is in fact your group's hired companion – something which goes against our house rules. We are willing to allow you and your teammates to continue staying here, but the woman must go.'

'Is that so? But Bulma  _isn't_  a hooker, she's our manager, and if she leaves, we're all leaving, and I don't think we'll be paying our bill in that case!'

'What! Not pay – do you – the breakfast buffet!' The threat appeared quite effective; the man became incoherent with indignation.

'Well, that's only fair when you evict one of us and insult her to boot! What makes you think she's a hooker anyway?'

'She said as much to one of our own in-house escorts.'

'I DID NOT!' Bulma screamed. 'I didn't know Starfish was a hooker, and we were talking at cross-purposes! I only said that I was working and travelling with a group of guys!  _She_  was the one who assumed I meant as a hooker!'

There was a pause outside which Raditz broke, his tone dropping lower, a touch of snarl in it.

'Sounds to me like your evidence is  _bullshit_. So is insulting one of us with accusations like this! Now, if you let us be, maybe me and my teammates will forget about all of this and we'll settle our bill at the end of our stay.'

Bulma had no idea what Raditz was doing out there, but there was the sound of movement outside, like several people were scampering away from the door.

'If not,' said Raditz, 'we'll be leaving right away, and telling everyone who will listen about this shitty resort run by pompous dickweeds.'

When the hotel manager spoke again it was from a much greater distance.

'No need to reach to profanity, sir! I will give the girl the benefit of the doubt this time, and we'll call this a misunderstanding. But tell her to keep away from the Mermaid Lounge.'

'If you called it the Mermaid Brothel people wouldn't go wandering in by mistake!' Bulma shouted out, though it was doubtful if she was heard. A few seconds later there was a knock on the door.

'I think it's safe to come out now.'

She unlocked the door, and stepped out, looking around Raditz but seeing no one else in the room.

'Where's Vegeta?' she asked.

'What? No thank you?' complained Raditz. 'Just "Where's Vegeta?"'

She scowled at him, plenty of anger still left to burn off after her unpleasant experience. 'He said he was coming so I thought he'd be here!'

'Well, he changed his mind and sent me instead.'

Bulma was stung. She wasn't worth Vegeta's time after all. 'Thank you,' she muttered ungraciously, and then noticed how dusty he was. He'd taken off his Capsule Corp T-shirt and slung it over his shoulder, but it was in ribbons, and the back of his pants were scuffed and torn. He looked thoroughly disreputable, which had probably helped scare the hotel staff back out of the room. As she watched he let his wide shoulders droop and then he grimaced, one hand reaching out to grip the other shoulder.

'What happened to you?' she asked.

'Just training,' he said. 'So, are you all right now? I'm going to go back to the ship and get in the tank.'

'Uh? You're going to leave me alone again?'

'They just agreed not to kick you out.'

'Yeah, but only because  _you_  were here!'

Raditz considered this. 'Yeah, maybe. So I guess you're coming back to the ship with me.'

* * *

Raditz spend half an hour in the tank whilst Bulma read a book upstairs. He got out and showered, and then called out, 'I'm done! Are you ready to go?' and she came skipping down the stairs.

'Of course.'

Raditz was quite glad that Vegeta had sent him back. It meant he'd been able to deal with his shoulder and neck without letting on to the brats how badly he'd been injured. He was pretty sure his scapula had been broken and his collarbone, too. He'd been hard pressed to not look sick with pain in front of them.

Brolly was dangerous. Possibly useful, but if he could only be goaded from passivity to uncontrolled violence he could accidentally kill them all in training - not an ideal outcome. If he could get over his fear of pain that would help. He idly wondered how the exercise he had set the boys on was going.

Out on the street he saw the questioning eyes of passers-by go up and down him and quickly away, the way most strangers did wherever he went, but now he noticed their gazes get stuck on Bulma, and then go back and forth between them. A street vendor with a basket of chilled, fresh cut flowers stepped out towards them, looked like she had second thoughts, then had third thoughts and continued on towards them.

'Fresh orchids, only fifty credits a stem!' the woman announced and held one out to Bulma for inspection. 'One of the most captivating blooms in the galaxy!'

'Ooh!' said Bulma, 'those colours are unreal! But I don't have any money on me.'

The woman looked up at Raditz coyly. 'An orchid for your lady, sir? She likes them.'

'Ha!' replied Raditz. 'Bulma's not dumb enough to need flowers,' and he grabbed Bulma's arm and dragged her on.

Now it occurred to him that perhaps the people they passed assumed he and Bulma were a couple. He snorted. He'd never been part of a couple, and he wasn't even sure if he'd been mistaken for being in a couple before. This was the longest amount of time he'd ever spend in the company of a female, and he realised now that he'd stopped actually thinking of Bulma as a female most of the time except for when she was being horribly and annoyingly female, or when she put her goods on display. Now she was just Bulma, but the way other men were looking at her reminded him that yes, she was a girl, and a pretty one. He tried to imagine being with someone like Bulma; getting chewed out by her, slapped by her, having to put up with her moods and demands (as a case in point, Bulma was almost as bad as Vegeta) but having her always around, and sleeping with her, having sex whenever the mood took him… It would be a different way to live, but maybe better than living with a bunch of grumpy Saiyan men and getting the chance to make it with a lady maybe once every few months if he was lucky. He knew it was un-Saiyan, but he could see certain attractions in the idea.

He was still thinking over the pros and cons of an ongoing relationship when they made it back to the hotel. Then he sat down in front of the TV and opened his capsule on the coffee table.

Bulma had followed him into the room and raised a brow at the bottle collection.

'You're breaking out the bar?'

'Why not?' he replied. 'I got some free time before Nappa and Vegeta get back, and the brats are busy beating up on Brolly.' He selected a bottle and opened it to sniff. He didn't recognise the name or the brand, but it seemed to be some sort of gin.

'Beating up on  _Brolly?_ ' she repeated in surprise. ' _Why?_  Is he okay? Shouldn't you go back on check up on him?'

'No,' snorted Raditz. 'He'll be fine. That kid has a frighteningly high power level, but he's a fucking coward. I ordered him to stand there while the others tried to hit him. I doubt they could do any real damage, and I'm sure they'll stop before he gets really hurt. I mean, this is Kakarott, Krillin and  _Tarble_  we're talking about. Oh, and Puar would probably start crying if things got out of hand.'

Bulma was reassured by this. True – her boys wouldn't take things too far, though she did worry about Brolly's state of mind during this.

'I'd be more worried about the others, in case Brolly snaps and hits back,' added Raditz, totally negating all the reassurance of his previous sentiment. 'Hey, fetch us a glass, would you?'

'Do I look like your servant, Raditz?'

Raditz hesitated. 'Queen Bulma, would you please bring me a glass and one for yourself, as you happen to be standing by the cabinet?'

She sighed and did so, taking the armchair next to the sofa he was sitting on. 'I only want a little,' she told him as she passed him both glasses. 'Just a taste.'

Raditz half-filled her glass with spirit before pouring his to the top. She took a sip and grimaced. 'That's strong!' she wheezed. 'And bitter.'

'It's a bit on the aromatic side,' agreed Raditz, his eyes watering after taking a gulp.

'What is it?'

'Coromandellian gin.'

Bulma got up and went to the chiller in the kitchenette. She'd seen a bottle of purple fruit juice in there earlier and figured that might make the gin more drinkable.  _Isn't that a common mixer for gin? Juice?_

She topped her glass up with juice, and it did make it a lot more palatable. 'Want some?' she asked Raditz, but he shook his head.

He turned the holographic TV on, and images spilled out into the room. Yet again, he started channel flipping, Bulma made noises of disapproval every time a porn channel preview came up, but he didn't settle on any of them. Instead they sipped in silence while he channel surfed.

'Gimme a turn,' Bulma demanded eventually, reaching out for the remote. He tossed it to her. There had been one channel that caught her interest – its logo was a model of the planet and the words 'Baccanelli Holiday Network' spinning around it. She flicked back to it, hoping to find out more about the planet. They watched commercials for swimwear and a restaurant chain, but the program that followed was not what Bulma hoped. It appeared to be a game show, with an orange hued host egging on a person who was blindfolded, sticking their arms through holes cut in a plastic screen to grope body parts of the person on the other side. The woman doing the groping was almost doubled over with laughter as she gingerly squeezed the scaled elbow and then the back of the thigh of the man, and a studio audience laughed on and on.

'Is it… Oh, I don't like to say,' the woman said between laughing. 'Is it  _cleavage?_ '

A buzzer sounded.

'No, sorry, and you're a point down. Would you like to guess the other one?'

The woman probed the thigh most vigorously while the man held his mouth in order not to laugh. He hand ranged higher until she pinched a handful of tough-looking buttock, and the man was unable to keep his laughter in.

'Two points left in the game, Constance,' the host said, interrupting the woman's hysteria. 'Is the person on the other side of the screen Terrerian, Dracinian, or Gordorian?'

'Well, they're not Gordorian,' she said. 'Terrerian?'

'And female or male?'

'Female, I think.'

A double buzzer sounded and the host and audience groaned.

'Oh, looks like you're wrong on both counts!'

The woman took of her blindfold and cracked up at seeing the embarrassed looking man on the other side of the screen.

'Now for another pair of contestants from the audience. Can we have number eighty-five down?'

'What trash is this?' asked Bulma.

A pleased looking fellow arrived on stage and was blindfolded, and then another volunteer was brought down – a busty woman in a flimsy outfit who teetered down the rows onto the stage and up to the plastic screen.

'Hilarious trash,' said Raditz. 'Leave it on.'

Bulma sipped her drink while they watched holiday makers embarrass themselves playing various humiliating games on holovision for theirs and everyone else's entertainment. People were poked in crevices, accidentally undressed and laughed so hard they farted, and though she wanted to hold herself above such things, soon Bulma was snorting along, and her glass was empty. Raditz filled it halfway for her without her even asking, and filled his own glass over. While she was busy topping up her glass with juice he said, 'Every time a contestant puts their hands to their face, you drink, okay?'

'Just me?'

'Yeah. Now you think of one for me.'

Bulma had never played a drinking game, but she considered them silly. If Raditz was going to try and draw her into one she wanted to make sure he lost. 'Every time the host says "You're a point down."'

It was only a moment before Raditz had to follow through, downing his drink in one, and then another minute before he had to do another.

'Bulma, are you trying to get me drunk?' he wheezed after slamming the glass back down. She shrugged with mock innocence.

But it was Bulma's turn next as a tumescent purple youth tried to stifle their laughter with their hands. Following Raditz's example, she tried to get the whole drink down in one, but even with the juice it was strong enough to give her trouble.

The game shifted to three randomly chosen audience members who were led behind another opaque screen with large round holes cut in them. The holes were covered with rubber diaphragms, and at the hosts command they apparently dropped trou, bent over and pressed their buttocks into the rubber sheets. Another giggling contestant was lead forth to guess which rear end belonged to who, with the prize being a three course dinner for two if she got all three correct. The camera came close to the first rear end, and every dimple and bulge of the backside was discernible through the cheery pink rubber.

'That's the pale guy,' Bulma said. The contestant guessed the same, and was correct.

'What one's easy,' said Raditz. 'But what about the next two? Is it four-arms then squatty? Or squatty then four-arms?'

Bulma considered. 'Squatty first.'

'If you're wrong you drink.'

'If I'm right, you do,' Bulma replied, certain she was correct. She was.

Raditz groaned and then downed another glass, but the contestant also guessed correct, and she jumped on the spot with delight, putting her hands to her face as she was told she had won the dinner for two at one of the Galaxy's best restaurants.

'Drink!' ordered Raditz.

'But we-'

'She touched her face!'

Bulma held her glass out for more gin and realised her hand was weaving. As she topped it up with the last of the juice she decided she should drink this one slower. At about halfway through, she felt the alcohol hit her like a hopper of wet laundry from above; weighing her down, loosening her limbs, making her wobbly. She leant forward to put her empty glass back down on the coffee table and somehow managed to slide right off the seat, landing on her knees in front of the table and she laughed. Despite the weak feeling she felt better right then than she had all day.

Raditz was already putting more gin in her glass.

'I think I need a break from playing,' she said. 'This has gone to my head a bit.'

'I'll let you take a break while I order something to eat,' he said, getting up to go to the small desk behind the lounge suite where there was a vidlink to reception and a screen for ordering room service.

'Didn't you eat enough at breakfast? And  _lunch_?'

'Well, now I'm feeling snackish,' he complained. 'And for once there is an abundance, so I'm going to use this chance to indulge myself. Want anything?'

'Crunchy-fried tentacles?'

* * *

_Where will it end? When? Why does it seem like my goal is further away from me every day when I should be closer than ever? Did I attempt the impossible?_

'Are you nearly done with that beer?' Nappa asked, looking at the last inch of Vegeta's drink. 'I'm about to get another.'

Vegeta took a moment to disengage from the dark place his thoughts were slipping into; a bottomless pit that he could feel sucking at him like gravity; a terrifying, familiar hollowness in his chest.

'Nappa, we are not here to drink; we have a job to do.'

'Yeah, but three beers isn't going to stop us doing it.'

Vegeta glared at him and Nappa rolled his eyes. 'It's just boring sitting in a bar not drinking, don't you think? You aren't exactly the most cheerful company right now.'

Vegeta turned away from him, staring out the window again. He suddenly didn't even have the energy to spare to tell Nappa off for his impertinence.

'Do as you will,' he sighed.

Nappa left for a blessed few minutes, then reappeared, putting another jug down beside Vegeta.

'I didn't want another.'

'Yes, you do,' insisted Nappa. 'You're going to drink this and get some fucking good cheer in you.'

Vegeta growled. 'It will  _not_ cheer me, you  _simpleton_.'

'Humour me, your Highness.'

Vegeta picked up the beer and drank the whole thing down in one long guzzle, then glared at Nappa to make his point.

'You want another?'

' _Nappa!_ '

'Just kidding! I haven't even touched mine yet. But as we're sitting here drinking in a bar with nothing else to do but wait, you may as well tell me what's got you so miserable.'

Vegeta dropped his eyes to the bench, appalled on top of everything else that his state of mind should be so apparent to an underling. And that he was apparently so pathetic that he warranted counselling by said underling.

'I'm  _fine_.'

But Nappa ignored that answer. 'I hope it's not the girl, because she is definitely not worth it. And the sooner you see that with clear eyes, the sooner you'll feel better.'

'It's not her,' he replied sullenly, which was kind of true because it wasn't  _only_  her - it was  _everything_. It was despair at the task ahead. It was the sense of dread he felt in his stomach at his own possible failure and death. It was the memory that Nappa's talk about Aubergina last night had finally dragged fully into the light, and that he now couldn't stop intruding into his thoughts on top of everything else.

As he'd stood there and listened to what Nappa said about Aubergina, the memory jogged to the fore by Guru's meddling began to float to the surface in lumps and chunks.

_The door handles were big and cold and heavy in his hands._

He'd been rushing to tell his father something – some achievement that he was proud of, and hadn't listened to the guards who told him not to enter.

_'Father?'_

And he'd walked in on them.

_Why was is father in bed with a woman? Why were they making those noises? Where are their clothes?_

_'Vegeta! Outside!'_

Vegeta had stormed off into the night to get away from the Nappa's words, but the memory had continued to unspool, unstoppable as it welled up, coalescing into a picture that made sense for the first time.

_Shock panged through his chest at being unexpectedly roared at. The woman peered over his father's shoulder and laughed a familiar laugh._

_'Fath-'_

_'Wait outside!'_

It had definitely been Aubergina, though he didn't think he knew who she was at the time. He'd flown, without seeing or caring where he went.

_Upset, he waited in his father's sitting room, climbing up on a couch to touch the weapons displayed on the walls. He knew he wasn't allowed, but he had been yelled at like he'd done something naughty, so he thought he should get to do something naughty in exchange. When the double doors to the bedroom opened his father came through, followed by the woman._

' _Don't stand on the furniture, Vegeta! I am not raising a savage!' his father said._

_The woman came towards him, crouching down, watching him with a strange smile on her face._

The memory and the dream from yesterday had collided, and he had the sick feeling that the beautiful woman who had made him so happy was the same one he despised.

' _Oh, gods,' she said. 'He's grown so much! He's more of a boy than a baby now.'_

' _I'm not a baby! I am a big boy, and the prince!'_

_She laughed. 'I know you are. I bet you're strong, too.'_

_Vegeta looked up at the frowning face of his father, high above him._

' _Why is she here?' he asked. Women around the court sometimes spoke to him like this, but not in his father's presence. It made him uncomfortable. This was all wrong._

' _Don't you remember who I am?' she asked._

_Vegeta shook his head and the woman looked upset._

' _Not at all?'_

' _No.'_

' _I'm your mother.'_

He didn't  _want_  to remember this, but it wouldn't stop now. It was like it had all been lurking there, like a corpse in a swamp before it swelled and floated to the surface.

' _No you're not. I don't have a mother! She went away a long time ago.'_

' _It was not that long ago, and now I've come back!'_

' _She's not your mother, Vegeta,' his father said, gripping the woman by the arm and pulling her upright._

' _Why are you telling him that? Why shouldn't he know who I am?' she said in a tone no one ever used on his father._

' _He can't know if we want to keep it a secret,' his father had said._

' _We agreed to keep it a secret from everyone else, not from our son!'_

' _Don't be foolish - he's too young to keep a secret. If he knew who you were he'd let it slip.'_

' _A fate worse than death, to be sure.'_

Vegeta had stopped on the top of the rock spire at the end of the bay, cursing his damned memory. What was the point of remembering if it only made a bigger fool of him than he thought he was?

_They argued, the words going literally and figuratively over his head, but he understood some bits._

' _Aubergina, you know how hard it is for us already!'_

' _We need to change their minds!'_

'… _the Elites would never accept him! They barely accept you as general!'_

' _You have authority over the Elites!'_

' _I need their support…'_

' _They don't hold all the power – there are far more second and third class…'_

'… _I can't have them turning on me when Lord Frieza is….'_

' _So I don't get to know my own child?'_

_It upset Vegeta to hear anyone talking to his father this way. In a burst of protectiveness towards his father he pointed at the woman._

' _I think you should GO AWAY!'_

_That silenced the grow-ups. Then the woman made a strange shuddering sound, and she spun on her heel, a full throated growl rolling across the sitting room as she marched back to the bedroom._

' _Aubergina, he can't-'_

_She slammed the door._

_Vegeta watched her go, her anger upsetting him even more._

' _Father, is she my mother?' he asked, afraid of the answer._

' _No, son. Whatever she said, you don't have a mother.'_

He'd been lied to. He'd been lied to because his parents' union was shameful and his father was trying to hide it. He was a half-caste bastard with an upstart mother and a flawed, libidinous father. And sitting on top of that uncomfortable finger of rock he'd started to see the parallels between his father's life and his own. He was making the same mistakes that the "great man", his father had. And if he was to make some of them, what was to stop him making all of them? Perhaps history was already well on its way to repeating itself. They'd both been the strongest Saiyan ever at their births. They'd both been raised as prodigies. They'd both become involved with unsuitable women and then tried to hide it from their disapproving underlings. And they'd both challenged Frieza and lost. His father had died, but when Vegeta next met Frieza there would be plenty of opportunity for the lizard to finish what he'd started. The poetic symmetry was almost as seductive as it was sickening.

_I don't want to die!_

That reminded him – in a matter of hours a signal could be going out to be picked up by the PTO.

He shook himself back to the present and touched his transponder.

* * *

' _Bulma, did you finish the signal blocker?_ '

She jumped and looked behind her before realising that Vegeta was talking over the comms. Raditz noticed her mistake and laughed.

She touched her transponder. 'Yes, I did. It was very difficult, but as you know, I am  _exceptionally_  clever, so I managed it. It's waiting for you in your bedroom,' she replied.

'And how long before the next signal?'

Bulma glanced at the time on the clock in the kitchen, but for some reason it took her more than a few seconds to do the simple arithmetic. 'You're good for another six hours before we need to worry about it.'

'Good.'

She waited for more, but that was the end of the conversation, apparently.

' _Good_ ,' she said in a gruff imitation of Vegeta, not over comms, and Raditz, who had already almost finished the bottle of gin, laughed again.

'He's got a way with words, our prince,' he said, holding the bottle out to her glass.

'I don't want any more,' she said. 'I didn't like it that much.'

Raditz filled his own instead. 'Pick something else, then,' he offered.

Bulma knew she shouldn't, as she was already definitely tipsy, but she was still crouched at the coffee table, and her hand was already reaching for a different bottle, ignoring the weak caution from her wiser self. She was curious about what these drinks tasted like, but also she was enjoying the relaxed feeling the gin had given her – her mind and her body all felt freer. Sloppy and numb, but freer. It was good to just hang out and have a laugh with someone. When was the last time she'd done that? Oh, that was right – Yamcha.

She poured a little bit of a bright red liqueur into her glass and had a sniff. It was a bit like hot, fake cinnamon. The holo-vid show ended and a news segment came on. Raditz sighed and flicked the channel to the next one, and music flooded the suite – dark ambient tones and a chorus chanting over the top of it.

'Your turn to think of a game,' he said.

'Me?'

'I don't see anyone else here. Do you?'

Bulma thought hard. She'd never been invited to parties at high school, let alone the parties where there might be drinking games. The only one that she knew was one she had seen on a TV show once.

'Uh, okay. We'll play "Never Have I Ever."'

'Okay. How do we play it?'

'One of us says something they've never done, like, "Never have I ever swallowed chewing gum," and if the other person has done it they have to drink.'

'Oh, I think I've played something like this before. And if the other person hasn't done it either the first person has to drink?'

Bulma wasn't sure if that was the case or not. 'Er, yeah.'

'All right then. You first.'

She thought - hard. Thinking was starting to be a bother, and her mouth was feeling numb. 'Never have I ever gotten my own poop in my hair.'

Raditz narrowed his eyes at her and drank his shot down. 'That was only one time, you realise?'

'You really should let me give you a haircut.'

'No fucking way, you butcher!' He refilled his glass. 'Never have I ever put make-up on.'

She gave him a look. 'You  _know_  I've worn make-up. You've  _seen_  me wear make-up.'

'So I know you have to drink.'

Bulma sighed and drank some of her weird, sweet and hot drink while she cooked up a new question. It tasted a lot like mouth wash.

'Never have I ever killed someone.'

Raditz tipped his drink back. 'This isn't much of a game.'

'It isn't if you only ask obvious questions,' she retorted. 'Try asking something you don't know the answer to and I will too.'

'Okay then. Never have I ever had a manicure.'

Bulma rolled her eyes. 'I guess I have to drink, but I just want you to know that I am not a girly-girl. I just have a mother who is very into those kinds of things.' She took another mouthful of the red stuff and finished it off, then decided to refill with something less gross. She put a modest finger of something labelled Glalgalagou rum in her glass and pondered her next question. She was tempted to ask him something that she had wondered for a while, but unless she ended up drinking she didn't want to know the answer. She chickened out.

'Never have I ever…picked my nose and eaten it.'

Raditz started to lift his glass and then halted. 'Wait a second. I don't believe you!'

'Why would I ever do anything so gross?'

'Why would I, huh? But we've all done it!'

'I haven't!'

'What makes you think it's so gross then?'

'Because that's where all your nostril hair-things trap the dirt, and there's germs, and it tastes yuck!'

'It  _tastes_  yuck, huh? And how would you know that if you hadn't eaten a booger sometime?'

Bulma couldn't believe she'd made such a slip up. 'Well, a few times when I was a little kid, but I hardly think that counts!'

'The name of the game is Never Have I  _Ever!_  It counts! We both drink!'

She sipped the rum and found it strong but less icky that the red stuff.

'Never had I ever removed all my pubic hair,' Raditz announced, grinning at her. Bulma blushed pink, suddenly recalling the downfall of this game. Either he was hoping that she had removed all her pubic hair in order to force her to drink, or he just wanted to know if she went bald down there. But heck, she was only seventeen and hadn't been sharing her genitals with anyone until very recently – the question of nether grooming hadn't really crossed her mind.

'You'll have to drink then,' she admitted, trying to keep a dignified expression. 'I prefer to go au natural.'

He grinned wider. 'Does the carpet match the drapes?'

'Fuck off, Raditz! You don't get to ask that!'

He tipped his shot back again, and she was glad he wasn't insisting that she match him by volume. The Saiyans seemed to be able to drink like fish. She decided that in retaliation for asking her about her lady garden, for her next question she was going for that curly one.

'Never have I ever raped anyone,' she shot back.

Raditz's grin disappeared and he scowled. 'Guess you're drinking then.'

Relieved, she did, finishing the second gulp of rum.

'Is  _that_  what you think of me?' he asked.

'Well, I just wanted to check after that "misunderstanding" back on Earth.'

That didn't please him very much either. 'It  _was_  a misunderstanding, with you sending me all sorts of signals.'

'Yeah? Well the broadcast ended pretty early.' She could feel herself turning red again, but she was unsure of it was embarrassment or the drink. Raditz waited until she had refilled before taking his turn again.

'Never have I ever flirted with a guy, leading him on only to leave him high and dry.'

She took a defiant gulp of rum. 'I have a right to change my mind when I realise I've been mistaken,' she announced as soon as she was done wheezing at the strength of it. Who the hell would shoot a shot of hard liquor?

There was a knock at the door and they both jumped.

'Room service,' said Raditz, realising.

Bulma was closer, so she pushed herself up from the floor and overbalanced right onto the armchair. She floundered up again and weaved towards the door.

_Oh shit – so this is what it feels like to be properly drunk._

She had difficulties focusing on the face of the woman who handed her the tray of snacks. Her arms felt all floaty, and when she brought the tray back to the coffee table she knocked several bottles off trying to set it down. Raditz was not much better, knocking over the open bottle of rum trying to catch the ones she'd knocked off, and spilling some on the carpet before Bulma righted it.

'Oops,' she said.

Raditz picked up the shredded T-shirt that he'd brought back with him from the ship and patted the wet spot with it, adding dust to the mess. 'There, there, good as new.'

Bulma burst into laughter. 'You numbskull – you made a spill into a muddle of pud! What are the others going to think when they get back?'

'That they missed out on a good party.'

'Can it be a party if it's just two people?'

He winked at her. 'Sure can.'

She laughed again, amused, though something smothered under the alcohol squirmed. She ignored the feeling. She was having fun, and she needed that after the last day and a half of suckage. They started munching on the various things Raditz had ordered, and Bulma hoed in almost as quickly as Raditz did. She felt unexpectedly hungry, though as the food went down she realised her stomach was burning.

'Are we still playing?' she asked Raditz, watching him take another gulp of rum without prompting. It was her turn and she'd thought of something to get him with.

'Huh? Oh, yeah.' He refilled his glass and hers. She thought she probably shouldn't drink anymore, but she also didn't intend to lose this round. 'Hit me.'

'Never have ever I ever paid someone to have sex with me.'

Raditz gave her a withering look but drank his rum without arguing.

'Gross!' she said.

'What's gross about it, if you pick a nice girl? Sometimes a prostitute is all the option there is.'

'It's  _exploitation_ ,' she drawled. 'Turning an intimate acting into a commercial tranfact- a commercial transfaction… Into a deal! Plus you don't know where they've been.'

He raised his brows. 'I don't know where any of them have been, hooker or not! But I've had my shots, and I get checked up regularly.'

'There's sex vaccinations?' she asked incredulously.

'Well, yes, vaccinations against the hundred or so more common venereal diseases for warm-blooded bipedal in the galaxy. And I get checked for the less common ones sometimes. And so do most prostitutes, which is more than I can say about a random woman I meet at a refuelling station bar.'

'But they could be sex slaves!'

'They could be,' he conceded. 'But the ones I like tend to be more, um, independent contractors. And I always use protection, if you really must know.'

'You mean condoms?'

He gave her a puzzled look. 'What are condoms?'

'Like a little rubber sheath you put over your...'

' _Rubber sheath?'_ he interjected before she was forced to finished the sentence.  _'_ That sounds terrible! Is that what they do on Earth?'

'Yes. What do you mean by "protection" then?'

'Second skin.'

'What?'

'I'll show you.' He sprang up and headed for the room he shared with Vegeta. Bulma rubbed her numb face, wondering if she should be worried. When he came back he put two small canisters on the coffee table. Bulma tried to read the label, but it was hard right at that moment to remember how to read the Galactic script, so she couldn't read the directions.

'What do you do with it?' she asked.

He opened one canister. It had an aerosol head. 'Give me your hand,' he told her.

She held one out, and he sprayed a purple toned translucent layer over her fingers.

'Count to five before moving,' he told her. She did, and then splayed her fingers. The stuff had turned into a thin film that stretched between her fingers. It resisted a little, but she was able to spread her fingers as wide as usual. She touched it with her other hand and it felt almost like skin. Through the film she could still feel the little details of her other hand remarkably well, almost as if there was no barrier at all. Fascinating.

'You done rubbing yourself?' Raditz teased her.

She gave him a quelling look. 'So, I suppose you put this on your John Thomas?'

'Excuse me, my  _what?_ '

'On your  _dick._ '

'Correct.'

'Then how do you get it off afterwards?'

'After a couple of hours it breaks down and you can wash it off with water.'

She gave him a look of annoyance. 'You mean I have a purple contraceptive on my hand for the next two hours?'

'Or, you can spray this on it and it'll dissolve straight away.' He held out the other canister. She took it and sprayed her hand and the stuff turned into sticky goop that tore between her fingers.

'Urgh, gross,' she muttered, grabbing a napkin from their room service tray and tried to wipe the worst of it off.

Raditz chuckled at her efforts. 'Water gets the rest of it off. I guess it's my turn.'

'Go on then.' She reached for her glass in anticipation.

'Never have I ever gotten kicked out of a hotel for being a hooker.'

Bulma glared at him, glass clamped firmly on the table while he laughed at his own dig.

'You can drink then, Raditch, because every part of that false statement is false for me, and you know it.'

'Ooh, still sore?' he asked, and glugged his rum. 'What did happen, then? Why were you in the brothel?'

'I didn't know it was a brothel! It just looked like a nice pool area where all the girls hung out.' This sent him into more giggles.

'It says it's a lounge for hired companions on the sign from the lobby!'

'Well, I didn't see that; I went in through the garden gate. A really rude mermaid told me to go there if I wanted to talk with a mermaid. And I did – I met a money-grubbing hooker mermaid, and she got it in her head that I was there for a... For you-know-what.'

'This is gold!' he cried. 'I wish I could have been there!'

'Shut up before I get my hair scissors out!'

'Okay, okay! It's your turn, anyway.'

She thought a long time about this one. 'Never have I ever...had sex with anyone else's husband, wife or significant other.' She watched expectantly, but Raditz's glass stayed on the table.

'What?' she protested. 'I don't believe you.'

Raditz shrugged and smirked at her. 'To my knowledge I haven't. Maybe some ladies lied to me, but I can't help that.'

'But Nenufar said she was seeing someone!'

'Not seriously, it turned out. At least that's what she said later. I don't think a fuck buddie counts as a significant other, does it? So  _you_ drink.'

Annoyed, she did so, then refilled her glass, spilling some down the side.

'All right, do your worst!' she snarled.

'Never have I ever slept with Prince Vegeta!'

Bulma's mouth fell open – she could not at all hide her shock, and then a weird smile twisted her face, one born of embarrassment rather than happiness. Raditz watched her, his face crinkling slowly into a grin, and then he started laughing.

'I knew it! Drink up, then!'

 _How did he know?_  She raised the glass to her lips, and it started shaking as she started laughing, too, in mortification, her cheeks shining like polished apples. She gulped down half the glass.

'Holy shit!' crowed Raditz. 'You fucked the prince! I thought that self-righteous prig would be a virgin forever! Gods, woman, you deserve a medal for your bravery and sacrifice.'

Bulma snorted with laughter and bent her head over her glass to hide her face. Her chest was tight and the laughter seemed to be stuck inside her, shaking her almost silently. She tried to take another sip.

'I'm not gonna ask you to tell me, but I gotta wonder if he's as bad in bed as I think he'd be.'

 _Bad in bed_. The tightness in her chest twisted right up, and something went wrong with her laugh. Her mouth opened wide and the mouthful of rum she'd had in there dribbled back out into her glass and down her chin, but she shook harder, closing her eyes, feeling tears coming on.

'Bulma?'

She put the glass down and tried to take a deep breath, managing to laugh again. 'It wasn't  _that_  bad. Certainay room for impoovement.' And then the tears took over once more. She tried to reign them in, but the drink seemed to rob her of her self-control.  _This is silly – why I can't stop?_  she thought to herself.  _I'm not even that sad about it. Not really._ But she felt transparent as a hard ball of pain in her chest blossomed like a cabbage-rose in garish shades of self-pity and woe.  _Oh, what's the use in hiding it?_

Raditz had stopped laughing now and sounded a little more sober. 'Shit, girl, I didn't think it would be that bad! I was only joking!'

She couldn't answer though.

'Bulma? What the hell did he do?'

'Nothing!' she blurted out, shaking her head.

'Did he hurt you?

'No.'

'Then why are you crying?'

She shook her head. Should she explain? She looked up at Raditz on the couch, and he was hard to keep her eyes on. They seemed to keep sliding right off him again, and the room was getting dark. Was it getting late?

'He didn't, like,  _force_  you, did he?'

'No.' His concern touched her though, and she felt a sudden, desperate surge of affection towards Raditz.

'You're my friend, Raditz. Aren't you? My friend?'

'Er… Yeah…I guess you Earthlings would say so.'

'I didn't has a lot of friends. Not girls, only boys really. You know most girls don't like me? But boys. You're a good guy, Raddy. I wasn't sure at first, but you're okay.'

'Really? A  _good_  guy?'

'Do you think I could tell you things? Could you secret it's a promise? If I tell you?'

'Tell me what?'

She reached out and grasped the glass off the table. She thought she'd finished it already, but it seemed to be full again. Some sloshed over her fingers but she got it to her mouth. She wasn't even sure why she was still drinking, except that it didn't seem to matter anymore. She was already drunk, and it hardly seemed to matter if she got drunker.

Raditz watched her trying to drink his rum, apparently mistaking it for her own, grasping onto the coffee table with one hand to keep upright, and alarm prickled through him. He'd only been wanting to pass the time getting half-cut with Bulma, but she seemed to have blasted straight through half-cut to wasted, and was well on the way to completely munted.

'I think you've had enough, by the way,' he said, plucking the glass out of her resisting hand. She tried to hang on to it and ended up toppling over to sprawl on the carpet, then struggling to rise again. Sighing, he reached down and hauled her up under her armpits. She lurched and collapsed back on the sofa next to him, crying some more.

'Holy hells,' he muttered, feeling uncomfortable at the press of wet cheeks against his naked bicep. 'Do you know, I'm not really sure I want to know what he did now.'

But Bulma raised her face, not hearing or not understanding or just not caring what he said. She was all pink and doing an unrestrained ugly-cry. Between that and her slurred words it was hard to make out what she was saying when she spoke.

'Me and Vegeta did it, and yeah, it wasn't good! But then we did it again and I thought it was good, but he didn't! Or he did, but then he was mean to me aferwards, and then he was kind and then he said he didn't ever want to do it again with me!'

'You mean, not have sex with you again?' he asked incredulously.

'Yes!'

'I find that hard to believe. Unless, I don't know, your cooch is lined with sandpaper or something?'

She segued straight back into a hiccupping laughter for a moment. 'No, of course it's not! It's the proper stuff! Or nice proper  _human_  stuff. I think it's a nice one.'

'Um. I'm sure it is.'

'But why would he not want to  _touch_ me again after? Was I  _that_ bad?'

Raditz grimaced.  _What the fuck is wrong with Vegeta? Two taps and out?_  'Fuck, I don't know,' he said, extracting his arm to pat her on the back in what he hoped was a consoling manner. 'Vegeta is weird. I doubt you could be bad enough to put a man off even if you just lay there.'

'Maybe.' She started to shake again and covered her face with her hands. As soon as she did she started to topple over, and Raditz grabbed her by both shoulders before she could end up sprawled face-down over his lap. 'He said he'd ever marry me! And wouldn't fuck me even again. Why? I don't want to marry him ever, ever, ever! Why'd he say that?'

'Because he's an idiot?' Raditz suggested.

'I thought he liked me, but he doesn't, not really, not like I like him! Like, really really,' she sobbed. 'I cheated on my boyfriend for him! Like a slut! Imma slut now.'

'Uh-huh,' he said, regarding her with disbelief. How could she be this emotional over  _Vegeta?_  Vegeta didn't deserve that!

'It was my first time,' she whispered, and the hairs on Raditz's arms stood up, so complete was his shock.

'You were a  _virgin?_ ' he gasped before he could stop himself. It was something he hadn't even considered about Bulma. She just had never seemed very… _virginal_ , whatever that was like. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure he'd been acquainted with any female virgins since he was a kid on Planet Vegeta. 'I didn't realise.'

She started to shake again, and at first he thought it was more sobbing but then she snorted and laughed out loud.

'I know!' She held up a wavering finger to her forehead. 'Din you see the label?'

'No. What're you talking about?'

She went on laughing though, and he sighed. Apparently she was amusing herself with her own cryptic, drunken joke. He looked at her anew, properly appreciating her youth now. She was starting to make him feel old and jaded. No wonder she'd freaked out that night on Earth when he'd though she was inviting him into her house.

She reached out and grabbed his face.

'Would you do that? To a girl? Do Saiyans only one-night stands? Do they?'

'It's not a Saiyan thing,' he replied after mentally translating her babble. 'I don't think, anyway. I mean, if I had a chance to be with a woman for more than one night I'm sure I would take it.'

'You wouldn't have done that, to me, would you?'

'I doubt it.' Alarm bells were ringing distantly in his head. 'I mean, if you had ever said  _yes_  to me.'

 _'You_  like me,' she said. 'You'd  _never_  treat me like that.'

And then he wasn't sure if she fell forwards or if she did it on purpose, but her mouth smacked into his, and then her tongue lanced into his mouth, which happened to be open.

He let go of her, throwing his arms wide in surprise and an instinct not to engage, but that didn't stop the onslaught of the most drunken kiss he'd ever had bestowed upon him (which was saying something). Bulma's mouth slid around, her teeth clunking on his, her tongue sometimes leaving his mouth entirely to slip across his lips.  _What should I do?_  his body demanded, but his brain whirred, unable to come up with an answer. Then she heaved a leg over and successfully planted herself astride his lap, her weight settling on his crotch.

 _No!_  said his brain.

 _Maybe,_  said his penis, and started to stir to life. His arms twitched, coming closer to wrap themselves around her, but he was not so drunk that this seemed like a good idea. He was still wrestling with it when she slid to the side, her mouth leaving a wet trail across his cheek, and collapsed with her face in his hair.

He started to come to his senses again. If one of the others walked in right now… If Vegeta walked in…! He had no idea what his prince's intentions were with Bulma, but whatever they were, he'd put any amount of money on Vegeta hitting the roof if he found Bulma drunk in his lap. He tried to reach out with his sense of chi for any of the others on their way, but his own intoxication made it almost impossible.

'Bulma, are you okay, or did you just pass out?'

'Nnnn,' she groaned. 'Vegeee-ta!'

How could she be this drunk? She'd had less than half of what he'd had!

'Bulma!' he said more sharply.

She raised her head a little, but then let it drop. 'Feel sick,' she whimpered.

'Oh, fuck,' said Raditz, knowing what was coming next. He quickly scooped her up in his arms and lurched towards the bathroom. As he lowered her towards the commode she vomited as soon as she saw the bowl, luckily getting most of it in there. He placed her on her knees in front of it, and she grappled with the seat as if it was trying to get away. He held her head by the hair while she vomited again, bringing up greasy snacks, spirit and stomach acid.

'Fucking hell!' Raditz swore again, starting to feel sorry for himself now, his very pleasant afternoon as screwed up as Bulma was. She seemed to have stopped vomiting, and then he realised she'd stopped moving altogether.

'Crap, crap, crap!'

He hauled her face up from the bowl; her skin was very pale and clammy, and for a dreadful second he thought she might be dead, but then she blessed him with a soft wind of sick-flavoured breath.

He arranged her on the floor, on her stomach with her face turned to the side in case she up-chucked again, and stood over her, not sure what to do next. He was going to be in trouble, no doubt about that, but there were things he could do that would make things better for himself, and things he could do that might make it worse. He caught sight of himself in the mirror, and realised his arms, bare chest and face would all smell incriminatingly like Bulma. He took a washcloth, wetted it and frantically scrubbed his upper body and face with hotel soap, then frantically scrubbed the stink of the soap back off. Did he want to smell like a cover-up? No! Then he washed his mouth out, getting rid of any lingering evidence of the kiss.

More carefully he took another washcloth and scrubbed Bulma's face. She groaned a protest, but didn't wake up.

Gods, what did she mean by kissing him? Probably nothing, based on how drunk she was, but he started to feel a little angry at her for doing so, and a little more angry at Vegeta for whatever he'd done that propelled her into his lap and stir up thoughts he hadn't had for a while. Hadn't he this very afternoon noted that he no longer thought of Bulma as an object of his desire? To answer Bulma's question, if he'd been in Vegeta's shoes there was  _no way_  he'd have dropped her after only one night. Who knew where it would have ended, but Raditz would have taken that opportunity by both hands and ridden it for what it was worth.

'Vegeta's a moron,' he told her comatose form.

* * *

Vegeta and Nappa returned to the hotel with plenty of time to spare before Vegeta needed to use Bulma's signal squashing device. Vegeta was in no better a mood, and felt even more uneasy after having dispatched Dr Velocerapper in the parking level of her apartment building. Nappa had taken out Dr Gorognoth. What was the difference between this time and all the other times he had killed civilians? Was it that he knew their names? Was it that he suspected they would have tried to  _save_ his life if need be, and he had ended theirs to protect himself?

 _It wasn't only my life I was protecting – nine lives hang on not being found by Frieza_ , he told himself, and then stopped, sneering at this unfamiliar line of self-justification. No, he didn't do it to protect anyone else. He did it for himself.

They walked through the lobby, but as Vegeta turned to head towards their rooms, Nappa clapped him on the shoulder.

'What?'

'Step two – it's over here.' Nappa indicated a door further down the open space of the lobby. Vegeta let himself be led over there, then groaned as he saw read the sign over the door.

"The Mermaid Lounge – companions for hire. Adults only."

Why didn't he see this coming?

'No, Nappa!' he protested, stopping in his tracks.

'Do you want to break that girl's hold on you or not?'

'Yes, but not this way.'

'Trust me, my prince - it will work. You might not like the idea, but I'm sure you'll get over it soon enough, just as soon as you discover that one slit is as good as another.'

Vegeta flushed at Nappa's choice of words, but he felt trapped. Reluctantly he stepped through the glass door. A bikini clad receptionist smiled as she greeted them.

'Hello! Welcome to the Mermaid Lounge. Here's our price list, and feel free to wander around, talk to the girls and socialise before making a decision. There's no pressure to buy – we want all our guests to have a good time, and that means no haggling or hard sell. Okay?'

'Your girls are clean?' Nappa asked from behind.

'Absolutely!' said the woman. 'Protection is compulsory here, and our girls are checked every week for anything that might have slipped through. No one wants to catch a nasty disease on holiday.'

Vegeta was sickened by the casual commodification of sex this implied. He turned away from the receptionist and took a step or two out into the veranda area. The sun had set, and the sky bathed the pool area with purple twilight. The shrubbery and the pool was lit up with colourful electric lights. Two girls danced together in a self-conscious way on a small dancefloor, and the rest sat around on loungers, either gushing cheerfully to prospective clients or with their noses buried in magazines or tablets. The girl closest to them was quite pretty, but her face was the picture of misery as she stared at the floor. As he watched she must have realised she was being observed, and her head snapped up.

'Oh, hey, handsome!' She stood up, and towered a foot above Vegeta's head. 'What brings you in here?'

'Spare me,' said Vegeta, and walked on. He made for the only thing not encrusted with prostitutes – the bar on the far side. He couldn't do this. He certainly couldn't walk around  _flirting_  with these fake women, picking one out like a new spaceship on the lot like it was a normal thing to do.

Nappa followed him and came up beside him as he took a stool at the bar.

'Need a bit more chemical courage?' said Nappa.

'I don't need courage,' said Vegeta. 'I'd need to have my sense of pride and shame surgically removed before I lower myself to shopping about for a fuck.' He blushed as he said so. Nappa looked like he'd been slapped, but his next words were in a kind tone.

'I understand, my prince. It's beneath your station. It all is, and mine too. But it's what we have to work with. I tell you what – you sit here and have a drink and I'll go around and pick out a few of the best, and bring them to you. Does that sound better?'

Vegeta shrugged. 'Yes.'

He turned his back to the brothel and carelessly ordered 'Whatever is the best around here,' from the bartender. He was presented with a bright blue drink in a curvy, fruit garnished glass that was weak, too sweet and fake.  _Figures_.

He didn't feel even remotely turned on. Would he very soon be having sex again? Not if his dick stayed this soft. The prospect of sex seemed as unpalatable as it ever had. He wondered why this was as he had certainly felt a want of sex around Bulma recently, and when it  _had_  happened it had been very enjoyable.

Like a fat lazy spark struck off a flint, desire  _did_  spark then, making its way down his middle, clenching his stomach and kindling a fire in his loins. His breathing suddenly deepened, remembering being buried in every sight, sound, touch and smell of her. Yes, he  _did_  want that again.

'You Highness?' said Nappa's voice from behind him.

Startled from his memory, Vegeta turned and stared in surprise at the woman he had at his side - he had forgotten for a second what Nappa had left to do.

She was not much taller than Vegeta, and had lustrous dark skin and burgundy red hair that hung in thick waves to her waist. She batted sliver-tipped eyelashes at Vegeta.

'Hi, honey,' she breathed, curling her lips in a practised smile of pleasure. Vegeta scowled in return.

'This is Correwella,' said Nappa. 'She's got the best customer satisfaction rating of any of the women in here, and plenty of experience with-'

'I don't want someone the entire planet had shared,' said Vegeta in disgust.

The woman flinched, then rolled her eyes and looked up at Nappa, squeezing his arm. 'Never mind. Look me up later, big boy,' she purred as she walked away.

Nappa watched her go and then turned his attention back to Vegeta, taking a deep breath. 'I thought you might say something like that,' he said levelly, 'which is why I also picked out this one.' He beckoned another girl. She hopped up from the lounger and hurried over. She was small, short, and had pale lemon skin, straight, acid-yellow hair and pale orange lipstick. She was also a lot younger Correwella. Vegeta stared - she was  _his_  age. That seemed wrong, somehow.

'What you say your name was, doll?' Nappa prompted her.

'Celestia,' she said, smiling nervously at Vegeta. His skin began to prickle. There was something  _genuine_  about that smile.

'And how long have you been a whore?'

She blushed at that. 'This is my first day.'

'You had any customers yet?'

'No.' She grinned at Vegeta. 'I was nervous that my first customer would be some awful goon or an old man or something, but if it's you I think, it will be okay- I mean more than just okay! It's going to be a lot of fun.'

Nappa held his hands out like he was presenting a prize.

Vegeta stared at her, trying to feel again that bust of desire from earlier. Her inexperience and youth were certainly more appealing to him than Corewellan, though she couldn't be said to be prettier. But it was still inexperience and youth in service of selling sex. And she was probably still a lot more experienced that he was.

He stood up and stepped closer, trying to imagine kissing her. He guessed he  _could_ ; that didn't seem so impossible. Perhaps he could start there and see if he was able to continue.

In experiment he stepped closer again, drawing her scent in. She smiled wider and slipped a hand up his arm to his shoulder, but he immediately pulled away again. She smelled  _wrong_. Not a bad smell, not even a strong smell, just  _wrong_. Her tawny gold eyes flashed with a moment of rejection, and  _they_  were wrong, too! He felt frustration start to bubble up.

'Forget it,' he said to Nappa. 'It's not happening! I can't believe I even entertained the thought.'

Celestia looked on in confusion. 'What's not happening?'

Vegeta ignored her and started to walk away.

'Wait, your Highness!' said Nappa, coming after him. 'You haven't even met my third choice – she's the best of all - she's a mermaid!' Nappa gestured out towards the pool, and despite himself Vegeta turned and glimpsed a topless woman on the shore, purple fish body flopping grotesquely while she waved at him.

'Don't be fucking absurd!' Vegeta burst out, and stormed back out through reception.

Nappa was left standing in the middle of the brothel.

'Fuck!' he swore loudly, and turned around, sweeping anyone who dared look at him with a face of terrifying wrath. Celestia saw and backed away. 'What a fucking impossible, little asshole!' he raged to himself. 'Thinks he's so above the rest of us!'

He went over to the bar and slammed his fist down, then knocked over the dregs of Vegeta's blue drink in contempt, shattering the glass, too. 'Give me a full glass of whisky,' he told the bartender.

'What kind?'

'I don't fucking care! Your strongest!'

_Gods, you try and do something for someone and all they do is throw it back in your face! I'm only trying to help you, you royal little shit!_

The glass was duly placed before him and Nappa picked it up and disposed of it in seconds flat.

'In fact, give me the whole bottle,' he said.

'That will be  _nine hundred_  credits, sir.'

'Are you fucking joking?' cried Nappa, and then relented. 'Why should I give a lizard's ass how much it costs? Put it on room one three one.'

Nappa took his bottle and wandered back around the brothel, radiating antagonism as he sized up both workers and clientele. Both avoided his gaze – apparently no one wanted a fight, which was exactly what Nappa was looking for. Slugging directly from the neck of the bottle he caught the receptionist with her hand on a vidlink handset from the corner of his eye, watching him warily.

He swallowed and lowered the bottle. 'What the fuck are you looking at?' he asked.

She switched on a wide fake smile. 'I was just wondering if you'd made your choice.'

Nappa snorted. Well,  _someone_  was going to pay for his bad mood. Sensing movement to his left he turned and caught Celestia slipping away down the edge of the dancefloor, headed for a door by the side of the bar.

'Hey! Yellow girl! Where do you think you're going?'

She froze and turned slowly.

'Just back to my room.'

'Well, I pick you. You will be  _my_  whore tonight.'

This dismay on her face was evident from across the room. Nappa didn't care. In fact, he grinned. He'd picked her for Vegeta not just because she was fresh but because of all the whores here she reminded him the most of Bulma. He'd thought maybe Vegeta had a type, but he should have known he didn't have a type – he had a fucking succubus attached to him. Again, Nappa was picking the yellow girl because she reminded him the most of Bulma.

Celestia still stood, mouth open in horror.

'Hurry up, Celestia, take the gentleman to your room,' prodded the receptionist. 'You don't want to irritate a client.'

Looking like she was on her way to her own execution, Celestia crept back to Nappa on her orange high heels. He grabbed her hand and yanked it into the crook of his arm in a mockery of a gentleman's escort.

'Lead the way, Princess.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Uh-oh.
> 
> I forgot throw out this caveat - in case you don't know, drinking like Bulma and Raditz just did is really stupid and dangerous. I want to do my part as a responsible author, so I must point this out.
> 
> So the next chapter shouldn't be far away, but I do have a week away coming up. I don't know if I will have the time or ability to post. I'm going to be paragliding and snowboarding some of the time away, and my feeble body may just fall apart in the evening. We'll see.


	61. Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I was going to post this tomorrow, but I've got the laptop out tonight at the backpackers, so may as well strike while I have the opportunity.
> 
> Thanks for still reading, following and reviewing everyone! This fic is monster long, I know. I can't believe what I've done. All you regular guest reviewers, if you got yourself an account here at you'd be able to subscribe to the story and get email alerts. Maybe you already know that, or maybe you don't, but it does make following a long story easier.
> 
> In other news, flying and snowboarding achieved in the first two days of holiday! Hopefully a bit more of each when the weather clears again later this week.

When Vegeta opened the door to the suite his black thoughts were thrown off by the stench of alcohol and vomit that greeted him.

'What the hell's been going on here?'

Raditz appeared from the bedroom and pushed past Vegeta for the door. He smelt of alcohol, but not so much of vomit.

'Raditz!'

Out the door now, Raditz just yelled, 'It's your fault, you know, not mine! I mean, she got herself drunk, but…' He threw his hands in the air and then turned and ran.

'What have you  _done?_ '

He took two steps after him, but then Raditz's words penetrated a little. His stomach lurched with sudden dread and he turned and ran the other way, to the bedroom he shared with Raditz.

She lay motionless, face down on the edge of the bed, almost as pale as death, her eyelids showing faint blue, her lips a cold purple. He gasped a huge breath and then stopped breathing, panic clawing at his chest so hard that he forgot all about chi and such things, but then her arm moved. Slowly she rolled over the edge of the bed, one hand weaving out and down. He darted forward, thinking she was going to fall right off the side, but she hooked the rubbish pail that had been left next to her, put her head over it and retched.

Well, here was the source of the vomit stench. And she stunk of alcohol, too. She collapsed where she was, head and one arm hanging off the side of the bed. Vegeta sat down on the smaller bed, taking a few breaths and feeling himself calm a little. Raditz had only gotten her dead drunk. Her paleness still worried him though. How fragile were humans? Did it matter? He'd seen the occasional PTO soldier in this state, and it didn't always turn out very well for them. He'd even seen Nappa and Raditz be this drunk, and he knew she needed to be either watched or put in a regen tank.

She'd got herself drunk, Raditz had said. Then what had he been talking about being  _his_ fault?

Suddenly he sat back up again and came to her, rolling her back onto the bed.

'Worr?' she protested, but lay still, eyes closed as he took in her scent again. His heart renewed it's hammering, because yes, she  _did_  smell like that third class! But it should be stronger, shouldn't it? He couldn't smell seamen, and he couldn't smell her arousal either, not that that meant anything. Feeling sickened and more than a little creepy himself, he pushed her knees open and lowered his face. No, nothing unusual in the scent except the alcohol tainting everything. No, wait, there was something! Something not as familiar, but he'd caught a whiff of it on Raditz at times and just earlier in the brothel. Was it that second skin stuff? Anger blazed through him and he leaned over her, grabbing her wrists where they had flopped either side of her head.

Her eyes flew open; they were bloodshot, and she yelped. He supposed he was holding her too hard. He let go of her wrists again and put his hands either side of her head. Her eyes were sliding back shut again.

'Did you…' he started, and then found it difficult to get the rest of the question out, because what if the answer was yes? He shouldn't care what the answer was, but he did,  _very_  fucking much. 'Did  _Raditz_  have sex with you?' he growled at last.

She didn't respond at all.

'Dammit.' He tapped the side of her face, trying to rouse her. She moved her face to the side with a noise of annoyance.

'Bulma! Did Raditz have sex with you?'

'Nrrr!' she replied, eyes still closed and he realised how utterly pointless a question this was. She was not really conscious enough to answer, and she was so drunk he wasn't sure if she would necessarily know. Then he noticed the remnants of purple goop on her hand and lowered his head to smell it.  _That_  was where the smell of the second skin was coming from. Why would she have it on her hand and not between her legs? Was this good? Or bad? What did it  _mean?_

He heard someone enter the suite door and quickly got off the bed, then stepped into the doorway of the bedroom to see who it was; he locked gazes with what his short-circuited brain thought was his own reflection for a second. But it was Tarble; pale faced and eyes wide with anxiety. The two stared at each other. And then Tarble's gaze slipped past him to the bedroom. With a shock Vegeta noticed that Tarble's hands and some of his shirt were bloody, and he was shaking.

'Why are you covered in blood? Did you walk through reception like that?'

Tarble looked down at his hands. 'Er. Yeah.' His voice came out in a rush of tumbled words. 'Can you come to the ship? Goku – I mean Kakarott is in the tank on the ship. He, er, he had an accident with Brolly. We rushed him back to the ship to put him in the tank, but we weren't sure we'd done it right, and he was bleeding - a lot.'

'What's wrong with him?'

'Brolly kicked him and split open his side.' Tarble bent over then, looking almost as sick as Bulma.

That gave Vegeta pause. That sounded life-threatening. But then why hadn't they called?

'Did you forget all about the comms devices?' Vegeta asked.

Tarble's eyes widened. 'Yes!'

Vegeta huffed and tapped his transponder. 'Nappa! Nappa, answer me!' But Nappa didn't. He tried his other disgraced underling. 'Raditz! Turn around and come back here!' But there was no reply from that quarter either.

Vegeta turned heel and went back to the bedroom. Bulma hadn't moved. He pulled her roughly onto her side facing the rubbish pail and spoke to Tarble who had followed him into the room.

'Stay here and look after her! Make sure she doesn't choke on her own vomit. I'll go down to the ship.'

'Is she sick?'

' _Yes_.'

He exited via the sliding door to the beach and took immediately to the sky, throwing discretion to the wind as he darted across town to the ship compound. And what a sight greeted him. Brolly, also with bloodied hands and clothes was sitting on the ramp of the ship bawling.

'I'm sorry!' he said, not even noticing that Vegeta had touched down in front of him. Vegeta stamped up the ramp as Krillin shouted, 'Sorry won't bring him back if he dies!'

Krillin was sitting before the regen tank, drenched in blood and Puar was crying so hard she was choking. The tank water was cloudy with blood staining it a brownish red, but he could see Kakarott inside, two shirts tied around his middle to hold his intestines in.

'Vegeta! Did we do it right?' Krillin pleaded. 'Is he going to live?'

Vegeta assessed the placement of the electrodes and the settings on the tank. 'You did, and I don't know. He seems to still be losing blood.'

Puar collapsed entirely onto the floor.

'No, Goku!' Krillin moaned, dropping his head to the parquet floor before raising it again in hope. 'Where's Bulma? Maybe she could patch him up better with her first aid kit and we could put him back in?'

Vegeta clenched his teeth before answering. 'Bulma is currently so drunk she is passed out in the hotel.'

Krillin's face showed his shock.

'I  _was_  going to put her in the regen tank to sober up, but now that won't be possible! It's only time that will tell if Kakarott lives or dies.'

He left Puar and Krillin to their grief. Coming down the ramp again he raised his lip in contempt at Brolly's weeping form.

'What the  _hell_  were you thinking, dealing a fatal blow like that in training?' he snarled at the cowering boy.

'I didn't mean to!' said Brolly. 'I didn't mean to, I swear, but he hurt me and I just…kicked him!'

Vegeta let his temper lash free, kicking Brolly in return, taking him utterly by surprise and throwing him across the yard to tumble to a stop under another ship. Brolly raised his face, his tears halted for a moment as he looked dumbfounded to find himself there.

'I am surrounded by idiots!' Vegeta screamed, then left again, taking off back to the hotel.

* * *

Vegeta sat on the single bed, his back against the wall watching Bulma sleep and wondering what she and Raditz had gotten up to. Now that he was calmer he realised that it was unlikely Raditz would have had sex with her then put her clothes back on, and then even hung around long enough for Vegeta to turn up. The mongrel had to know it was worth more than his life to interfere with Bulma like that.

But what had Raditz meant by saying it was  _his_  fault?  _What_ was his fault? That Bulma was drunk? How? He hadn't even been there!

His stomach growled.

'Tarble!'

The younger Saiyan stepped in immediately. He'd only been sitting right outside the door.

'Is Bulma drunk?'

'Extremely.'

'Is she going to be all right?' he asked.

Vegeta hesitated a moment. 'I think so. But  _Raditz_ won't be.'

'Where is he?'

'I don't much care.'

Tarble didn't look surprised to hear this, but dragged his gaze away from Bulma's face.

'What did you want me for?'

'I'm hungry. It's late and we missed dinner. Go find us something to eat, and feed the others down at the ship if they refuse to leave Kakarott.'

He handed him a credit chip and Tarble took it eagerly. 'Sure. Do you have any idea what you want to eat?'

Vegeta groaned with weariness. 'I don't care. Make your own decisions.'

Tarble left with almost a skip in his step. Watching him go he realised that a short time ago he wouldn't have trusted Tarble to carry out even this simple task. That had been unfair, maybe. He'd acquitted himself well enough on Namek. He had gotten arrested just going out to buy food on Grenouillea II, but maybe that had been bad luck after all. It turned out he could trust him alone with Bulma more than he could Raditz.

As he took his seat again his eyes alighted on an object on the bedside table – Brolly's diadem from Grenouillea. For a few seconds he couldn't fathom why it would be there, and then he remembered that Bulma had said that the signal-dampener was in his bedroom. A twin-headed stab of anxiety hit him.

'Bulma!' he said, crossing to the bed and trying to wake her. 'Bulma! Wake up!' She shook her and she groaned, then tried to fight him off, rolling towards the bedside again for the pail. She gagged, then retched, though nothing came out.

'Bulma,' he asked her while she was still poised, shaking over the pail. 'When do I need to wear the signal dampener? What time does the signal go out?'

She took a deep breath and then tried to roll back onto the bed again. Vegeta grabbed her shoulders and helped her.

'Don't remember,' she groaned. Her eyes were unfocused and her movements un-coordinated, though she sounded slightly less inebriated then earlier.

'You knew before. Think!'

'What day is it?'

'Why should  _that_  matter?'

'Every two days.'

'It's today! What  _hour?_ '

She screwed her face up. 'Two am. Galatic.'

Vegeta rushed out to where he remembered a clock hanging in the kitchen. It showed both local time and below it in smaller digits, the Galactic time and date. He had half an hour; he hadn't missed it.

Going back to the bedroom he grabbed the diadem and held it up in front of her face.

'Is this it?'

She unscrewed her face and nodded before clamping her eyes shut again.

'And why in all the names of all the gods would you put it in this piece of mental manipulation?'

'It was the best way!' she snapped back, eyes still closed.

'How do I use it?'

'Put it on, do up the clasp.'

'Is that all?'

'Yes.'

'If you are tricking me, you will not live-'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever,' she drawled.

He tried again. 'If this alters my behaviour in any way…'

'Don't wear it then, see if I care!' She opened her eyes again and they looked very dark against her sickly pallor. 'But it'll be a short holiday here in that case.' Her head fell back again, eyes closed.

Affronted, he stood up and then began to pace in irritation. He supposed she was right – he had exactly two choices – wear the diadem and suffer any consequence, or not wear it and be forced to flee the planet while their ship was still in need of repair. If she was more conscious they could maybe argue about it some more, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was reliant on what she'd provided.

He waited until Tarble came back and there were only two minutes to spare. Before the boy even opened his mouth or put the food down Vegeta had ordered him to keep careful watch as he put on the diadem, and to remove it in five minutes time if he did not take it off himself.

'Okay,' agreed Tarble, looking worried.

Vegeta placed the thing over his head, arranged it using the reflection in the glass fronted cabinet in the kitchenette, and then pressed the clasp closed.

There was a tiny click, and he felt a prickling sensation all around his head. He almost ripped it right back off again, but reminded himself of his lack of choice. He could endure a few minutes of this, couldn't he?

Was anything happening? Was it his imagination that he felt the world receding about him; that as he looked blankly back at Tarble, he felt dumber; confused?

'Are you okay, Vegeta?' Tarble asked.

'I don't know,' he said, sitting carefully on the arm of the couch. Raditz's collection of booze was still spread out all over the coffee table.

'Shall I get the food out?'

'No, watch me.'

Tarble stood awkwardly by. 'What am I watching for?'

'I told you – unusual behaviour.'

'You were already acting a bit weird before you even put it on,' Tarble pointed out.

Vegeta was too fearful to react to Tarble's sass. 'I mean, should I start to act like Brolly did when we put it on him.'

'You mean really cheerful and relaxed?' Tarble asked in astonishment.

Vegeta hesitated. 'Yes.'

Tarble grinned. 'No, I don't think it's doing that to you.'

Vegeta felt a little foolish then, and began to relax. He found the edge of the mat that contained Raditz's booze collection and hunted around until he found the button that capsulated it again – it was the first time he had personally used one of Bulma's capsules. He pocketed the capsule then, confiscating it. Raditz had caused too much trouble with it already.

'Serve the dinner, runt.'

Suddenly he felt a strange sensation, like his head was buzzing, and he felt weak; slumping on the arm of the chair. Just as suddenly it was gone again, leaving him shaken. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was 2am Galactic time exactly. Tarble didn't notice and continued unpacking dinner.

'I dropped some off for the others,' he told Vegeta as he fetched plates for them. 'I didn't get enough for Nappa and Raditz if they come back though.'

'Good. They don't deserve to get fed tonight.'

'What did they do?' Tarble asked with interest.

But Vegeta was not willing to talk about it. 'Nothing you need to know about.'

'Okay.' Tarble handed him his plate and sat at the coffee table where he'd laid out the spread of BBQ meats and strange salads he'd returned with. 'Um, Prince Vegeta?'

Vegeta's skin prickled at little at being addressed like this by Tarble, a thought nearing consciousness that he was not willing to acknowledge.

'Yes?'

'I was thinking about going back to the ship after dinner, if that's all right. The tank is still showing Kakarott's condition is critical. I think I should keep Krillin and Puar company, and Brolly feels bad about what happened.'

Vegeta sighed, noticing the boy's worried expression. This soft-heartedness of Tarble's, that was so offensive to a Saiyan sensibility, seemed more natural amongst the company of Earthlings, almost as if he'd been born one. Vegeta still disliked it, but he found he was a little more tolerant of it now that he was used to the Earthlings.

'Fine. Do whatever. But tell me what happened to Kakarott.'

They ate while Tarble related their disastrous training session from the top, including Raditz getting thrown through a cliff. Not that that was particularly alarming for Vegeta to hear, but until now it had always been he or Nappa that put Raditz through the scenery.

'So we attacked Brolly for a while, but it wasn't much fun. I mean, Brolly was scared, and he got a bit more used to it, and it was just boring to hit someone that didn't hit back, so a little while after Raditz left, we stopped. Krillin said we should train Brolly, so we all started giving him tips and showing him things, and then taking turns doing simple routines and slow-speed sparring with him. And he actually started to get better. Then I guess Goku - I mean, Kakarott! – must've decided that Brolly was doing well enough that he could handle something faster, and he went at Brolly. But Brolly wasn't expecting it and got a fright. He lashed out so fast that Krillin and I didn't even see it, but he knocked Kakarott for miles across the desert. As soon as we found him we rushed him back to the ship.'

'Huh,' Vegeta grunted. Brolly was troubling. He doubted that anyone but himself would be up to the task of sparring with him, and yet the dummy couldn't even fight. 'Sounds like it was Kakarott's own fault.'

'Yeah, but... _none_ of us expected Brolly to react like that!'

Vegeta shrugged. He would have to assess Brolly for himself, and he had enough other things to worry about right now. He took the diadem off. It wouldn't just pull off - when he tried, it felt like it was gripping his scalp painfully, and it gave him a moment of alarm before the remembered the clasp. Then it came off easily.

Tarble had just excused himself to go back to the ship when Bulma called out plaintively from the bedroom.

'Are you eating? Can I have some?'

Returning to the bedroom he found Bulma propped up lopsidedly on pillows, apparently hanging on to the fish-scale patterned headboard to balance herself even while reclining.

'Will there be any point in feeding you?' he asked. 'You may just vomit it back up.'

'But I'm hungry!' she complained. 'My tummy hurts. I think some food would make me feel better.'

He left and returned with the leftovers of his meal. She scarfed it down as best she could with a fork that kept missing her mouth. Disgusted, Vegeta would have left her to it, except that he was worried she would manage to choke on a chunk of meat in her state. Instead he supervised her. She had eaten about half of what was on her plate when she asked, in a whimpering voice of misery for a glass of water. Vegeta rolled his eyes, unable to believe that he had become some sort of body servant for a drunken female, but he went and got her a glass of water anyway. By the time he returned with it she was asleep again.

It looked like they were going to be the only ones in two suites tonight. He took her bowl and scraps away, then turned off the bedroom light but left the door open to the living area, shining a beam of light over Bulma on the big bed. He took his pants and shirt off, and lay down under the sheet on the small bed facing her. He was glad no one else was around to witness him playing Bulma's nursemaid.

* * *

Raditz hauled up into a nightclub called  _Dance Dance_ , two towns up the coast. It was practically deserted, but then he supposed it was still early. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to lose himself in a crowd or play a loner anyhow.

He sat down at the bar and hauled out the credit chip he'd been carrying all day. It only had a hundred and fifty three credits and fifty centis on it, which probably wasn't enough to find a place to sleep, but if he was frugal it might be enough to get him so drunk he wouldn't care where he slept. One thing was for sure – he was probably in so much trouble it would be safer for him not to go back to the hotel tonight. He'd heard Vegeta's summons and wasn't having any of it.

'What's cheap?' he asked the bartender.

'Gum-gum fruit slushies are ten credits tonight.'

'What's a gum-gum – oh never mind. Is it alcoholic?'

'Yes.'

'One of those then.'

A gum-gum fruit slushie tasted exactly like it sounded. Raditz looked around the dark, shiny and blue accented interior, the pulsing lights and the patrons who wandered in, looked lost and mostly wandered back out again.

He didn't know what was going on between Vegeta and Bulma. Until this afternoon he'd assumed it was straight forward, but hearing that Vegeta had made it a really horrible mess didn't surprise him in retrospect. He also didn't trust that Vegeta was done with Bulma. Instinct told him not to even go there, but Bulma had forcibly infected him with thoughts of her again. He drank four gum-gum fruit slushies in a row, becoming increasingly maudlin. It wasn't so much that he wanted Bulma, but he thought that he might want something like what he'd thought was going on between them – something kind of friendly and on-going – a girl he could respect who respected him. It bothered him that Vegeta wasn't maximising the opportunity that had fallen into his lap. She was like a sapphire cast before swine – a very argumentative sapphire, but still.

He was busy entertaining a fantasy in which he introduced a much less drunken Bulma to a better class of hook up, when the barman handed him his tenth slushie and turned to take the order of the patron that had come up alongside him.

'I'm not sure what I feel like, tonight,' she said.

Raditz turned and found himself sliding off his stool, his feet coming down to catch him and jack him up to his full height. Maybe it was the bottle and a half of spirit and nine bad cocktails in him that were talking, but the woman next to him was nothing less than stunning. She was tall and bald, and her skin was the most shimmering shade of palest pink; pearlescent, translucent. Her irises were pale blue but that seemed to make her black pupils pop all the more from her dark rimmed eyes. She was slim but not weedy – her shoulders were strong looking, and the body under her tight red bandeau dress was firm. Her expression was confident as she looked Raditz up and down in return.

 _Delicate AND strong_.

'Hey,' he said, not really on his best game and taken by surprise.

'Are those gum-gum fruit slushies good then?' She cocked a brow at the drink in his hand.

'No, I wouldn't recommend.'

'But you've drunk at least three that I've seen. Why would you drink them if they were no good?'

Raditz grinned, his sodden brain still able to make the connection that she'd been observing him for a while.

'Well, I've been naughty, so I deserve to be punished.'

'Really?' she said, her second eyebrow joining her first.

'Yup.'

'What kind of naughty?'

'I may have enabled my boss's girl to get absolutely shit-faced. She poured the drinks down her own throat though so that's her fault, and my boss's for being an ass to her. He won't see it that way though.'

She made a shooing motion with her hand. 'Bosses – can spin off the disk of the galaxy as far as I'm concerned. I try and have as little to do with mine as possible.'

'What do you do?'

'Provide personal services.'

'Uh-huh.' He acknowledged on a certain level that this was a non-answer, but his brain was too sluggish to work out what she might mean.

She ordered a gum-gum slushie despite his warning. 'I'm curious now.' And then tasted it. 'Oh. Well. I'll have to have a word with Zen-zen – that's not good.'

'Cheap though,' Raditz admitted.

'Well, it's got that going for it.' She turned to look across the club, preparing to leave the bar. Raditz glanced around quickly. There was still hardly anyone inside. A single brave couple had ventured onto the dancefloor, which was now flashing and swirling with lights.

'Are you here with someone?' he asked, stalling her.

She gave him a coy look. 'My friend Marina.' She pointed across the dancefloor to where another beautiful woman was chatting to another man.

'She looks busy. Want to dance?' he asked, hopefully. He could only overcome his self-consciousness to dance when he was drunk or high, and luckily he was now quite drunk.

She considered it and him. 'All right,' she agreed.

He led her onto the dancefloor, struggling not to stumble or overbalance as they started to dance - perhaps he was a bit  _too_ drunk?

The girl danced well and managed to look graceful and unselfconscious, though slightly disdainful of the activity. Or maybe the dance moves of her partner that she disapproved of. Raditz had commenced his usual thrashing motions that were fairly standard form for drunk men all over the galaxy. Sometimes he wished he knew how to dance properly, but when he was sober the thought of practicing or studying would never cross his mind.

 _She's out of my league_ , he decided.  _Oh, well, it's worth a shot anyway._  He leaned forward to speak into her ear over the music.

'My name is Raditz, by the way,' too far gone to remember not to use his real name.  _Damn!_

'Did you say Radness?'

'Yeah. Radness.'

She pointed to herself. 'I'm Anemone.'

'You're an  _enemy?_ '

'No! My name is Anemone!'

'Good, 'cause I was gonna say, I don't want to have to fight you!'

She laughed and shook her head. They danced for a couple of tracks, smiling when they caught each other's eyes, and were slowly joined on the floor by more patrons.

At last the music moved to something slower, and taking his chances, Raditz stepped closer and slipped his hands around her waist. To his pleasure she raised her arms to his neck, resting her wrists on his shoulders, one hand still clutching her slushie. The rocking rhythm of the song swayed in time with Radtiz's inebriated head, and he hoped he wouldn't get dizzy enough to fall over. Right now he felt like he was floating on a sea of spinning, flashing lights, and he was glad to have someone to hang onto.

'You didn't seem very happy earlier,' she noted. 'Are you going to be in trouble with your boss for…getting his "girl" drunk?'

'Yeah,' Raditz said, without any enthusiasm. He had forgotten for a moment the mess awaiting him back at the hotel. 'Best if I don't show my face again tonight.'

'What's his problem? Does he think you were  _trying_  to get her drunk? To seduce her?'

'Probably.'

'Were you?'

'No!'

Something about the way he said that made Anemone give him a shrewd look. 'But you like her?'

Raditz snorted. 'No. Well, not really. Not  _that_  way – I don't know! I feel…sorry for her. The way he acts, he doesn't deserve her.'

'You're worried about her?'

'Ah, I don't know. I guess she'll be all right.' Then he sighed, realising that this was not a great topic of conversation for seducing someone else. 'Can we not talk about her? Or him? I don't really want to think about their weird situation right now.'

'Okay. Let's not.'

She pulled away from him, and he froze, thinking he'd really screwed up now, but she only tipped her head back and downed the last of the slushie. 'Wait a minute.' She ditched her glass on a table before coming back to him and putting her arms around his neck again, burying her hands in his hair and sliding the shaggy locks between her fingers. Raditz was puzzled but pleased.

'You like my hair?' he asked.

'I've never seen so much hair on a person's head!'

'Have you seen more on any other part of someone?'

'Mmm. No, but it's a close thing.' Her fingers were becoming mired in knots.

'Sorry, I haven't combed it for a while,' he said, when she tried to disentangle herself.

'It doesn't bother me. I mean, grooming is a totally foreign concept to me,' she said. 'My species doesn't have hair anywhere.'

'What, not even eyelashes?'

She blinked her eyes.

'I guess not.'

'So, I find hair pretty fascinating. And baffling from an evolutionary standpoint. I mean,' she tugged his mane again, 'what is the purpose of this? A male's way of attracting a mate?'

'Maybe,' he said. 'Is it working?'

She smiled. 'Maybe.'

Raditz couldn't believe his luck, for his evening to turn around so well, and to be flirting with someone like this in his arms. He blinked, trying to get the room to stop spinning to no avail.

'You're beautiful,' he told her. 'Did you know that?'

'Yes, I had noticed actually,' she replied, smiling with playful humour. 'It helps in my line of work.'

'How's that? What kind of personal service to you provide?'

She squeezed herself up even tighter against him and flicked her brows up suggestively. ' _Very_  personal.'

Raditz's heart sank. 'Oh, I didn't realise – I mean, I'm not a potential client for you.' He was embarrassed – he didn't have enough money to pay for a prostitute, especially not a classy one like this. He should have known this was too good to be true, and he supposed she would move on now.

Instead she asked, 'Are you a pro too, then?'

'A pro? A pro what?'

'A professional  _prostitute._ '

He gaped.

'Hmm. Well, I guess  _not_  then, if you're reacting like that. I just thought that someone like you in a place like this,' she gripped his biceps over the tightly stretched T-shirt sleeves, 'dressed like this, might be charging money for services rendered. There's usually at least a couple of male escorts working this club.'

Raditz guessed that his combo of tight, white Captain L'Cheez pants and snug-fitting Earthling T-shirt might pass for whore-wear around here. 'Yeah. I'm not.' Then he suddenly grinned. 'Unless you want me to be! I normally don't charge for my performances, but I can make an exception for you.'

'That's quite alright. Normally I do too, but tonight is my night off, and I fancy a little something of my own choosing.'

Raditz stopped dancing, unable to believe his luck. They locked eyes.

'What do you mean?' he asked.

She shrugged one shoulder, trying not to smile. 'Did I play my hand too soon?'

Raditz grinned. 'I'm an upfront kinda guy. So, no!' Encouraged, he pulled her closer and let his hands wander over the skin-tight dress.

'So, are you holidaying here?' she asked him. 'Probably not, if you have a boss. Do you work here in town?'

'No, but close by. Short term.'

'Yeah? Doing what?'

'I'm a...' Damn, what had the receptionist said? 'Sphere...tournament player?'

Her eyes went wide. 'A sphere field tournament fighter?' She ran a hand down one of his meaty arms. 'Well, that explains all this, then! But I'd better not get too attached!'

'Why not?'

'Unless you're that good?'

'Yeah, I'm good!'

She gave him a stern look. 'Glad to hear it. The mortality rate in the tournaments is disgusting. I don't know how anyone can stomach to watch it, let alone fight in it.'

'It's a way to earn a crust,' he said, hoping this was a good enough justification for this sport he'd never heard of. Actually, it sounded like a pretty good time – he must remember to check it out if Vegeta let him live that long. 'I hope that doesn't put you off.'

She looked pensive, but then shrugged the expression away. 'No, not really. But I'd better not hear you've been killed at some later date, if it turns out that I like you. That would make me sad, and I hate being sad.'

Raditz was touched. He couldn't recall the last time someone had expressed concern if he lived or died. 'Okay, I promise to be awesome and win.'

'Thank you.'

* * *

Vegeta woke sometime later to a commotion. Bulma had kicked the pail over in struggling to her feet and now snatched it back up before bumping into the door frame in her haste to get out. If she was making for the bathroom she didn't make it – Vegeta heard her vomit into the pail. Getting up he make his groggy way out into the lit living area, squinting at the light. Bulma was crouched on the floor, hanging over the bucket. The acrid smell of regurgitated dinner hit him and made his own stomach feel queasy.

'I told you, you wouldn't keep it down,' he complained.

She only moaned in reply.

'Can you stand?' he asked. She nodded and pushed herself weakly to her feet, then began shuffling and swaying towards the bathroom. He caught up to her and grabbed her firmly by the upper arm, partly because she looked like she needed the support, and partly because he was angry with her, and he marched her in there. She put her pail of puke on the vanity and bent over the sink to wash her mouth out, then drank water out of her hand. He watched her take a few gulps and then told her, 'Don't drink so much cold water at once right after you've puked. You'll make yourself puke again.'

She stopped, but stayed hunched over the sink, hanging onto it, trembling.

'I feel terrible,' she whispered.

'You  _look_  terrible,' he needled her, which was no lie – as well as being pale and sunken-eyed she had dried vomit in her hair and on the shoulder of her t-shirt, but she didn't even react to the dig. Eventually she half straightened and emptied the pail into the toilet whilst Vegeta held his breath and scowled at her. His disapproval seemed to be gaining him nothing though – Bulma was a pathetic sight as she took the bucket over to the bath in an attempt to wash it. He was afraid she was going to fall in and crack her head on the tiles or something, and he was furious at her for putting herself in this state.

'Go and lie down again before you fall over,' he snapped at her.

Dull-eyed she shuffled away again, clinging briefly to the door frame and muttering a wavering, 'thank you'. Then she gasped as he came up behind her and half lifted and half dragged her smartly back to bed. She rolled under the covers this time, shivering as if it was cold. Still fuming he returned to the bathroom for her barf bucket. She would be needing that again before too long, he predicted. At arm's length and with his face turned away he rinsed it out in the bath – a disgusting task he had never done for anyone, including himself – and seethed with anger towards her. The several sodden, discarded towels already in the bathtub seemed to suggest that Raditz had already had to do some extensive clean up. When he got back to the bedroom her eyes were closed, though he doubted she was asleep, and this time he closed the door. The curtains were open and a pink-hued moon had risen – it should be enough light for even her Earthling eyes to see by.

* * *

He felt like he had just drifted off to sleep when he was woken by the sound of more retching.

'Oh, gods!' he snarled, his anger instantly reigniting. 'Are you ever going to stop?'

'I'm sorry,' she said, sitting up in bed and clutching her precious plastic garbage pail to her. 'I wish I could.' Suddenly she retched again, and again, but thankfully, for  _Vegeta_ , nothing was coming up. Then she started to sob a little, and Vegeta cringed and covered his face with his arm. Why did he let Tarble go away? He could have assigned the boy to nurse Bulma through her recovery instead of suffering it himself. He rejected the pang he felt like he had earlier at entrusting her safety to someone else. It couldn't be that he was so worried about her that he needed to be the one to watch out for her. It  _couldn't_.

After a while she asked in a wavering voice, 'Vegeta, can you get me some water please?'

'I already got you some, earlier,' he answered without looking. 'It's on the bedside table.'

'Thank you.'

'Don't drink it too fast or I will have to rinse that stinking bucket again.'

'Thanks,' she said between sips. 'For taking care of me.'

Vegeta made a small noise somewhere between a groan and a growl.

'I feel awful,' she said, and he almost groaned again. Even though he was exhausted,  _she_  seemed to be perking up and ready to be chatty. 'How come you're in my room, though?'

'I'm not in your room, you are in mine,' he pointed out. 'And if you hadn't gotten so spectacularly drunk you would know that!'

'Huh? Why am I in  _your_  room?'

'Because that is where  _Raditz_  deposited you.'

'Oh,' she said, but it was an 'oh' layered with realisation and guilt. It twisted Vegeta's gut. He removed his arm from his eyes and sat up to see her. The frayed ends of his temper were coming free.

Bulma's gratitude for Vegeta being with her started to evaporate when his next words were spoken so snidely.

' _Oh_? Oh,  _what?_  Would you mind telling me how you came to be passed-out drunk by the time I got back this evening?' The pink light of the setting moon was enough for her to see the broad strokes of his agitation.

'Um, Raditz and I were playing drinking games.'

'What  _kind_  of "drinking games"?'

Bulma hesitated before answering. She could hear the dangerous edge in Vegeta's voice – he was obviously furious with her, despite his apparent kindness before. She wanted and needed to tread carefully, but she felt like utter shit. The nausea had died down again for now after puking, but she felt the most ill she ever had in her life. Her brain felt shrunken and dry and delicate like she couldn't believe, her stomach hurt from all the puking, she felt cold inside, and couldn't stop shivering. She could barely think at all, other than to feel ashamed of the state she was in.

'Just stupid games – betting on a TV show, and a truth game.'

'Which you lost, obviously.'

'I don't think I did, actually. Raditz had to drink way more than me.'

'Raditz is  _Saiyan_ , and he weighs about three times as much as you do. Of course he is always going to beat you in a drinking game! I didn't think you were an idiot! What possessed you to drink so much?'

Bulma had no excuse except her ignorance, which she was pained to admit. 'I didn't know I was getting that drunk. I mean, I knew I was drunk, but I didn't  _know_... I've never had the chance to drink so much.'

'So you thought you'd experiment with drinking straight spirits against a Saiyan?'

Bulma could have cried – why was he being so mean to her when she felt this bad? 'You don't need to punish me for it, you know! This hangover is already overkill on the punishment!'

'You don't have a hangover, idiot - you have alcohol poisoning!'

Alcohol poisoning? That was a thought that hadn't occurred to her until now, but she supposed the symptoms fit. Had she been so reckless that she'd put herself in real danger? She felt even more ashamed. Why hadn't Raditz stopped her? Then she dimly remembered him pulling a glass from her hand. Maybe he had? She started to remember other things too, like crying over Vegeta. Oh, damn, what had she done? Had she confessed to Raditz? Had she poured her heart out? She remembered feeling very safe with Raditz, and being carried by him. Where was Raditz now? She thought she might rather have his sympathetic presence right now rather than Vegeta's harsh and angry presence. Why was he here now, after rejecting her earlier? Her heart contracted again as she remembered the wound Vegeta had dealt to it, and then it was washed with acid bitterness at his next words.

'I thought you cared more about succeeding in our mission than to get hammered out of your skull for the hell of it. You could have killed yourself!'

The words rushed out from her place of hurt, leaping her filter with ease. 'Would you even care if I  _had_ killed myself?'

He stared at her a long time, angry, but taking the time to choose his words very carefully. She waited and hoped for some passionate declaration in the affirmative, but instead she got something dismissive and very far from passionate.

'Don't be so melodramatic. Of course I care,' he said eventually. 'How am I supposed to get back to planet Namek without you? You usefulness is undeniable and proven.'

She closed her eyes, feeling close to tears again. 'You don't even know what  _caring_ is!'

'I didn't realise there were right and wrong answers to your quizzing. Of course I don't want you dead. The reasons why hardly matter.'

'Don't they? They do to me! Are you sure that if I did die that it wouldn't be a huge relief to you? An embarrassing mistake, permanently swept under the rug!'

'What are you  _talking_  about?'

'I'm a  _secret_ , Vegeta! You've made me your dirty little secret!'

He was silent for a while before answering. 'Of course it's a secret. Do you want to go screaming our connection from the rooftops, like seducing me was some mighty achievement?'

'No! Of course not!' Her voice cracked, and tears began to fall, but she felt unable to hold anything in right then; words, tears or feelings. 'You're such a bastard! My  _achievement_?  _I_  seduced  _you_? Screw you, Vegeta! I thought...' But what had she thought? She'd known she hadn't slept with him for love. She'd known he didn't love her. Didn't that make her a fool? 'I thought what we did was  _mutual_. And it was sweet. And you seemed to feel  _something_  real about me. Oops, my mistake!'

She started to cry weakly and rested her dizzy head back on the pillow. All this bitterness was going to her stomach; she was going to be sick again soon.

Vegeta sighed again. 'I don't know what you want me to say, but you are being overly-dramatic. It's the alcohol still in your system.'

'I'll still feel the same way when it's gone,' she sniffled.

'Then we'll speak when you're sober. If you  _must_.'

'It's pretty clear that you'd prefer to never mention it-' She stopped in mid-sentence and then reached quickly for her pail again.

'Urgh, not again!'

* * *

Again it felt like Vegeta had hardly been to sleep when there was a loud knock on the bedroom door.

'What?' he snapped, making Bulma jerk in her sleep on the other bed. Nappa swung the door wide, stepping in.

'What a great day to be up and going!' he announced, and then stopped in surprise looking down at Bulma's still pathetic form. Vegeta started to flush with guilt, even though he had nothing to be guilty for, but he knew what this might look like.

'Day? The sun is barely up.'

Nappa transferred his attention to Vegeta. 'We're still on ship-time. Surely it's late morning? Anyway, as we're moving on today I thought we may as well get an early start. Where's everyone else?'

Vegeta stared at his second. The man hardly looked fresh and well rested, and he stunk of whisky and women, but he seemed full of a nervous energy. What was he on about?

' _Nappa_ , what have you done?'

'Ha-ha!' said Nappa, in a lame attempt to soften his next words as a joke. 'I was venting last night, and may have gotten a little carried away. It's okay though!' he exclaimed as Vegeta pulled back the covers and got up out of bed. 'The hotel agreed not to press charges, so it's fine. But it might be good if we were to leave soon in case somebody changes their minds.'

' _What?_ ' Vegeta was sickened; utterly filled with contempt for Nappa at that moment. 'What did you  _do?_ '

'I already told you,' said Nappa. 'Yes, I screwed up, but you said you don't want to get involved with any police, so isn't it better that we leave?'

Vegeta roared and shoved Nappa back into the lounge, then slammed the door, making the whole wall shake. Bulma squealed and jumped upright in bed.

'What's going on?' she asked.

'Get up. We need to check out in a hurry.'

He shoved yesterday's clothes back on, and Bulma rose, fully dressed, from the bedclothes and stood swaying. Vegeta hurriedly stuffed his and Raditz's small amount of luggage back into their bags and opened the door to find Nappa still in the lounge.

'What are you doing just standing there, you oaf! Get everyone's belongings together if we need to go!'

'Where is everyone else?'

'Back at the ship – Kakarott's fighting for his life in the tank.'

'What!' cried Bulma from behind him. 'When did that happen?'

'When you were busy getting blitzed!'

They gathered everything they could find, bagging or capsulating it all, and waited while Bulma threw up again, and then they made their disreputable way to reception.

Vegeta couldn't stand the look of faint disgust on the face of the receptionist. When she went to fetch the manager from the breakfast room Vegeta hissed at Nappa, 'You have humiliated us!' However, it did not convey the depth of Vegeta's feeling.

'Sorry,' said Nappa. 'I got carried away.'

Bulma was disengaged from everything happening around her, pale and perhaps feeling too ill to take an interest, or maybe worried about Kakarott. She didn't notice the exchange and went to stand outside in the fresh air and discreetly gag over the flowerbeds.

Vegeta felt sick with shock himself when he was presented with the bill.

'Over thirty three thousand credits! How can that be?'

The manager went through the items with him, starting with the small but still pricey room service items, minibar and drinks, then two nine hundred credit bottles of whisky, eight hundred credits of sex-for-purchase, and the rest unspecified damages to property and personnel. It was practically all their cash.

'And I'm afraid you and your party will be banned from staying here or at any of our sister resorts on Baccanelli,' said the manager tersely. Vegeta didn't argue, just paid the bill with movements jerky with suppressed rage. He was very much looking forward to being out in the desert very soon, as there was surely no better venue for venting what he felt about his underlings right now.

* * *

Raditz lay in bed for a long time after waking, not wishing to move and disturb his volatile feeling gut. He opened his eyes and then closed them again in dismal recollection.

_Oh, Gods, I'm still here._

After a good while he turned his head enough to see Anemone slumbering peacefully on her pillow. That was enough for his guts; something was going to give.

He stumbled along as quick as he could to find the bathroom, then sat on the pot letting it all come out one end whilst trying to keep it in the other. He continued to sit there a long time, as wracked with regret as he was by stomach cramps. Was there any part of yesterday he didn't regret?

He went straight from the toilet to the shower. He didn't wish to prolong his visit, but he felt badly the need to cleanse himself and wash away evidence of the night before. When he did finally venture out of the bathroom, he crept back to the bedroom, and to his great relief Anemone was no longer there. He started to hunt around for his clothes, ramming his socks back on when he found them balled on the floor, and then his underwear, but he couldn't find his pants or T-shirt. He had to admit, the apartment was a nice place – not large, but tastefully decorated in white and other pale tones that matched the occupant well, and very clean and tidy, but all the white made his pants and T-shirt hard to spot.

'Looking for these?'

Raditz turned and then flinched and turned hurriedly away again, feeling another wave of nausea come over him. Anemone stood in the doorway holding his pants and T-shirt, wearing a pale blue silk robe that hung open, showing a slice of cleavage and flat belly all the way down to her (or his?) penis.

'Yeah.' He held out his hand without looking at her. She tossed them at him, and they bounced off his side.

'Oh, for fuck's sake!' she exclaimed. ' _Now_  you have a problem with it?'

'To be fair, I had a bit of a problem with it last night, too.'

'Not enough to stop you.'

'Only because I was drunk and you talked me into it.' He turned to look at her again, automatically, and flinched again. 'Can you close the robe already?'

Anemone's eyes flashed with anger, but she sashed her robe. 'I did  _not_  talk you into it! That was called full disclosure. Lizard's balls, at least my clients appreciate what they're paying for! I wanted to meet someone nice and have some fun, not suffer through your morning-after sexuality-crisis freak-out!'

'Your clients know that they're paying for a dude!'

'I am not a "dude"!' she cried. 'I told you – I'm Oisterian! And we have three sexes – male, female and hemale. I'm a hemale, and as much male as I am female!'

'You have a dick,' he pointed out.

'And a vagina,' she countered. 'Plus I can bear and nurse babies if I wanted to! Does that sound male to you?'

Raditz looked away again, wanting to accept her argument, but that would mean accepting her penis too, which he had managed to mostly ignore last night, though it had been a bit weird. He suddenly recalled what it felt like to  _touch_.

 _No, I didn't touch it!_  he rushed to deny that memory.  _How drunk were you? You probably dreamt that._

'Does pissing standing up sound very female to you?'

'I'm not  _female!_ '

'Exactly!'

'You're an asshole, Radness! And not nearly as cool as your name!'

He shoved his clothes and boots back on and then pushed past her through the door, heading down the hallway to the front door. As he passed the kitchen he could smell and hear food cooking,  _good_  food, and his stomach gave a hollow flop. It sure would be good to have something in there. He supposed it was too late now to turn things around and get a free breakfast before he left.

'What?' Anemone demanded, brought up short as she followed him out, then she saw where he was looking. 'I was about to offer you breakfast, before you turned into a d-dick-fearing  _bastard_.'

He was surprised by the tremulous tone of her voice and half-turned to see her. She had a deep scowl on her face, but tears were brimming her eyes. They were so strange and so beautiful, and her lips plump, her chin delicate and pointed. Her skin glowed like there was a layer of soft mother of pearl just under the surface. He found her entrancing  _still_ , but all that femininity was a lie, or half-lie at least.

'Um, sorry,' he said. 'I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.'

'Well you  _did_. So you can leave.'

Now he really did feel like an asshole. He hadn't thought about how his reaction might hurt her. He cast about for words that might take the sting out a bit. 'You really are very pretty, except for the dick. But I'm sure there are other guys out there who're into that.'

'Like  _you_  were, last night?'

'Well, no, I was able to  _put up_  with it while I was pissed – because I like everything  _else_  about you…' But this was the wrong thing to say.

'SHUT UP and  _get out_ , Radness!' she screamed, her whole head flushing pink. 'I don't care what you like and don't like about me!' She shoved him, and he let her, to the front door, which he opened so that she could push him out onto the second storey landing of her building.

'I'm sorry!'

She slammed the door.

Raditz stood for a few moments on the open air landing feeling very bad, and not just in his head and intestines.

The sun was already well up. Vegeta might be getting angry with Raditz for not showing his face yet, but Raditz was in no hurry to do so. There was only so much misery he was able to endure at one time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: So, did that go like you thought it would?


	62. Into the Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yup, I did indeed have a great holiday - went flying, went snowboarding (though not as much as I would have liked of that - hubby decided he was not that fussed and I didn't want to go up the mountain without him), went walking, did a tour of a distillery, a private and slightly unsanctioned tour of a hydro power station, and horse-riding. Ah, I feel adventure satiated for now.
> 
> Now, onto the business at hand. Poor Anemone. Poor Bulma. Poor Celestia. Poor Frieza?

Planet Frieza 65 loomed closer through purple-tinted glass window of Frieza's audience chamber. They had passed through the Centennial Wormhole two days before, and were now stopping for a much needed ship repairs, restock, recrew, and to develop a strategy for searching the nearby star systems for Planet Namek.

Frieza sneered again. He knew the odds were not good of locating the place in anything less than  _years_ , but at least no one else would be able to find it any faster than he could with his considerable resources.

That Namek tot had tricked him so neatly, it still stung to think about. He should've known not to overstep his reach, but the promise of more wishes had made him greedy. Threatening violence to get what you wanted clearly didn't work well as a strategy when you could be instantly teleported far away with a wish. When he had appeared on the ship, his unleashed power had shorted half the electrics and overloaded the engines. There'd been fires and dark corridors filled with smoke, and arcing terminals and venting into space before he'd been able to calm himself to transform back to his second form. Between that and what the Saiyan scum had gotten up to on Namek he had less than half his compliment of crew left and a good portion of the ship out of commission.

The crew were avoiding him even more than normal. He hadn't been able to force himself all the way back into his first form – he was too angry still – so he'd staying in his second. He knew that the crew were confused and intimidated by this form. At first they had thought King Cold was on board with them, but after a while Frieza let it be known that it was himself, only stronger and worse-tempered than usual. And he had, after all, killed the first two crew who had told him there was no record at all of Planet Namek in the ship's computer or the directory. Oh, how he  _loathed_ magic!

Top of the list of things which vexed him was that he wasn't sure though if Vegeta and his pack of mutts was still on Planet Namek. Vegeta's beacon had been silent since he had found himself abruptly removed from Planet Namek. That could mean Vegeta was currently travelling faster than the speed of light, or it could mean he was dead. Or it could mean that even Vegeta's signal was blocked from detection on the surface of Namek, and the traitor was still there, awaiting his own wish of immortality, safe in the knowledge that he was untouchable by Frieza.

The ship banked and began its descent, passing over the green fields of the Southern Pole before skating out over the central desert towards the landlocked sea, edged in a half moon by a sand-blasted city of dark spires and dark-tinted glass. The once severe silhouette had now been softened by weathering and unrestricted urban sprawl. Frieza disliked the place now. It had been a folly to build it in the first place. He had fancied the idea of living on a baking hot plain of pure nothingness next to a sea so dead that there was nothing in it besides the sky's reflection. But it turned out that sand was not nothing; it was entirely irritating, especially during the windy season. His own city had somewhat destroyed the pure, brutal aesthetic, and it had been expensive to run with all the cooling and water desalination required. Plus many species of his soldiers were unable to live in the conditions. Some would literally drop dead if they got caught outside for any length of time.

There was still a regional garrison in the city, ready to respond to rebellions and the like in this sector, but now that it was no longer one of his preferred bases of activity he allowed settlement on the planet. Most of the inhabitants lived at the cooler poles where farming was possible, but the capital had also grown, becoming a trading post as well as a service centre for PTO ships. He found that the settlements were useful for providing a steady stream of fresh mixed-breed PTO soldiers into his ranks. There was precious little for a young person born on this planet to do besides compete for a coveted service job in the city, farm or join the PTO to see the Galaxy. Common soldiers were only allowed to retire to these unfavoured planets of his; allowed to bring their war-spoil brides with them or take up one of the lonely females left behind when the young men joined the PTO, if they required a mate at all.

The massive mothership landed at the huge dock designed especially for it, settling with a bone-jarring clank on its metal insect legs before self-levelling. People then rushed up and down the corridors, the sound of their feet and issued orders penetrating Frieza's purple-tinted sanctuary.

The voice of Lieutenant Coif came over Frieza's scouter.

''The landing protocol is complete, my Lord. Dockside is indicating that they are ready for you.'

'Good. Let's go,' he said to Zarbon and the purple underling that had been promoted to temporarily fill Dodoria's shoes. Frieza was not well-impressed with this  _Cui's_ manner or lack of authority, and had half a mind to recall the Ginyu Squad and take one of them to be his new general, but he was better than nothing, if only to maintain the symmetry of his escort.

Exiting via the grand rampway, he was pleased to find the causeway to the open maw of the dock lined with guards. As one, they saluted. He marched out, flanked by Zarbon and Cui, and made his way across the blazing hot polycrete tiles to the delegation that waited for him a little way ahead. Frieza enjoyed the feel of the tiles burning the soles of his feet. Due to his superior genetics he was able to tolerate, and even enjoy, a very wide range of temperatures, atmospheres, and G-forces. He often preened that he was the most highly adapted being in the Galaxy, and no civilisation was a locked door to him because of it.

The waiting colonel and other officers bowed, then saluted him as he approached, looking rattled, but they greeted him by name, so they had obviously been warned about Frieza's transformation.

'Lord Frieza, I am Colonel Rectius, my Lord, and these are Majors Posteria and Glutemous, at your service,' said the colonel, bowing. He was a wiry, beak-faced man with a tough looking, sagging hide the colour of sundried mud. 'It is an honour to host you in your travels.'

'I'm sure it is. Has the palace been prepared?'

'Yes, my Lord.'

'Swept out the guano and livestock droppings?'

The colonel laughed nervously at the joke. Frieza wasn't particularly joking. A few years ago when he a passed through Planet Frieza 14 the residents had had to do just that. Frieza had demolished the derelict palace for their efforts.

'They are a simple bunch at times on Planet Frieza 65, but not that simple. The palace has been rarely used, and only for official business.'

'I'm glad to hear it.'

There was a loud sound from behind them, and Frieza turned, as everyone else did, to see that one of the honour guard and pitched face-first into the polycrete. The two fellows beside him hovered, unsure what to do, but then snapped back to attention when they saw their Master's eyes on them.

'Clean that fellow up,' ordered the Colonel, then chuckled weakly to Frieza. 'New recruits from the poles – not used to the heat yet.'

Frieza was already looking away, uninterested in fainting recruits. He was more interested in the levitating tub chair behind the colonel's group. 'Who is that for?' he asked.

'For you, my Lord,' explained the colonel. 'We heard you lost your favourite chair on Planet Namek, and hoped you would like to use this one.'

Frieza raised a brow and stepped around the colonel. The tub chair was barely past his knees on his nine-foot tall frame.

'Erm, but I can see that it's hardly appropriate now,' added the colonel.

Frieza sighed. He supposed he really should get a hold of himself by now. His father would accuse him of churlishness if he was here. With a bright flash of pink light to flare off some excess power, he pulled himself in, containing himself. The guards blinked and gasped when they saw him in his familiar form. He stepped into the chair and began levitating it up out of the dock to the high spire of the palace, followed by Zarbon, Cui, Rectius, Posteria and Glutemous. They alighted on the upper terrace outside the large windows of the audience chamber and on the same level as Frieza's old rooms. The window was an oversized, pointed archway with metal support beams crisscrossing it in curving, serve lines. Frieza rolled his eyes. Curves – what had he been thinking?

One of the majors rushed forward to open the door through the window, but it wouldn't open. He looked at Frieza fearfully.

'I'm very sorry, my Lord, but it appears this door is still locked.'

Frieza rolled his eyes again. Everything could be such a bother at times. The major barked sharp orders over his scouter for someone to come up from below and unlock the terrace door. The Colonel stepped forward and interrupted Frieza's laconic observation of the now tired-looking city.

'Perhaps we could use this delay to catch my Lord up on developments in this sector?' he suggested.

'Hmm?' Frieza made a barely interested sound. He hadn't considered the state of the rest of the Galaxy much lately, never mind this ass-end of it.

'We deployed over two thousand troops to Grenouillea Two to stabilise the Capital at your request. As you know, before they even arrived there, unrest had spread across the territory. We have confirmed now that there were a further six terrorist attacks in Spawn City and eight in other major cities since your departure-'

'Excuse me,' interrupted Frieza. 'I know no such thing!'

The colonel looked stunned.

'I – we have been sending intelligence updates to your ship.'

Frieza looked over at Zarbon, who looked at startled as the colonel. 'Is that correct?'

'I know nothing of it! But Dodoria handled incoming intelligence reports.'

'Yes, we did communicate in the first instance directly with General Dodoria,' confirmed the Colonel, 'but after we were informed of the General's death, the reports were taken by a junior officer, and I assumed, handed up the chain of command.'

Frieza turned to Cui, who looked ill, besides sweating freely from every pore of his exposed purple skin.

'I also received no reports, my Lord, I swear.'

'They are probably sitting unread on Dodoria's desk,' speculated Zarbon with a look of disappointment at Cui. Frieza growled in frustration – everything from the kitchens to the engine room had been effected by losses from the ranks and broken chains of command.

'It seems you are in the unenviable position of being the bearer of bad news,' he said to Colonel Rectius. 'So hurry up and spill it!'

It seemed that President Gate's government had fractured almost immediately between the executive and legislative branches, one seeking to impose Frieza's will and the other bent on preserving the people's freedoms. The courts attempted to impeach Gates, but he refused to step down and hid behind what portion of the military was loyal to him. The courts gathered the police under them in opposition, or at least some of the police, as some took the other side. From there the dispute devolved to the level of raids, street battles and assassinations, followed by groundswell movements on both sides, against each other, but some directly against the PTO forces on the ground. The curfew and checkpoints the PTO had attempted to enforce had failed in the face of rampant disobedience, and Grenouilleans, being what they were, were easily a match for the typical low-level PTO soldier. Wealthier citizens were fleeing the planet.

'And imports and exports have all but halted,' the colonel finished. They sat now inside the blessedly cool hall below its cathedral ceilings, and a glass of Frieza's favourite wine in his hand.

' _What?_ How are Abacusa and Slydrool meant to collect the taxes when the planet is in disarray? What a mess!'

'We've sent everyone we can over to Grenouillea, and even deployed the men from the outposts of planets Blenholz and Parsk, to no avail. We've been operating on a skeleton staff here – a dozen each of officers and staff, plus a hundred or so raw recruits. I suppose as you never heard the reports, that is why there was no response to our request for reinforcements.'

'That is all I need!' said Frieza, throwing up his hands. 'I was planning on  _taking_  men from the garrison, not lending them! Tell me you haven't sent away your shipwrights and engineers as well.'

'No, we haven't, but we don't have a  _lot_  of them to start with. I saw that your ship has quite a lot of damage. I won't lie, Lord Frieza – without even examining it or being an expert myself, I know it's going to take  _some time_ for our engineers to make your flagship spaceworthy again.'

'Urgh!' Frieza exclaimed. He was going to be stuck cooling his heels in  _this_  place. Yes, it had a functioning palace, but he had no idea what he'd been thinking with this oppressive aesthetic, now a hundred years out of fashion, and it was too much to hope that the local cuisine had improved in that time.

'We should mobilise a division from Planet Frieza 54,' Zarbon suggested, still dabbing his sweaty face with a damp cloth. 'It has the largest standing force in this arc of the Galaxy.'

'I'm calling the Ginyu Squad, too,' said Frieza.

'What for, my Lord?' asked Zarbon. 'Surely things are not that bad?'

'I want someone I can trust to lead them,' said Frieza. 'Someone strong enough to strike fear into the Grenouilleans. It sounds like they are dancing a jig on my authority right now – it's time to remind them that there's more to fear from the PTO than some backwater desert rats with chi-blasters.'

Zarbon cocked his head. 'You're right, of course, but Ginyu is at least a month's travel away right now. The division from 54 could be here in seven or eight days if we tell them tonight.'

'Well, who am I to send then?' He looked around the small gathering, dismissing Rectius and his majors out of hand. 'These three hardly strike fear, plus it was under their command that this screw up happened.' The Colonel, who had stood up well until now, started to look a little nervous. Frieza considered Cui and Zarbon. Cui's power level was maybe high enough, but no one knew who he was, and he had no commanding presence whatsoever.

'You,' he said to Zarbon.

'Me?' replied Zarbon in shock. 'You mean send me to  _Grenouillea Two?_ '

'Yes. Unless you think you can't  _handle_  it?'

'I can handle it my Lord!' His minty cheeks were turning pink. 'I just… I thought you didn't want me going there.'

Frieza didn't particularly  _want_  to send Zarbon, and had always refrained from exposing him to any Grenouillean politics lest he take a personal interest. Zarbon had disappointed him greatly on Namek, but he was the only card in Frieza's hand unless he wanted to tamp down the rebellion himself. That was a last resort, though. What message did that send when a localised unrest required the Lord of the Galaxy to step in in person? Extinguishing the flames of rebellion was a tedious task unless one blew the planet up, and Grenouillea Two was worth too much to his coffers to make that appealing.

'Want and get are two separate things, Zarbon. I don't  _want_  to send you there anymore than I want to be stranded here. I know it might be painful to have to walk amongst the people who so callously offered you up in sacrifice as an infant. Luckily for you, I saw something more in you than they did; someone worthy of standing at my side, my right-hand man, which is why I nurtured and raised you up. I'm very  _proud_  of you, Zarbon.'

Zarbon continued to blush, and look generally stunned. Frieza realised he must have laid it on a bit thick.

'Thank you, my Lord.'

Frieza allowed him a gracious smile. 'I'm sure you will do an admirable job showing those swamp-toads who is their true lord and master – me! Don't spare the rod. I want them back in their place – and I want those blasted towers repaired! And I want that tax money.'

'Which towers, my Lord?'

And Frieza realised that Zarbon had no knowledge of that project. 'Just some technical towers that Vegeta and his cohorts destroyed, that do a very valuable job.'

'What is that?'

Frieza waved his hand, irritated that Zarbon hadn't dropped the subject. 'Never mind that now. Colonel, let us talk about ship repairs.'

* * *

Yamcha felt like he'd been flying for months on end. His existence had narrowed to the ribbon of road below him, the golden glow to his right and the constant battle raging in his mind and body. His body was still convinced that it would die of exhaustion any moment. His lungs burnt, his sides ached, his eye lids fluttered, threatening to slip shut into sleep. He felt as heavy as a rock, yet somehow he was still flying like a comet. His mind wrestled with his body, ordering it around, telling it constantly that he couldn't die, that he didn't need to sleep, to rest, to eat, or even catch his breath. And then there was a more slippery part of him, filling him with a desperation to change the view, change the thoughts, to end the relentless orders of the voice in his head. He periodically battled an alarming urge to fly down through the clouds into Hell just to see what was there, fly towards the sun, or to turn back, or to just stop and examine the mortar between the tiles on the road just for a change of mental activity. Sometimes it felt like the featureless world about him was dissolving, like a picture he'd been staring at for too long, and they were becoming streaks of light heading across a void, ignoring the burning ball sucking at them from their left.

He knew he wasn't the only one struggling. Tien had had to swoop down and catch Chiaotzu before the kid could nose-dive into the underworld. That had warranted their first stop since the road-surfacer.

'Is this even real?' asked Chiaotzu from Tien's arms.

While Tien had alternated between chastising and hugging Chioatzu in fear, Yajirobe and Chichi had hit the deck and coma-ed, which looked way tempting, but Yamcha had held off sleeping until Chiaotzu had begged Tien to let him sleep.

'I will remain awake,' Tien insisted, but when Yamcha did awake some undetermined amount of time later, Tien was sprawled on his back, snoring. Chichi was awake, too, sitting up and hugging her knees, watching him.

'Do you think we'll ever get there?' she asked, the moment he turned and saw her.

Yamcha opened his mouth to say, 'Of course,' but then realised he couldn't muster the conviction to do so and just shrugged instead.

Chichi sighed. 'Sometimes I think this was all just a trick.'

'What do you mean?'

'Like, maybe  _this_  is our Heck, and we're not really on a mission to save the world at all.'

This was a new and horrifying thought for Yamcha. 'Oh, jeez, Chichi! Thanks for giving me something else to worry about.'

'Sorry.'

Yajirobe rolled over in his sleep then, and encountering the hard tiles with his nose, woke up.

He lifted his head and groaned.

'Oh! God! I really don't know if it's worth the pain to sleep on this road. I feel like roadkill.'

'I'm surprised it's not more comfy for you with all that padding,' remarked Chichi.

'Padding? This is solid muscle! I have a stocky figure, is all, like my mom.'

'You look like your mother?' asked Yamcha, imagining a Yajirobe with breasts and without boyish whiskers.

'Yeah, that's what everyone said, anyway. Not that I've seen her for a while, even before we all died.'

'Why not?' asked Chichi.

'Because she ran a teahouse, and I knew I was always destined to be a samurai like my dad. He said he was going to come back and take me away to train me when I was old enough, but he never did, and I figured he was never gonna. So I decided to take off and train myself.'

'You left your mother?' asked Chichi. 'How could you do that? Wasn't she really worried?'

'I left a note,' objected Yajirobe. 'And I doubt she missed me too much. I didn't make much of a tea server.'

'Did you find your dad?' Yamcha asked, feeling a spark of interest.

'Nah. Didn't even know the guy's name. But it didn't matter though. I met a couple of Ronin that trained me for a while, and we made enough money together for me to buy my swords. That was good enough for me. I've been living in the woods since then, hunting and fishing and maybe taking a job now and then.'

'You should be more grateful to have had a mother to leave,' said Chichi. 'I would never have left mine if I'd had a chance to know her.'

'Well, how do you know then, if you never knew her?' asked Yajirobe. 'If you had, maybe she would have been not all that special. Maybe she'd be really bad tempered, or too busy running a teahouse to care much about what you were up to, and then walking out one morning wouldn't feel like a bad option.'

'My mother was  _amazing_ ,' said Chichi. 'My father said so. She was so graceful she could walk across the surface of a pond without leaving a ripple, and so beautiful she would have to cover her face when they had guests in case they fell in love with her.'

'Guess you take after your father then?' teased Yajirobe, and Chichi snarled out loud, but controlled herself from flying at him.

'She doesn't take after her father, except in strength,' said Yamcha, hoping to calm her down. She switched her scowl to him and he couldn't resist adding, 'And temper.'

'I'd be proud to say I favoured my father, the Ox King!' she said. 'What about you, huh? I suppose you take after your father? Was he a scoundrel and a bandit, too?'

The laugh left Yamcha. He didn't like thinking about his father, who was maybe scoundrel, but definitely not bandit. 'Not really. It was my mother who was the bandit.'

'Your  _mother?_ ' the other two asked together.

'You can't leave it there,' insisted Yajirobe. 'You gotta tell us more.'

* * *

Xo Sautsu had lived a mild mannered life in the small town of Seerenjang bordering the Diablo Desert. He had been an accountant at the local branch of the bank. One year the king of the area, King Wonton, ordered that new versions of zeni bills be rolled out, and banks were told to amass the old currency and send it back to the city to be swapped and destroyed. The bank had chosen Xo, a young and athletic man at the time, with a small taste for adventure, to be the escort for this obsolete cash, along with two bank security guards. This required them to cut through an arm of the desert, and for this they were given an armoured van and a shotgun each. Bandits were no joke.

They had been driving through a ravine when the guard driving had stopped the van. A rockfall had blocked the road, and he suggested that they get out, capsulate the van and climb over the slip. That had been all the warning they had had. The moment they had stepped out of the vehicle there was a streak of black and a dull thud and one, then the next guard was unconscious on the ground. Where he had been a moment earlier stood a black-swathed, lithe figure, only her dark brown eyes uncovered, considering Xo speculatively. He guessed who she was immediately – Black Silk, the lone bandit of the Diablo, was notorious. In the time it took for him to raise his shotgun she was in his space, pushing the barrel aside, the shot firing wide and high as he went down, pain blossoming from his groin. When he forced his eyes open again she stood over him, pointing his own shotgun at him.

'Give me the money,' she had asked.

Xo, still new to his job and taking it very seriously, had given her the petty expense fund rather than the capsule with the old currency, which did not fool Black for more than a moment.

'Give me the capsule with the old zeni bills from the bank!'

'But it won't do you any good,' Xo told her. 'It's a combination locked capsule.'

'Then you will open it for me, Pretty Boy.'

'No.'

'Then I will kill you.'

'Then you won't be able to open the capsule.'

'Very true. Then I shall take you away to my lair and torture you until you tell me.'

'But I won't tell.'

'You  _will_.'

And she had, taken him away trussed up and slung over the hood of a beat up hovercar like a prize stag. About what transpired over the next month that he was held, Xo had never spoken of to his son, other than to say that Black Silk was a very determined woman. Whatever it was, the old money never made it to the city, and Xo returned to the town sun-burnt, sand-blasted and dressed in rags. Hailed as a survivor, and only slightly blamed for losing the money, he returned to his job, married his fiancé and vowed never to set foot in the desert again.

And then nearly a year later a woman in a veil had shown up on the doorstep with a baby. Xo's new wife had answered the door and been in a state of wild panic when he woman asked for Xo, the father of the child. He'd recognised her eyes immediately and only stood there in shock when she pressed a crying infant into his arms.

'This is your fault!  _You_  take care of him!' the woman had said, and then ran off into the night.

'So I was raised by my father and my stepmother,' Yamcha explained. 'But my stepmother…she never really got over the fact that I existed, I think. She was okay to her own kids, when they had them, but she was pretty merciless to me.' He didn't mention the way that his stepmother had constantly found opportunities to point out Yamcha's "genetic" uncouthness, early signs of criminal waywardness, filthy "desert-folk" habits and her general unease that she had to raise her own daughters in the same house as her husband's indiscretion. 'It always seemed like it was a constant battle, both of us trying to get my dad to take our side, and he nearly always took hers. And then my dad ran away with another woman.'

'Oh!' said Chichi. 'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah. Me too. Well, after he skipped town my stepmother told me that there was no way she was going to continue to raise "that philanderer's bandit bastard", and to go out into the desert and find my real mother. And then she kicked me out.' By that time Yamcha had been ready to leave, too. His stepmother had so convinced him of his general unworthiness and lack of inherent civilisation that striking out to live amongst people that might be more like himself was quite attractive. As his stepmother showed him to the door and watched him go with her arms crossed before her, his little half-sisters had watched also, dry-eyed – he had never been allowed to play with them due to his stepmother's fears that he would harm them. 'Good riddance, bandit!' said the oldest one.

'How old were you?' Chichi asked.

'Twelve.'

'Twelve?' repeated Yajirobe. 'You'd have been sweet. I was ten when I hit the high road.'

Yamcha glared at Yajirobe, not caring to have that particular hard time of his life made light of. 'She sent me into the desert with a canteen of water, a couple of days' worth of food and some loose change.'

Even Chichi looked underwhelmed as she looked off into some memory. 'Well, I guess I was a bit younger when my dad did the same, but that was just in training. He did expect me to come back.'

'Did you find your mom?' Yajirobe asked.

Yamcha took a moment to swallow down hard on the bitterness that these memories dug up. 'Not at first. I went into the desert looking for bandits, which is surprisingly hard. After two days I was out of food and about to turn around and head back to town to beg on the street when I finally got robbed of my loose change. These two bandits made off with my money and I chased them across the plains yelling after them, asking if they knew Black Silk. I chased them all the way back to their hideout, where there were more of them.' He grinned suddenly. 'They called themselves the Brotherhood of Liquid Assets, and they were not very pleased to see that Pocky and Twiglet had brought a tag-along home. They weren't sure what to do with me at first. Some said that they should kill me, as I knew where their hideout was, and others wanted to see if they could sell me, but I told them that they should keep me as a bandit-in-training. I think none of them particularly wanted to do any killing or selling at the time, so they did. They took me out on ambushes and raids, took me to other towns to sell stolen property to brokers, trained me to fight, and kept every zeni I made for them.'

'An apprenticeship in banditry?' Chichi said. 'I don't know how you could stand to live with such people.'

'Well, I guess it was hard at times, but I thought that these were my people, and it was honestly better than living with my stepmother. Some of them I got kinda fond of.'

'So you've been hanging out with these bandits ever since?' asked Yajirobe.

' _No_. No way. I think I was with them for less than two years. In the end I decided to explore more areas of the desert and keep looking for my mom. They had their own patch, and though sometimes we heard rumours about Black Silk, she hadn't been seen around there for a long time. So I decided to strike out on my own. I was a better fighter than the rest of the band already, and I wanted to keep the money I was stealing.'

Chichi made a face. 'You shouldn't have been  _stealing_.'

'It was how I  _survived_ ,' he explained with some annoyance. 'It's not like I  _still_  steal for a living, uh, I mean, when I was alive. I got out of it as soon as I had a chance – because it was the martial arts I really loved, not stealing.'

Yajirobe asked, 'You've never stolen anything, Princess Chichi?'

'No!'

'Huh,' he said. 'Figures. So what then, Yamcha? Did you find your mom?'

'Not straight way. I sought out every bandit I could and either fought them or learned from them and sometimes both, and I always asked about Black Silk. Then one day I climbed to the top of a pillar of stone to see what I could see, and on the back side of it was a ledge and a doorway. I snuck in and found a pretty sweet lair. It was all dusty and didn't look like it had been used for a while, but it had furniture and water and a bed, and even some dried food. So I decided it was now mine and I stayed. Then one morning, after I'd been living there a week I stepped up the ladder and onto the ledge outside, and the next thing I knew I was flat on my back on the ground below. There was a woman up there, all dressed in black except for a narrow slit for her eyes.'

'Was it  _her?_ ' asked Chichi.

'Yes, but she didn't admit it at first. In fact, the first thing she did was tell me to stay the hell out of her house. "Are you Black Silk?" I asked her, but she just told me to take a hike. I didn't leave though. I didn't have any food with me, but I knew there was a spring in the rocks that fed the water supply in the lair, and there was some cactus I could eat nearby, so instead I waited outside for her. When she came out at the end of the day she just about spat to see me still there.'

'"I'm looking for Black Silk," I told her. She asked why and I told her, "Because she's my mother."

He didn't share with the others how scared he'd been, quivering from fear that she would reject him outright, or even kill him. Being completely taken by surprise by her in the morning had rattled him, and despite searching for her for more than two years he was belatedly feeling intimidated by the legend of Black Silk. She had come up the ladder obviously not expecting company, and instead of head to toe black she wore only her black pantaloons, a brown sleeveless shirt and no wrapper on her face. Her hair was a mass of wavy, matted tangles like his own and she was beautiful but sun-beaten, half-moon eyes edged with creases from a lifetime of squinting into the sun. He'd felt his heart squeeze when he recognized some of himself in  _her_.

'Black Silk doesn't have any kids,' she'd said.

'Really? Not one son with Xo Sautsu from Seerenjang?'

She hadn't been quite able to hide the flicker of shock on her face at those words, and it had made Yamcha more certain it was her.

'Nope, not that I know of. But if I see her I'll tell her that some brat is looking for her.'

She went back down the ladder again, and he'd camped out in the cold desert night, digging a depression in the sand to make a hollow of still air around him and keep a little warmer and out of the breeze. He'd woken not too rested before dawn, and therefore been wide awake by the time Black Silk came back out onto the ledge, dressed all in black again.

'Oh, god damn it, kid! Why are you still here? GET LOST!'

'I left my stuff in your house.'

She had flown back down the ladder and came back up soon after and threw his small collection of belonging down at him. He had dodged the kettle and knife and bundle of clothes and blanket but made no move to pick them up.

'You're still here!'

'Are you sure you're not Black Silk, the legendary lone bandit of the Diablo?'

'I think I would remember. Now go!'

She had sat down on the ledge, arms crossed waiting for him to leave. After about five minutes of furious silence she spoke again.

'What is it going to take to get you to leave? Do I have to come down there and kick your ass?'

'I just don't really believe you're not Black Silk.'

'Uh!'

'If you're not her, who are you?'

She had paused, apparently having no quick answer. 'Brown…Cotton.'

'I don't believe you!'

She had stood up. 'If I am Black Silk you should start running, because I am coming down there!'

He'd scrabbled to grab his things, not sure if he was ready to go to battle against his terrifying mother, but she landed square in front of him and in the next second he'd been fighting the hardest battle of his life. She had beaten him back into a cactus, then back the other way until he had his back pressed up against a rock spire. Her blows had come so fast he was quickly too dazed to defend against them and curled up into a ball. She could have easily killed him but instead she stopped. He had opened his eyes to find she had unsheathed a knife and had it at his throat. Even though her mouth had been covered he could tell she was sneering. His quest to find his mother then seemed a little foolish. But the violence glimmering in those dark eyes faded a little as she looked at him, her eyes ranging over his face and back to his. Then she had stood up and let him go.

'You'd better not be here when I get back.'

But he had been.

He had hid amongst the rock spires a little way away that night in order not to be seen while he recovered from his beating, and in the morning he and his black eyes and bruised ribs were back at the base of the secret lair.

'Oh, for all of Heaven and Hell!' she cursed when she saw him. 'What do you  _want_  from me? Can I not live my life in peace?'

'I just want to know my mother,' he had admitted. And a terrible pain had torn at his heart. It had always been there, he knew, but at that moment it breached the surface. He had dreamed of finding his mother, and her loving him and taking him in, and giving him the affection he craved. He had found her, he was certain, and the rest was all just a huge disappointment. How could he really have expected all that, anyway, from a woman who had abandoned him when he was just a few months old? He had trembled and struggled not to let tears fall.

'Doesn't Xo have a wife?' she asked.

'He  _did_.'

'Is he dead?' she asked sharply.

'No. He left us for another woman.'

'He did  _what?_ '

'He ran away with another woman and left me with my stepmom.'

'Oh. Well, I suppose after having you from such an early age your stepmother was like a mother to you.'

' _No!_ She really _isn't._  She threw me out of the house and told me to find  _you_.'

'Huh. You mean Black Silk.'

They then sat in their respective places for a while contemplating this.

'What did you say your name was?' she asked eventually.

'Chenpi.'

'Chenpi!' she had exclaimed. 'That's a terrible name.'

'Sorry. I didn't pick it.'

'Well, I'm going to call you Yamcha.'

He had stared at her, unsure what he felt about this renaming. Maybe Yamcha had always been his name, but she just hadn't bothered to tell it to Xo.

'I have to go out now and conduct some business, Yamcha. If I found you in my house when I get back I  _will_  stick my knife in you.'

She had left, then returned, and finding him still there had attacked him again, trying to drive him away. 'Just leave already!' she had shouted in frustration, and moved Yamcha to such despair that he had cried, to his shame, and she had abandoned the fight in disgust.

When he had next seen her in the morning he had greeted her with a ready stance, hands raised ready to fight. She had sighed aloud.

'Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you?'

'No,' he replied.

'If you're going to fight me, you'll need to improve,' she had told him. 'Probably need to eat something more than cactus, too.' And she had thrown him a hunk of bread and a dried sausage.

They fell into a routine. They would fight every day, and she would tell him to leave her alone, chastise him for his form, tell him to train his muscles harder, and feed him by throwing food down from the ledge. Sometimes though, he would wake late and find a handkerchief with some cold dumplings or buns inside resting next to him in his sleeping pit (he just as often found snakes curled up beside him, but that wasn't his mother's fault). She often insulted him during their fights, and expressed frustration that he couldn't do something or was too easily overcome. She was not the most patient or pleasant teacher, but he found he was improving anyway.

After about a month living like this he asked her one evening as she was returning to her ledge after beating him back and forth in front of the house, 'Is Yamcha what you called me when I was born?'

She had frozen, but then answered without turning to look at him. 'I told you, I'm not your mother.'

'But you are.'

'Believe me, I am  _not_  a mother.'

A few nights later she came home, but instead of training or fighting with him she just stood in front of him, looking at him.

'What's wrong?' he had asked.

'I'm thinking I might have to clear out of here soon. I've hit this area as hard as I can for now – it's time to move on.'

'Okay. Where are we going?'

'Just me, Yamcha. But before I go, I want to show you my Jackal Fist Attack.'

She had, and it opened Yamcha's eyes to a whole new world of martial arts. Something he'd only read of in books and not really believed, came to life – chi! They had trained into the night, until the moon had set and plunged the desert into near blackness, and the ghostly glow of the chi could be seen lighting the pillars around them. Finally they were both exhausted, and for the first time Black had asked him to come in for dinner.

'Really?'

'May as well. I'm feeding you anyway, and it'll be soup. I don't think you'd enjoy it if I threw it down at you.'

Yamcha sat at the table eating hot soup in a daze of happiness. Finally he was getting somewhere with his mother. She went to bed and let him sleep in front of the fire in his blanket.

'When I leave, take care of the house for me,' was the last thing she'd said before turning out the lamp.

'Sure. Do you really have to go?'

'Yep. I figure there's only room for one legendary lone bandit around here.'

When he woke in the morning she was already gone.

* * *

'I'm so sorry, Yamcha!' said Chichi.

'That's all right, Chichi. She wasn't so bad, in the end. But I think she was right; she wasn't a mother – that's why she'd given me to my dad. It's just that he wasn't much of a dad either, and my stepmother...yeesh! I think Black felt bad about that. I think she thought she'd done the right thing by giving me up.'

'Oh!' Chichi leaned over and squeezed Yamcha's arm. 'How long ago was this?'

'Three years. I never did see her again. I met my friend Puar soon after, and we lived in the hideout until we met Bulma and Goku and Oolong. After that I lived at Bulma's house in West City and then Master Roshi's.'

'I wonder if she came back looking for you?'

'I don't know. But I don't think she would have minded. I think that she would have liked to know I  _wasn't_  still hanging around waiting for her, and actually gone on to something better.'

'You kept the name she gave you, though.'

He smiled. 'Well, she didn't give me much, but I kept everything she did.'

'Very touching,' announced Yajirobe, standing up. 'I guess it has nothing to do with Chenpi being a lame name.' Then he froze. 'Where are Tien and Chiaotzu?'

Yamcha and Chichi turned. They'd all been so engrossed in the telling of Yamcha's tale that they hadn't noticed the other two waking up and sneaking away.

' _Again?_ ' complained Chichi.

* * *

Bulma dragged herself up and into the kitchen for another glass of hot kowlon cordial. She wasn't sure where this bizarre craving had come from, but the broth-like flavour of it was comforting to her stomach. She didn't feel nauseas any more, unless she contemplated eating something, but she still felt awful. Her body ached like she had the flu, and her head was still delicate and swimmy. Out the bulge of the kitchen window she could see yellow sand dunes to the horizon, and featureless blue sky above. Somewhere out there was Vegeta, Nappa, Tarble, Krillin and Brolly, but she didn't have the energy to care where exactly or what they were up to.

Then she turned back to the lounge and felt the weight of her guilt in her stomach at the sight of Goku floating in the tank. She shuffled over and stood in front of it. The status screen showed he was stable. She changed screens and scrolled back through the logs. His heart had arrested and been defibrillated twice during the night. She rested her forehead against the glass then, feeling faint.

'I'm sorry,' she croaked to Goku's closed eyes. 'I really screwed up.'

* * *

Vegeta paced back and forth before Nappa's prone form.

'I should kill you, you stupid, lecherous goat! You've in insult to the Saiyan race! Do you know how much money you cost me?'

Nappa groaned in response, but was not in a position to argue. He was clutching his bleeding mouth on the side where Vegeta had knocked his teeth loose, and couldn't stand. Vegeta was only yelling now because Kakarott was in the tank, and he couldn't vent with his fists any further without risking killing Nappa, and despite what he was yelling, he was not quite ready to do that.

The others watched from a long way off.

'What are you looking at?' he yelled at them for good measure. 'Do something useful! Train your worthless asses!' To his shame, his voice caught in his throat and made the last word a broken wail.

They disappeared over the rise of the dune, and Nappa closed his eyes, appearing to lose consciousness.

Relived, Vegeta walked a short way up the nearest dune and sat down, and staring down the valley of two more dunes, feeling extremely heavy of heart. Everything was such a mess. How could he have ever thought that there was a hope of succeeding in his plans when the people around him couldn't even succeed in not turning a two day vacation into a farce?

'Vegeta?' squeaked a voice behind him.

'Puar,' he said, without turning. He felt the cat settle onto his shoulder.

'Are you okay?' she asked timidly.

'No,' he said. And then decided such honesty was unwarranted. 'I'm fine.'

'You can tell me what's wrong, if you like.'

He said nothing. He was not spilling his woes to this kitten.

'Or not,' Puar appended.

They sat in silence for a while, until Puar felt compelled to break it.

'You didn't hurt Nappa too badly, did you?' He felt a tremor run through her.

'No.'

'Good. What did he do?'

'Nothing you need worry about.'

'Oh.'

More silence.

'Vegeta?'

'What?'

'I'm scared of Brolly.' The cat shivered again even though it was roasting hot out here.

'You needn't fear him,' he reassured her. 'He may be brutally and clumsily strong, but you're not fighting him.'

'I'm not just scared for me,' said Puar.

* * *

The sun was setting when the rampway opened. Bulma sat up on the sofa, expecting Vegeta and the boys, but instead Raditz came up, skirted the parquet floor, spared Goku in the tank a glance of surprise and then looked down at her. He looked distinctly nervous.

'You're okay?'

'Not really,' she admitted.

'Well, you look good enough,' he assessed her. 'Did you guys guys clear out of the hotel without waiting for me on purpose? It look me all day to track you down by chi. I thought at first that Vegeta had ditched the planet and left me behind!'

'No,' said Bulma honestly. 'We had to check out in a hurry. Nappa had done something – caused some trouble, I'm not sure what.'

'Not just me in trouble, then. Is Vegeta's in a bad mood?'

She actually burst out laughing. 'What do you think?'

He turned a little so he was looking at her sidelong and wrung his hands. 'You didn't… Did you?'

'Didn't what?'

'Tell him what happened last night?'

'He guessed,' she said, sniggering. 'The evidence was quite unmissable, I think.'

He scowled at her. 'Oh, you can laugh, but thanks to you my life got that much harder! Even though  _you_  kissed  _me_ , he'll take it out on  _me_ , I'm sure!'

The laughter left Bulma entirely, and instead a cold sweat started. ' _What?_  I did  _what?_ '

'Kissed me. You don't remember? So what were we even talking about?'

Bulma blinked, her head swimming more and she laid herself gingerly back against the cushions. 'About you getting me hideously drunk.' She didn't remember kissing Raditz. Or did she? Now she thought about it there may have been a dark and hazy memory of kissing someone who she thought was Vegeta, but that seemed unlikely.

'Okay. Well, good then,' said Raditz. 'He may not know, so let's keep it that way.'

She felt a resurgence of nausea.

'I didn't mean to kiss you,' she said weakly.

'Yes, I  _know_  you didn't. You probably didn't mean to tell me all about you and our dear prince, either,' he said meanly, and Bulma's horror doubled. 'Oh, shit, here they come.'

He walked back down the rampway to greet the others. She strained her ears to hear it, but all she got was Vegeta's furious order.

'Take Nappa inside!'

Tarble and Brolly floated in, one under each of Nappa's arms. He big man's head lolled. Krillin and Puar followed up the rear. They made enough noise settling him against the wall that she couldn't make out what Vegeta and Raditz were yelling at each other. Krillin and Puar checked on Goku and cast her a dirty looks. She was in disgrace.

* * *

'Vegeta! I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to get her wasted, but she got drunk  _so fast!_  I had no idea she was that feeble! And I didn't force her to drink any of it!'

'I am not denying that she is also an idiot, but why didn't you stop her when it was obvious she was getting trashed? She has a  _job_  to do.'

'I did! But it only took her a drink and a half to go from ordinary drunk to slaughtered. I stopped her drinking and she was  _still_  getting drunker! It's fucking Earthling physiology, man!'

'She had alcohol poisoning! She could've died!'

Raditz was shocked. Apparently he hadn't thought of that, though Vegeta was perhaps overstating things. Not by much, though.

'Uh, I don't think she was  _that_  bad.'

'She was puking all night until this morning in between passing out!'

'Uh. Shit.'

Vegeta took exception to the dumbfounded look on Raditz's face. His next words got to the root of his other flashpoint, and his voice was so low he almost choked on it.

'And once she was shit-faced, did you  _take advantage of her?_ '

'No! No! Absolutely not! Ask her, she'll tell you!'

'I doubt she could tell me very much of what happened at all! But she did have Second Skin stuff on her hand!'

Raditz's face went blank with horror, and then relaxed back into relief again. 'Oh, that! I was just showing her what it was. They don't have anything as good as that on Earth and she was curious.'

Vegeta wanted to be furious at this answer, but the fact was that this seemed the most plausible explanation for it to be on her hand and nowhere else.

'You just happened to be discussing prophylactics?'

'Yeah. She was casting aspersions on my sexual hygiene, and when I told her I use Second Skin she didn't even know what it was.'

Vegeta felt sick at the thought of how this conversation came to be. 'You are fucking lucky there's a queue for the tank, because if I started hitting you now I don't think I could stop before you were in a critical condition! Between you and Nappa, you've turned the last day into a pantomime! No, in fact the last  _several_  days have been a joke thanks to  _you_ , Raditz! You and Nappa are  _both_  idiots! The brats look smart and reliable in comparison! You and he are meant to be the ones I can rely on!'

'I'm sorry, your Highness.'

'You'll be sorrier tomorrow.' He turned to go back inside. He could smell someone reheating food inside, and he was starving, having missed lunch today. Raditz started to follow him.

'No!' said Vegeta turning back. It was getting dark. 'You're on sentry duty.  _All night_.'

'Can I get dinner first?'

Raditz read the answer on Vegeta's face.

'Uh. Damn.'

* * *

The next morning saw Goku out of the tank and Nappa in it. Nappa had perked up overnight and had gotten himself in. Bulma was curled up as small as she could make herself in the corner of one sofa, picking at her breakfast – she was able to eat now, but didn't trust her stomach any more, having no heart for conversation and desperately wanting to avoid several potential awkward conversations. In contrast, Goku was racing around, full of energy after getting out of the tank and scarfing down his hearty breakfast.

'I feel great!' was his answer to how he felt.

Brolly hung his head, unable to meet Goku's eyes. Goku was not always the most sensitive to other's moods, but he noticed this.

'What's wrong, Brolly?'

Brolly looked up a fraction, and opened his mouth, but no words managed to get out.

'Don't you remember?' Krillin asked in surprise. 'Brolly just about killed you!'

'Huh? Is that true?'

Brolly's cheeks started to turn red, and he nodded. 'Sorry.'

Goku looked concerned, but then he said, 'I'm sure it was an accident, right?'

'Yes!' said Brolly, gratefully. 'I didn't mean to kick you that hard – I didn't know I  _could_  kick that hard!'

'And I'm all right now, so it's fine.'

But Krillin was not having any of it. 'Goku! How can you say that? You didn't see yourself covered in blood and your guts coming out! Your heart stopped! Puar and me were up most of the night thinking you were going to die!'

Goku frowned, looking at his friend. 'Gross. I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Krillin.'

'It's not you that has to be sorry! You can't just go and forgive Brolly like that! He should crawl on his knees or something!'

Brolly looked up, perhaps thinking Krillin was being literal. Bulma saw the pain on the boy's face and decided to intercede.

'Oh, loosen up, Krillin!' she scolded him. 'Brolly said he's sorry, and there's nothing more he can do about what happened! It was an accident, and holding it over his head doesn't help anyone.'

'Says the person that could've helped if she hadn't been passed out drunk.'

Bulma could've kicked herself for opening herself up to that one. 'Well, I didn't know Goku was going to get nearly killed, did I? Sorry is about as much as can be done there, too.'

'Except you haven't even said sorry,' Krillin pointed out.

She glared back at him. No way was she apologising to Krillin right now, with this stick up his butt. Instead she turned to Goku and said, solemnly, 'I'm sorry, Goku. I wish I'd been able to help.'

'That's all right, Bulma,' he replied sweetly. 'I was fine in the end.'

Then she remembered that his heart had stopped twice and guilt punched her in the stomach.

 _I am a terrible, horrible, stupid person,_  she told herself.  _What was I doing getting drunk in the middle of the day? And fucking kissing Raditz?_  She knew, deep down, that she could have stopped drinking at any point, but she had kept going. From the moment the first giddy wave of tipsiness had come over her she'd  _wanted_  to get hammered despite whatever good advice she'd given herself and ignored. She glanced over to where Raditz was sitting against the wall looking completely bushed, then up at Vegeta who sat at the dining table, alone. They were both watching the conversation, and she felt her cheeks start to heat with shame.

'It's not fine,' she told Goku. 'I won't let you down like that again.'

'Why were you even drunk?' Krillin asked.

She shrugged, wishing the sofa would swallow her. 'I don't know.'

* * *

The men were to go off into the desert again. Bulma stayed behind, reading Alice's paper despite the nagging headache that still hadn't left her. When Nappa got out of the tank he took his time showering and gathering food, and sauntered around the ship like he hadn't noticed she was there. Eventually she couldn't stand it anymore.

'The others took off into the desert to train, if you're looking for them.'

'I figured so,' he said and then to her dismay he walked over and settled himself on the other end of the sofa from her. Her skin began to prickle with a panic she tried to supress.

'Are you going out there? Vegeta wanted to know when you were out of the tank.'

'I'll get there.'

She remembered the comms unit around her neck and tapped it.

'Hey guys, Nappa is out of the tank now.'

'Oh,  _great_ ,' Raditz replied.

Nappa chuckled and tapped his own transponder. 'See you soon, boyo.' Then he stretched his legs out.

'Are you going then?' she asked.

'Not yet. They'll be back here soon enough.'

She puzzled over that one whilst wishing sincerely that he was right.

'You're all uptight today, Princess,' Nappa teased her. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing wrong,' she lied, not daring to take her eyes off him.

'A teensy bit afraid of me, are you?'

'No.'

He laughed. 'Pull the other one. I can  _smell_  your fear.'

Now she was annoyed as well as scared. 'Well, I'd be a fool not to be worried about you after the things you've done and said to me!'

'That you would,' he said and smiled. 'But it seems to me like you and I got off on a bad footing. You've got to understand things from my perspective – we are a band of loyal Saiyans, and at first you and Baldie and the furball were just…a means to an end. Some temporary additions that would get us something Vegeta wanted. And then we ended up stuck with you for longer, and immediately you were trying to wrangle and manipulate…' He trailed off. 'As far as I could make out, you Earthlings were basically enemies living amongst us.'

'But we weren't-'

'But you  _were_ ,' he corrected her. 'All the way to  _Namek_. Try and deny that, Miss Stabby-Stabby-Sedative.'

Bulma couldn't really argue against that point. She was tensed, ready to leap up from the sofa in case he tried something.

'But now we are allies,' he said, grinning broadly. 'It took me some time to get my head around that one, but I've been thinking. It looks like we're going to be living together for a good while. It's probably better if you and I…disarm the cannons, so to speak.'

She stared at him, incredulous. He looked pleased with himself, but beyond that she couldn't make out his intentions.

'Do you mean make peace? Are you  _serious?_ '

'Do you want to remain at each other's throats? I'm sure that'll work out worse for you than me in the long run.'

'No,' she said, but couldn't let down her guard. She couldn't trust this. Or could she? When she considered his perspective as he'd asked her too, of course he would've have no reason to be kind in the past, and now maybe he did. And maybe he had a less altruistic reason for wanting to make nice.

'Are you asking for this truce because Vegeta is on your case every time you step out of line around me?'

Nappa's smile cracked and turned into a grimace.

'Vegeta is not as solidly on your side as you think he is,' he growled. 'But yes, that will certainly help if you are not sticking needles in me, as I won't be so tempted to slap your silly head off. But most of all I want a truce because now that we are allies, it  _makes sense_.'

She remembered the last time she had rather condescendingly praised Nappa for his logic and refrained from doing the same now. The thing about Vegeta not being on her side disquieted her though.

'Okay, then. Truce.'

'Ah, the sweet sound of resignation!' he said. 'That's what I like to hear from a lady.'

The rampway opened then, followed by a blast of heat from outside and Vegeta marching in with Raditz bent in half over his shoulder, hair dragging on the floor behind him, painting it with blood. Bulma turned and screamed, then jumped up just as Vegeta was stepping down into the lounge. His face was curiously less angry than it had been before they'd gone out, but his gaze was sharp as ice as it hit her.

'Something wrong?' he asked.

Heart thumping, she realised that of course, this was the punishment that Vegeta had been promising Raditz for a while now. She'd even had no particular objection to it earlier, but the gruesome result was still hard to bear.

'Yes! Don't drag him through the lounge!' she said. 'You'll get blood all over the carpet.'

Vegeta snorted and took Raditz around the outside of the lounge to the tank, opened it and dumped him in, tearing aside the shreds of another ruined Capsule Corp T-shirt to place the electrodes on. Nappa came closer to inspect the damage with a professional eye while Bulma looked away from Raditz's bloodied face and forced herself not to empathise. This is what they  _did_. And they would keep on doing it. It's not like Nappa was harbouring any hard feelings for the pasting he took yesterday.

Vegeta closed the tank door and looked at the blood smears his hands made on the frame. 'Nappa, go join the others. I'm going to clean up.'

At last Bulma was free of Nappa's company. She had just settled down with the paper again, hoping that someone else would deal with the blood on the floor, when something from up on the flight deck started beeping.

'Oh, what now?' Bulma complained, and Vegeta came running back from the bathroom. He rushed up the stairs and Bulma followed with decidedly less enthusiasm for whatever new complication had just sprung up.

An error message was flashing. There was a water pump fault.

Down the stairs they went again, and out into the heat. The ship was parked alongside a small oasis, and the problem was not hard to spot. The hose to the ship's pump lead out to a muddy hole where the water used to be.

'Dammit,' muttered Vegeta.

'It's okay, we don't need it,' she said. 'The tanks are full – it'll take them a while to run down.' While they were in space and the ship was airtight, the water recycling system worked extremely efficiently. All waste water from sewerage and respiration was collected, cleaned and reused, and the reserves in the water tanks were used only very slowly. On land though, with people coming and going from the rampway, taking precious moisture off-ship and doing their business far away from the ship's eager sewerage collecting system, the water ran down much faster. Still, it was not urgent. Bulma judged they could get by for another few days before they needed more water.

'This site is no good,' said Vegeta, going back to the hatch on the underside of the ship to retract the hose. 'We set down in a hurry. There's not enough water, and we're too close to civilisation for comfort, and too exposed. We need something better if we're going to stay.'

'Where?' she asked aloud.

'I don't know,' he said, coming back out from under the ship. He looked her in the eye for a second and quickly away, and Bulma felt her stomach lurch with something between mistaken pleasure and panic. When would things stop being awkward between them? 'You don't seem to be doing anything useful – perhaps  _you_  could find a place for us?'

That shattered it. 'I am  _researching_ , thank you very much! But…okay. How will I find us a place?'

'There's a map,' he pointed out, 'and I'm sure a better one could be downloaded from the Baccanelli Information Directory.'

'Ooh, I meant to ask you about that,' she said. 'Apparently I need a connection device.'

'The ship's computer is more than up to the task of  _browsing_  a directory.'

'All right then. What do I do when I find a potential spot? Should I fly over there and check it out?'

'Fly?' he repeated in surprise. 'You can't fly.'

'The ship I mean.'

His mouth hung open. 'You can fly the  _ship?_ '

'Well,' she admitted. 'I think so. I've read all the theory, and it doesn't seem a lot different than a hoverjet, at least when used for surface travel, and I'm very good at piloting those.'

'I can't let you fly the ship if you've never even  _tried_  before!'

'Well let me try now. You're here – you could supervise.'

He looked at her for a long moment, weighing an answer. 'All right then. Show me what you can do.'

On the flight deck again, Bulma took one of the pilot seats and Vegeta hovered behind her, hands on her headrest. She turned the engines on, prepped the ship for launch, then took them up to a decent cruising altitude manually. The vertical rise was never pleasant, but Bulma felt it was far less horrible when she was at the controls. Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement that she got it right. Then she took a random path inland, changing directions a few times just to show that she could.

'Now slow down,' Vegeta instructed. She did.

'Now speed up again.' She did.

'Now stop.' Bulma stopped the ship as fast as she dared.

Nappa's voice cracked over the comms. 'Vegeta, is that you up there?'

'Yes.'

'What are you doing?'

'Giving a quick flying lesson.'

'What?'

He didn't answer him. Instead he instructed Bulma to land, which she did, very carefully on a gravel strewn plain. It was a little hard to concentrate with Vegeta leaning over her shoulder, so close she could feel the heat of him.

Vegeta let a breath out as they touched down.

'Did you doubt me?' she teased, turning to grin at him.

'I don't know why,' he replied. 'You never cease to amaze me.'

Blood rushed to Bulma's cheeks at the compliment, and perhaps realising how close they were, Vegeta stepped back again, looking embarrassed to have given it. It stung her all over again. But why had it seemed for a second that things were back to what they had been?

'Well, not all the time, maybe,' she said, thinking about the day before last. 'I feel really stupid about the other night. I'm not going to ever drink like that again.'

'I'm sure your internal organs will thank you for that. It was completely reckless to get so drunk, especially with someone like  _Raditz_.'

She stood up then, wanting to be able to look at him square on. 'What are you talking about? Someone like Raditz?' she said, feigning innocence.

'He has a reputation.'

'He was a perfect gentleman.'

'What do you mean he was a "perfect gentleman"? What did he do?'

'Nothing! That was my point,' she said. They were both turning red now. 'What does it matter to you, anyway? I thought we were, you know –  _done_. According to you.'

Vegeta looked like she'd stuck him between the eyes with a hammer. 'Do you want to… _be_ with Raditz?'

'No!'

'Then why are we having this conversation?'

Because…' She threw her hands in the air. 'Because I don't understand!' she cried, and then seeing his face start to close up into disapproval she took it down a notch. 'Can you at least tell me  _why_  we're over?'

'We?'

'Yes, you and I. Being together. Not anymore.'

He looked at the floor under the console as he considered an answer, but the seconds ticked by, she started to get frustrated with waiting.

'I mean, I kind of feel like I was tricked or something. Were you just  _lying_  when you said that you liked me more than anyone else?'

He looked at her, abashed. 'No.'

'But you don't like me now?'

'It's not that.'

'Did you not enjoy the sex?' she said, trying to be cutting but flushing so hard that her head was throbbing, and tears of humiliation threatened.

'It was fine,' he replied.

' _Fine?_ '

He waved his hand in dismissal. 'It was good! Great! What do you want me to say?'

'I want you to tell me why you dumped me very the next day!'

Vegeta dragged a hand through his hair and turned away. 'It wasn't the sex or because I don't like you. It's just that…I realised…this isn't right for me. I can't… _give_  you what you want, what you're after.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean I'm a  _Saiyan_. You're an Earthling.'

Bulma frowned, filtering this for meaning, and slowly it all started to make sense. Oh, of course. Didn't she  _know_  him? Wasn't he the Prince of Saiyans, an alien species that beat the ever-living shit out of each other in the name of training and denied the usefulness of friends and love? Why hadn't she expected this? He wasn't the same species – even if he looked and acted human at times, it didn't mean he would behave or think like a human in all things. She started to feel like a bit of a dummy, but it mollified her, too. It wasn't her he was rejecting, per se, just the concept of a relationship in general.

'Okay. Well, I wish you'd realised sooner,' she said. ' _Before_  we'd gone there.'

He shrugged uncomfortably. 'I wish I had, too.'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'So you regret what we did?'

'Weren't you just saying that you did?'

That caught her. 'Yes, but...only because I'm human, and it seems like it meant more to me than it did to you. You're a Saiyan, so...what's to regret?'

Vegeta grimaced. 'And at the very least I regret it leading to this conversation. I didn't wish to imply that we were entering into...some kind of partnership.'

Bulma laughed, trying to smother her embarrassment in humour. 'Other than our allegiance, you mean? Don't get ahead of yourself, buddy; it's not like I expected you to be my  _boyfriend_  or anything!' Which she now realised was a blatant lie.

He just stared at her, a look of scepticism on his face.

Bulma's bravado stumbled as she realised he wasn't buying it. She suddenly had the strong desire to be away from his scrutiny. A sentiment shared perhaps, if Vegeta's a non-sequitur was any indication.

'Are you going to be okay piloting the ship around the planet by yourself?' he asked.

Bulma latched onto the change of subject immediately. 'I think so. Is there any air traffic control I need to worry about?'

'Not if you stay within the stratosphere and away from the cities, I shouldn't think. The proximity alarm will warn you of any possible collision courses.'

'I think I'll be okay then.'

He nodded. 'Be back before sunset.' And then he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So that was how that conversation went.
> 
> Now we enter another short period of hiatus. I only have half a chapter in the story bank, so it's going to take me a while to figure some stuff out and write the damn stuff. And I'm back at work, too, boo!


	63. The Oasis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Surprise!
> 
> Yes, I know I've been ages, and sorry, this isn't going to be the chapter bonanza I promised I would get back to you with. To tell you the truth, after this is just a big mess of half-finished scenes, disconnected snippets and bare-bones notes. This story is like a massive jigsaw puzzle with piles of missing pieces. Plus finding the time to write continues to be hard. This has definitely been the longest I've gone without an update, too. I can tell because my doc manager in this website holds the docs for 90 days before deleting them. I usually have a few previous chapters in there, and today I had nothing until I uploaded this one. I have heard your cries and please and offer this single completed chapter to tide you over. Please don't beat me!
> 
> Last time on Never Ever Land, the gang headed out into the Baccanelli hinterland to hide and regroup, Frieza had to land his ship on the roasting hot Planet Frieza 65 for repairs, Zarbon was ordered to quell the rebellion on Grenouilea Two, and Yamcha opened up about his mother, and how she gave him his name and career path. So, let's crack on with it!

The next morning Bulma piloted them all to the new site she had picked out. Nappa and even Raditz had expressed concern that she was flying, for both safety and security reasons, but Vegeta silenced them.

'I didn't "let" her learn,' he told them. 'And I wonder why you'd even be surprised at the capabilities our mechanic shows by now.'

Bulma smirked at the implied compliment, given in front of the entire crew, no less. She had thought a lot about what Vegeta had said while she was scouting, and again when they had gone to bed (for which she had chosen to avoid awkwardness and pitch her capsule house outside). It was still upsetting, but she decided that in this case she could accept an "it's me, not you," excuse. It was bearable. And since they had cleared the air, somehow they had regained some of the closeness they'd had before they'd made the mistake of sleeping together. Though "close" was a relative term.

The new site was a blind canyon carved out of a plate of sandstone thrust up by some ancient tectonic movement, revealing stripped layers of red, ochre, tan and brown. Despite the desert climate, water had eroded twisting gullies back into the rock, feeding into a massive, straight sided canyon that faced the lower plain. Everyone except Vegeta and Goku made noises of unease as Bulma flew the ship up the canyon, between the towering cliffs but still high above the scrub and tumbled rock that formed the floor. She snorted at their nervousness – the space was wide enough to fly Frieza's ship up – and then she turned into one of the narrower tributary ravines.

Layers of slightly tougher sandstone had resulted in wide ledges in places. Bulma parked the ship on one of these ledges in the shade of the canyon wall. There would be plenty of space for her to put up her capsule house on the ledge, too, and on the other side of the ravine was a long ledge that she hoped would be big enough to take the other ship if they ever brought it out of orbit.

Vegeta grunted in exclamation as they stepped down the rampway, a reaction Bulma interpreted as pleased, but trying not to be too  _effusive_ about it. 'This may work well. I assume there's a water source?'

'Down in the ravine,' she confirmed.

First they took a path up the ravine wall to emerge onto the desert plain. Rounded lumps of sandstone bulged through the sand like swimming turtles close to the cliff edge, but petered off further into the desert. They could see to the horizon in nearly every direction apart from one massive stone promontory in the far distance, and there was nothing out here.

'Good and private,' Nappa noted.

Then they explored down into the ravine. The deeper gully was full of palm trees, vines, creepers and other foliage. There was an occasional bird call, or sudden rustle of undergrowth as insects or other small animals scurried from their path, but other than that it was quiet and utterly still. Paths and steps cut through the area, and there was even rope swings crossing the ravine in places. They passed small caves and overhanging ledges with symbols and pictographs painted on them, and the half-collapsed wooden frames of huts whose cladding had long since disintegrated. It was beautiful, but it was eerie. Everyone held their tongues, and Bulma wondered if they felt the same sense of quiet sadness she did.

At the bottom, water seeped from one deep, black rock pool to another almost silently, making its way down hill. They dipped their hands into one of the pools of tepid water, and Nappa tasted it.

'Eurgh, a bit leafy and bitter, but it'll do,' he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper, but it rang clear enough in the ravine for them all to hear.

'We have a filtration system on the ship,' Vegeta pointed out. He stood up and sniffed. 'Where is that sulphurous smell coming from?'

When he said it, Bulma realised that even she could detect the whiff of sulphur, though she hadn't noticed it when she'd come down here yesterday.

'Geothermal activity?' she pondered aloud, and Vegeta stood again, following his nose down the creek by the path and steps that wound alongside.

The sulphur smell grew stronger, and then they could make out the sun blazing on a vertical slab of sandstone ahead. The ravine made a sharp right turn, and the stream had formed a large waterhole in the juncture. The trees ended in a bare slope of rock, and the water sheeted down it in a ribbon over black algae, disappearing into the pool that even in this weather was steaming slightly.

Goku had come down in bare feet, and now he went out onto the slope of sandstone and touched the algae lined water trickle with his toes.

'Ooh, slimy!'

Then he stepped back and took off his shirt and pants.

'Goku, what are you doing?' Bulma asked him, grimacing at the sight of Goku's bare backside yet again. 'You don't know how hot the water is!'

'If it's too hot I'll just stop myself before I fall in!' he said, and then plonked his bottom down on the algae. He took off, slow at first, but rapidly picking up speed until the rock became almost vertical and he hit the water with a cry of delight.

'Goku!'

'Gods,' muttered Raditz. 'What a  _child_.'

Goku popped up immediately, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes.

'It's okay!' he called back up. 'It's kinda cool, not hot.' Then he swam further to the other side where there was a small sandy bank and a few overhanging trees. 'Warmer here though.'

'Can we swim?' Tarble asked Vegeta eagerly, watching Goku swim about.

'No,' said Vegeta stonily. ' _Maybe_  after training, tonight.'

'Ah, it's pretty hot here!' said Goku, patting a rock under water. 'Just this area with the bubbles coming up. Ouch.'

'Get out, Kakarott! Make yourself useful.'

* * *

They spent the rest of the morning exploring the area and then after lunch the male contingent went out into the desert to do whatever they did. Bulma stood on the ledge just out of the sun, cursing the loss of both her hoverbikes. She supposed she should get on with her own tasks.

'What're you going to do now?' Puar asked.

Today Puar opted to remain behind with Bulma. The cat had eventually accepted Bulma's explanation that she just had no idea how drunk she was getting when she was getting blitzed with Raditz the other day, but she suspected that Puar was hanging out with her today to make sure she hadn't turned into an overnight alcoholic.

'I'm going to see if there's anything that can be done about that oversized dragon radar.'

For now she had decided to put aside her reading on Alice's wormhole theory. She had no confidence that it could be put into practice, and it had the potential to occupy all her time between now and Earth's deadline for the wish, and a wormhole would do no one any good if they didn't have any way to detect planet Namek once they got there. They might be better off trying to make money to pay for the commercial wormhole passage rather than pinning any hope on making their own. Her priority should be the detector, then the wormhole, then training aides, though she suspected Vegeta might have an issue with that order.

She transplanted all her tools and boxes of componentry from the flight deck of the ship to the dining room table of her capsule house. This would make a better work room, with less interruptions and it had her very own bedroom and bathroom adjacent, not to mention the kitchen, lounge, TV and stereo.

'Hey, Puar, go see what music there is to put on the stereo.'

A few minutes later Bulma was sketching out her plans for the radar and making a shopping list of sorts, tapping her foot to some to some old rock music of her parents' generation. Puar made tea and then lay on the couch reading motoring and celebrity magazines that were several years out of date – not to mention thousands of light years out of place.

'Did Princess Corgi divorce her husband in the end?' Puar asked.

'Yes, I think she did,' said Bulma, not looking up from her sketch.

Puar sighed. 'It's hard to believe that it's all gone.'

'The love?'

'No. The people. Everyone.'

Bulma felt that tingle of panic again, like she was stepping off into zero gravity, with nothing to tether her to anything. 'What a thing to say, Puar! Just what I want to be thinking of!'

'Sorry.'

Bulma took a breath. 'We're going to pull this off, and when we do it's going to be like no one died.'

'I know. I just miss Yamcha right now.'

Bulma flinched. She hadn't thought of Yamcha for days. 'Mm. Me too.' But something about her tone must've been off, because he heard Puar put the magazine down.

'You're not still messing around with Vegeta, are you?' she asked sharply.

Bulma kept her eyes on her page and struggled not to blush. 'Of course not! There's nothing going on between us.' Which was technically the truth.

She had the sense that the cat was staring at her for several moments, and then she heard Puar flop back on the sofa cushions.

After a few more minutes Bulma dropped her pencil. Doing any more planning on the radar would do no good until she knew what she had to work with. She needed to go shopping.

* * *

Training others, and even training  _with_ others was not something Vegeta was well versed in. He felt strangely a little out of his depth as he ordered the others around. Today he wanted to test each of his men to see what kind of asset they could be to him. He'd started with someone he thought would be the easiest – Krillin.

The boy hadn't looked happy to face Vegeta, but he'd taken his stance in front of him stoically enough. With his inch long fuzz of black hair sticking up from his window's peak like a black halo he looked more like a Saiyan than ever.

'I want you to go all out,' Vegeta had told him. 'Do all that you can – don't hold anything back.'

'Will you be going all out?' Krillin had asked tersely.

Vegeta laughed. 'It's not my intention to  _kill_  you, so no.'

Krillin attacked, Vegeta evaded and fended, but only retaliated in measured doses, wanting to see how Krillin would handle it rather than taking him out of the fight completely. And he handled it surprisingly well. They ranged over the desert, sometimes coming in to trade blows and sometimes going long and trying to hit each other with energy waves, and Vegeta was startled by the increase in Krillin's speed and strength, and even his daring.

 _Grand Elder Guru is a potent witchdoctor_ , he mused, and then frowned, annoyed that he had gotten his own increase in power the same way. Right in that second of distraction while he was thinking this, Krillin slid past his guard and sunk his foot right in his stomach. He folded in half, partly winded, and accidentally head-butted Krillin, making the boy yelp, but while Vegeta was dropping away to put some distance between them again, Krillin pursued him, baring his teeth as he flew down at Vegeta, double fistfuls of chi at the ready. Suddenly Krillin faded from view, and sensing him underneath Vegeta started to swivel in the air like a cat, but Krillin hit him like an explosion, knees and hot crackling chi punching into him almost simultaneously. Vegeta braced himself, his chi flaring instinctively, saving himself from the worst of the attack. Apparently he needed to take the boy more seriously.

Krillin's momentary look of delight faded when Vegeta raised his face, unharmed. Vegeta was annoyed at himself – and it must've showed because Krillin's face slackened in fear.

'Sorry!' he yelped, and then started backing away. Vegeta sprang after him, and Krillin fled in earnest, but Vegeta was on him in moments, finishing the match with a single overhand blow to the back of Krillin's head. The boy tumbled to the ground, and then sat up in the dust.

Then he had tested Tarble the same way, though with a little more caution. Tarble proved to be similar to Krillin in speed and strength, though no perhaps not so much in spirit.

'Attack!' Vegeta had yelled when he grew impatient with what Tarble was offering. 'And follow through! You spend too long on the defence!'

Then he'd tried Raditz, expecting the same degree of outrageous progress, and yes, Raditz was a lot stronger and faster than he had been, but Vegeta was somewhat disappointed.

Kakarott practically danced on his toes to be picked next to fight.

'You're next, Kakarott,' he told the boy, more to end his ridiculous squirming than anything else.

Kakarott's expression of delight broke free and he bounced up into the air to face Vegeta square on. Then he grinned, his brows coming down into an irreverent smirk that struck Vegeta like a gauntlet to the face.  _Cheeky brat_.

He readied himself, not noticing that a similar expression stole over his own face.

'When you're ready.'

Kakarott disappeared. Suddenly Vegeta was engaged in a battle that was almost blind. He could sense Kakarott and follow him that way, but Kakarott was using all his new-found speed to stay out of Vegeta's face and come at him from behind as much as possible, leaving afterimages hanging around the desert sky like distractions. It was an interesting technique, one that Kakarott had used before, but not to this degree. The boy certainly could be creative.

Vegeta's speed was still greater though. He was fast enough that he could turn and counter every attack of Kakarott's, but not fast enough to do damage in return before Kakarott was away. After a minute that seemed to last an hour with the speed they moved, he realised he was going to have to step things up if he was going to be able to go on the attack at all.

'Well, I'll be damned,' he muttered to himself, not sure if he should be pleased or pissed off. How could Kakarott be fighting at a higher level than his older brother now? This kid had come to them a bonafide wash-up weakling!

He released his grip on his power – not powering up, but no longer holding it back. Now he was fast enough to not only defend against Kakarott but go after him. He felt his focus sharpen and narrow, playing through his partner's moves of the dance in his head, trying to anticipate where his opponent would be. Kakarott feinted and so did Vegeta, and then Kakarott was going for his face with a punch. Vegeta almost felt bad that his arms were longer than Kakarott's – that was one advantage that the brat couldn't take away from him anytime soon. His own fist connected with Kakarott's chin first – a very solid blow that had him arcing up and away. Kakarott appeared to fall, and Vegeta waited to see if he would hit the dirt, but instead he landed lightly on his feet. And then he sniggered.

'What're you up to?' Vegeta asked, but Kakarott was already taking a breath, and the air around Vegeta began to prickle and snap. He was powering up.

Vegeta watched him, curious and hesitant. Should he do the same? He didn't want to be seen to do the same – he shouldn't have to stretch himself at all for a third class moron - but he also couldn't risk being shown up by him. The dust around Kakarott started to stand up in rings and dance about, then then small stones joined them. The field of chi became visible, rushing around Kakarott like pale blue flame. The boy roared, as if he could call forth the radiant chi with his voice, and maybe he was, because Vegeta had found it had helped him in his fights on Namek. As discreetly as possible, Vegeta gathered his own chi, using Kakarott's noise and display to conceal his own preparation.

Kakarott looked up, his face set in fierce determination.

'I told you to fight at full strength,' Vegeta scolded him. 'Obviously you weren't obeying orders.'

'I am  _now_.'

Kakarott flew at him again, and as they clashed Vegeta felt his blood quicken, the flush of adrenalin making his heart pound. Now  _this_  was a fight! Gods knew how Kakarott had become so much stronger, but he decided he was probably his most useful sparring partner. Still, that wasn't saying a lot.

He let the fight go on for a while longer, explosions raining down and taking out chunks of scenery or leaving orbit by raking a hole in the atmosphere, but eventually he decided that Kakarott's triumphant smile needed to be wiped off his face. The next time Kakarott came at him, Vegeta let him past his guard deliberately, and then chopped down on the juncture between his shoulder and neck. Kakarott dropped like a stone. Vegeta followed him down. He could have stopped Kakarott from landing flat on his face in the dirt, but he didn't want the kid getting any weird ideas about him caring if he was hurt or not.

Kararott was pale and gasping as Vegeta picked him up by the back of his red training suit, but after a few seconds he still managed to grin.

'I bet you weren't expecting that, huh?'

'Not bad, but don't get cocky.'

He carried him back to the others. Krillin and Tarble rushed to take him from Vegeta and shook his hand, looking at Kakarott like he was some sort of hero. Kakarott winced and pulled his hand free.

'Oh, sorry man,' said Krillin. 'You were amazing though.'

'Don't you think you went a bit overboard, Kakarott?' Raditz asked. Vegeta noticed that Raditz looked quite the opposite of happy, and Nappa looked practically ill. Brolly was hyperventilating and looked more than practically ill – it seemed like there was a very high chance the boy would puke.

'Nappa,' Vegeta said in invitation.

Nappa stepped forward and then swung one arm back and forth, stretching and flexing one shoulder. 'If you don't mind, your Highness, I think it might be best if I sit this one out. Still got a twinge that the regen tank didn't quite get rid of.'

Vegeta stared, not quite believing that Nappa was offering such a thin excuse, but he could guess why. What Nappa had just seen far exceeded any challenge that he'd ever shown to Vegeta as an opponent. Kakarott, Raditz, and perhaps all of them had outstripped Nappa in strength and ability, and the last thing Nappa would want to do was to demonstrate that.

'Fine,' he said eventually, though how Nappa would manage to keep a lid on this in the long run, he didn't know. 'Now Brolly.'

Brolly stood up, rubber legged. It was hard to call him a brat now. He towered over Vegeta, and his form was not so rangy any more. He was already packing on sheets and slabs of muscle, and Vegeta could sense the latent chi in him rising even as he looked like he was going to loose his bowels in front of him. He remembered how wild and difficult Brolly had been to subdue when they'd taken his crown off on the trading planet more than a year ago – taking that as a starting point didn't seem wise, even if he himself was a lot stronger now.

'With you I'm going to try something different,' said Vegeta. 'We will start off slow. Your job is to merely keep up. The aim is not to land blows on each other, but to go slow enough that we can both block each other. Understand?'

Brolly frowned, for a second looking as hopeless as his crown-addled self. 'I think so.'

'Then let's start.'

Vegeta led him off a way from the others and high in the sky, and then turned to face him. Brolly took a stance similar to Krillin and Kakarott's. Vegeta could have laughed – Brolly was their student.

His first engagement was exaggeratedly slow – at least by his standard. He came forward, leading with his right foot, and Brolly reacted, not quite so slowly, twisting out of the way and then perhaps remembering some instruction he'd been given earlier, completing the turn and lashing out with his own leg. Vegeta had no challenge avoiding it; placing his hands on Brolly's ankle and flipping over it so that when Vegeta came down on the other side Brolly was stuck with his leg high and firmly in Vegeta's grasp. He squawked and yanked his foot back, hurriedly trying to form an attack, but Vegeta put a foot in his chest and shunted him backwards.

'Slower!' he shouted at Brolly. 'As slow as I am going! Can't you follow instruction? You're of no use if you're just panicking constantly!'

They tried again, and this time they went through a series of exchanges in slow motion. Brolly was still jerky, on the edge of panic, but sometimes second guessing himself and altering his attack midway through. He was unpredictable and often picked a move that made no sense – a mark of an untrained fighter. He was a mess, Vegeta thought grimly. Slowly he pushed the pace up, dragging Brolly along with him. And then it happened almost by accident – Vegeta kicked out towards Brolly's fending arm, but for some reason Brolly raised his arm like he hadn't seen the kick coming, and Vegeta's ankle crashed in to Brolly's ribs. He screamed, and the next thing Vegeta knew he was sky-rocketing upwards, seeing white from the kick Brolly had got him between the legs, tailbone feeling sickeningly impacted, but worse than that by far, his  _testicles_. Curled in a ball he reached the apex of his flight and began to freefall before he opened his eyes, trying not to throw up as the pain in his crotch tried to take over his entire awareness.

 _'Fuck_ ,' he whispered, seeing the ground and Brolly rushing back towards him. He'd let his power level dip too low to counter a kick like that. Brolly hadn't had to power up or reach for that strength – he'd just had it sitting there turned up to eleven for a slow spar.

Taking a deep breath, he stopped his downward tumble, and several moments he managed to uncurl and fly back up to Brolly, who was wide-eyed with fear.

'I didn't mean to!' he blurted out.

Vegeta snarled with contempt. 'You imbecile!' He moved towards Brolly, and Brolly scooted backwards through the air. 'Come here!'

Instead, Brolly turned and bolted. With a growl of frustration, Vegeta took off after him. Brolly threw a glance over his shoulder and seeing Vegeta come after him put on another burst of speed. Off they went across the desert, tearing the air with the speed of their passage.

 _He's so fast!_  Vegeta had to acknowledge. He had to dig deep just to keep up with him. They whipped across the width of the continent, heading deeper and deeper into the desert. The range of arid mountains loomed, flew past and was behind them in no time. Husks of destroyed towns and cities pocked the valleys on the other side. The horizon was hazy. That wasn't the ocean, was it?

Brolly was getting further and further away. Vegeta considered powering up even more to catch him, but didn't.

 _It's not worth my time_ , he told himself.  _And I did just take a crack in the stones. That's enough to put any man off his game._

Instead he returned to the others.

* * *

'That boy has no control and no skill,' he announced as soon as he was within earshot. 'He's no use to me at all at this rate.  _Assuming_ he comes back, Nappa, I want you to drill him – he needs training from the ground up, not just the half-assery that these Earthlings have taught him.'

Nappa looked thoughtful. 'Hmm. Okay, I'll do that. But does he need skill to be useful to you? He's so strong, you could just use him as a punching bag.'

'No, he can't,' Kakarott interrupted. 'That would be cruel.'

Vegeta considered it. 'Perhaps it could be a fall back plan. But let's first see if the idiot can be fashioned into a semi-serviceable sparring partner first. Kakarott and the others will have to do for me while you are getting Brolly ready.'

When they returned to camp, Bulma and Puar came out of the little house to greet them. Or at least Puar greeted them and Bulma launched straight into a list of requests.

'I need to know what I have to work with, so before you all go flying off tomorrow, I want to know how, where and who I can go to get parts. You and Nappa made that little "reconnaissance" trip the other day and never actually told me what you found! And who will come with me? Or should I go by myself and fly the ship into town? Did you realise I have no other transport? How much money do we have, anyway?'

'One at a time, woman!' Vegeta complained, heading inside the ship for a towel. 'Don't fly the ship into town – that's asking for trouble.' He thought about it while ransacking the linen cupboard. 'I'll write up a list of places that we found, but we need to decide on a plan for what little money we have.'

He walked outside again and she trailed him like a puppy, still asking questions.

'What about transport? I need to get around. I think I'm going to have to buy a hoverjet or whatever they use here.'

'Is that really a pressing expense?'

Outside, Nappa was tossing the bodies of four giant, dead rodents to the ground. At least they wouldn't have to spend money on meat – there was plenty of game around.

'Well, if money's so tight, are we going to go get the other ship?' she asked.

Vegeta huffed. She was forcing him to think of all these things at once! 'I have been too busy today to ponder the answers to this deluge of questions you have. Right now we're going for a swim.'

'We're going swimming!' cried Kakarott.

'No, I and the others are going swimming,' Vegeta corrected him. ' _You_  are staying here and cooking the meat for dinner.'

'What? But-'

'You already had a swim!'

Krillin and Tarble rushed about grabbing their own towels, then raced off down to the water hole, and Vegeta followed at a more dignified pace. Nappa and Raditz made it down a few minutes later, both looking preoccupied, though once they were in, Raditz cheered up after he managed to creep up on Tarble and pull him under the water by the ankles to the boy's great shock.

The pool was in shade now that the sun was dropping low, but up above them the sandstone wall was glowing umber in the rays. The water was slow moving, turbulating with the mixing of hot and cold water rather than current. Parts of the pool were cool, some warm and some hot. He manoeuvred himself against a rock that was almost, but not quite, too hot, and let the heat soak into his muscles. Not that he needed it today, but he could imagine this would be a boon after a day of hard training. His father's mountain fortress had hot springs used for just that purpose, only those had been buried deep inside the mountain. He had to hand it to Bulma - she'd found a good spot with some pleasant amenities.

He was almost dozing when he heard an outraged squeal from the top of the waterfall (though waterfall suggested something far more active than the trickle that wet the sloping rock). He opened his eyes to see Puar and Bulma standing up there. Bulma was practically naked in a bikini, and he suffered a visceral recollection of the silkiness of the skin of her upper thighs before remembering that not only he but all his men were not just practically, but  _actually_ naked. He sat up, and heading into deeper water.

Bulma closed her eyes, but she didn't leave.

'Bulma, what are you doing here?' he barked.

'I came for a game of chess - what do you think? Why are none of you wearing any swimwear?' she demanded.

'Swimwear?' said Nappa, defiantly standing up in the water, revealing all, if she had been looking. 'Don't think I've ever owned any "swimwear". What about you, Raddy-boy?'

'Nope, don't think I have either.'

'Is this a problem, Princess?' Nappa asked.

'You know it is!' she retorted. 'I'm not skinny-dipping with you people!'

'Well then, looks like you're plumb outta luck on the bathing front. We don't have "swimwear" and what a waste of time wearing it if we did!'

'Krillin!' she cried. 'Stick up for me already!'

'But I don't have any swimwear either, Bulma.'

She stamped her foot and her eyes flickered, trying to open against her will. Vegeta found his voice.

'We didn't realise you were coming down. If I'd known I would have warned you we were bathing naked.'

'But I want to swim, too!'

Vegeta reflected that he should have realised she would want to. 'You will have to swim later then.'

'You could order them all to put pants on!'

Nappa and Raditz roared with laughter, and Nappa sat back down in the water, making a waves slosh up the wides of the pool. Even Krillin and Tarble made sounds of protest.

'Oh, screw you all!' she snapped, and whirled about to stamp her way back up the ravine. Puar watched her go and then hopped on the water running down the rock face and slid down it with a 'Whee!' Vegeta watched her with a frown when she bobbed back to the surface and start to doggy paddle over to Krillin and Tarble.

'Are you not as particular as Bulma?' Vegeta asked her.

Puar paused and trod water. 'I guess it doesn't bother me as much.'

'But you're only a kid,' Raditz pointed out.

'Yes, but you're Saiyans and humans, and I'm a cat. As long as I don't have to see anything gross like someone's butthole or something.'

Raditz snorted. 'That's pretty rich coming from someone whose butthole is almost always on display!'

Puar's ears turned red.

'Hey, kitty,' said Nappa. 'Over here.'

Puar turned. Her screech of disgust and Nappa's howls of laughter echoed off the stone cliffs.

* * *

They stayed in the water until the sun went down, and as they traipsed back up the ravine to the ship, Vegeta caught the imprint of a large, clawed foot in the mud. Curious he sniffed around the bases of nearby trees and spotted some more pawprints. There was a musk of some animal, a carnivore by the smell left behind on the low scrub. It seemed they were sharing this desert idyll with some other sizeable creatures. Perhaps, as they were staying a while they should clean the predators out? That would leave more game for them.

Their dinner was a combination of roast rodents, frozen meals and oddments of fancies taken from the freighter, eaten on their laps while they sat on rocks and desiccated tree trunks they had found around the campsite. They would have to do something about their food situation sooner rather than later – supplies were running low. After dinner they sent the boys in to bring the bedding out. Tonight they would sleep around the small campfire; it was a great relief not to be cooped up inside the ship anymore.

As they settled in, Vegeta happened to glance down the side of the ship and saw Bulma tiptoe out of her house with a towel wrapped around her and what looked like no clothes on underneath, not even a bikini, a thought that brought him to his feet with a sudden but directionless impulse to action. She slipped down the path, turning on a flashlight as she reached the cover of the trees. He supposed she was taking that swim she wanted. He quickly took in the others to see if any of them had noticed. He especially didn't want Nappa to bother her, but none of them showed any sign that they had seen her go. Then he remembered the paw marks with the claws and froze.

 _She will be fine_ , he thought. Only a large carnivore would be a threat to someone her size, although…she  _was_  very weak. And who knew how hungry that predator was? He didn't know how big the creature was for sure, or how aggressive. It could be stalking her right now. His stomach clenched a little. Bulma needed protection from that kind of thing. He should have thought to order a sweep of the area tonight, but he hadn't considered the threat to her, and she'd obviously not thought of it either. He should send someone down there now to guard her or to bring her back.

_But she's swimming naked._

He looked over assembly of soldiers and decided he didn't trust any of them to do it and not do something lewd, or at least take the opportunity to grab an eyeful. He would just go himself, quietly, and guard her from the shadows. No one would know.

'I'm going for a piss,' he said to his men, and then walked into the shadows of the ravine as well. Once in the dark he lifted off his feet and floated between the trees, following the path silently. His heart pounded hard for a moment when he heard some branch crack up ahead, but then it was followed immediately by Bulma's hissed, 'Ow! Ow! Stupid tree!'

He got her in sight just as she reached the rock above the pool, silvered down one side by the half moon, and he stared like a dummy as she dropped the towel. It skimmed over her bare back and the rounds of her ass and brought all blood flow in Vegeta's head to a stop as she bent over and then placed said ass on the slippery slide into the pool.

'Woo!' she squeaked quietly as she dropped away and then splashed into the water. 'Ho! Yikes! It's not  _that_  warm!'

Vegeta shook his head, battling the nonsensical urge to go to her. He shouldn't have looked – he was no better than one of the others.

_You're here to hunt the predator – so get on with it!_

He took to the air again to begin his hunt. He kept his nose close to the ground – he was sure he looked quite ridiculous and not at all dignified to be slowly gliding face-down, a foot off the ground sniffing for animals, but the idea was to be neither seen nor heard, and this was the best way to track silently. Back and forth he went in ever widening half circles, through the bush that bordered the waterhole, until his nose crossed a fresh trail – very fresh. It headed up towards the cliff, ran along the base of it, and then turned back. As he headed back toward the water following the trail he could hear Bulma's quiet splashes as she swam around the pool, and he sped up, his worry crystalizing into a fear he might be too late. He made out the hunched shoulders of a creature – it looked like a large cat, but it had a scaled reptilian hide – watching the pool from the edge of a high bank. His glide became a rush, and as he whipped past a fern frond, the cat turned its head towards him, warned by the sound. It let out a coarse yowl as he barrelled into it, sharp paws coming up to rake at Vegeta as he rolled it on his back and then onto its side. He blocked each clawed swipe with ease, pinning it down and then breaking its neck simply by grasping its head in one hand and pulling.

'What the…!' he heard Bulma exclaim from below. 'Who's there?'

He didn't answer, hoping she would calm down, but instead the silence frightened her more.

'Oh jeez, oh fuck!' she said, and he heard her splashing in the pool. Vegeta leant forward over the bank to see her trying to run through chest deep water. 'Who's there?' she repeated. 'If this is a joke, it's not funny!' She splashed her way to the steep, narrow path in the rock that led back up the tree lined-ravine and hauled herself out of the water. Vegeta averted his eyes – he felt he shouldn't want to look, even if he did. Then she screeched and fell back in the water, so he had to look again to make sure she was all right. Her head broke the surface and she sobbed as she hauled herself up again.

'Calm down, before you hurt yourself,' he said, resigned to revealing himself. It was better than undoing the good he had just done by letting her crack her head open on the rocks in her panic. She was quite physically helpless – not only weak, but she had a poor sense of smell and terrible night vision by his standards.

'Vegeta?'

'Yes.'

She gave sob of relief, and then she slapped the surface of the water in anger. 'What do you think you're playing at?' she demanded. 'You know you almost scared me to death with that noise? I banged my knee and stubbed my toe on the rocks!'

Vegeta smiled, supressing a laugh, and was glad he was hidden in the shadows, as he doubted even a smile would have gone down well. 'A stubbed toe would have been the least of your worries if I hadn't been here.'

'And why are you here, then? Are you  _spying_  on me?' she asked, her tone suddenly switching from wrathful to speculative halfway through.

'Of course I wasn't,' he dismissed her accusation reflexively. She looked right at the spot he was hiding, and he pulled himself deeper into the shadows. He was sure she hadn't seen him looking.

'You're just hanging out up there not looking at me?'

'Exactly.'

'Hmm.'

'If I did look I wouldn't be able to see anything anyway. Only your head is sticking up out of the water, and the moon is reflecting so brightly off the water that your nakedness is hidden.' Which was true.

'Oh, of  _course_  - you would know that without looking at all.'

'I would,' he agreed, grinning.

'Then what  _are_  you doing hiding in the trees while I swim naked, then?'

'I was aware that there was some sort of large predator in the area and decided to deal to it before it became a problem. I was not aware that you would be swimming in the nude at the same time.' Of course, that last part  _was_ a lie.

'Predator? Is that what that screaming sound was?'

'Yes.'

'A big one?' she asked, sounding alarmed.

'Big enough,' he replied. 'Would you like to see the carcass?'

'Oh, jeez! Maybe later.'

Bulma looked up at the overhanging trees that Vegeta's disembodied voice was floating down from. Her heart was still hammering a bit from her fright, and she suddenly felt a little foolish for not considering dangerous wildlife. They were on an alien planet in the wilderness, for heaven's sake! Had she gotten so blasé about visiting alien worlds that she didn't even think about these things anymore? She should have brought her gun down with her.

'Was it hunting me?' she asked breathlessly.

'It was.'

 _Fuuuuck._  She started to shake again. If Vegeta had not just happened to be there, she could be dead. 'Well…thanks for that, then.'

'Think nothing of it.'

'Are there more?'

'Perhaps. But we will clear out the area tomorrow.'

It occurred to her that Vegeta and the others had nothing to fear from wildlife. They had teased her back on Earth about being afraid of wolves. Killing the predators around here must be for her and Puar's benefit, not theirs. Did he come down here tonight just to keep her safe?

She pondered that whilst she slowly paddled back to the warmest spot in the pool.

'Vegeta, are we friends?'

There was a long pause. 'We are allies… But if it helps you to think of it as friendship, go ahead. As a Saiyan such a word means nothing-'

'Yeah, yeah,' she sighed.

He cleared his throat and jumped subjects. 'I've been thinking about tomorrow. I suppose you must go into Metrophillia, but I don't think you should go alone.'

'I thought this planet was safe,' she said.

'It is, relatively speaking, but I still think it better if you have an escort. After all, you couldn't even spend a day at the hotel alone without getting yourself in a situation.'

'Hey!'

'I will send Tarble with you. He is strong enough to counter anyone or anything you come across on this planet, and I trust his judgement more than some others.'

 _Interesting choice_ , she thought. She supposed that he would like to have some Saiyan agent with her, though she thought they were past that, but he wouldn't send Nappa or Raditz right now, with both of them in the doghouse lately.

'Okay. But what are we going to do about money? If Nappa's rampage at the hotel cleared us out, won't we have to start selling the loot on the freighter?'

'Yes,' Vegeta said with a sigh. 'Tomorrow I will send Raditz to get the shuttle from the lock up at Mermaid's Rock and then use it to go get the freighter. It has no transponder, so it should be able to land in the desert without being detected as long as he is careful. And it should be harder to detect up here than in high orbit, but someone will find it up there eventually. Do you still have your alexandrite ring?'

Bulma glanced at her left hand, but she had taken it off a couple of days ago and put it with her other jewellery. Even though it wasn't a true gift, she'd felt foolish wearing it after their break up. The thought of selling it still made her sad, though.

'Yes. Somewhere.'

'We will have to sell that, too. And the dress jewellery. Perhaps you should do that tomorrow with Tarble.'

'Um, maybe someone taller and more intimidating should sell it. We might get a better price.'

There was a second's hesitation from Vegeta, but then he admitted, 'You're right. Sometimes a small stature means you do not get the respect you deserve initially.'

'Yeah, and you should try being a female at the same time. Bad combination.'

'Just show them your true nature – that would scare anyone into compliance.'

'Ha ha. But I still think one of you Saiyans should sell it. It's not like I'm experienced at hawking jewellery on alien planets. Or any planet.'

'Fine. I'll get Raditz or whoever to sell it later. Buy what you can with the rest of the money, but we're running low on food, so you should buy food supplies first. Don't bother with meat, though. There should be enough game in the area to keep us going for a while. There was at least enough game to keep  _this_ thing going.' There was a rustle of dry leaves and then a large, feline shape plunged over the edge of the bank.

'Yikes! Vegeta!' she screamed before realising that it hung limp and dead from Vegeta's fist. It looked like a cross between a lion and an armadillo. He pulled the limp body back into the shadows on the bank, snickering. 'Wow, you're so funny,' she said flatly. 'So, do I make a shopping list? We also need more liquid and nanobot canisters for the regen tank.'

'Dammit! Those things are expensive! How many of each do we have left?'

'We're on the last of each. I was going to say, it's lucky you didn't have to put anyone in the tank tonight. Maybe we should be save it for special occasions until we get new supplies?'

'Hmm.'

Then a thought occurred to her. 'Hey, Brolly's not back in the tank is he?'

'Brolly? No. Why would you think so?'

'I just realised I didn't see him with the rest of you, and he wasn't there at dinner. What have you done with him?'

'Nothing. The coward ran away from training. I suppose he will be back eventually as he has no money or way to feed himself or wit to get by on.'

She frowned. 'Have you been  _bullying_  him again?'

'No. The boy is just scared of his own shadow.'

She wasn't sure if Vegeta was totally as blameless as all that. 'Maybe you should try being kind to him until he doesn't feel he needs to be scared?'

Vegeta snorted. 'Leave the training of soldiers to me, as I think I might know more on the subject than you do. I trust you to know what you're doing with the technology.'

She decided she was happy enough with the second part of that speech that she couldn't be bothered arguing the first. 'Okay, then. What about transport to move all these supplies?' she asked.

'You have your capsules, and Tarble can carry you.'

'You mean I have to be  _carried_  everywhere I go?' She hated that idea. Having her own transport would give her the independence from the men that she found herself missing more and more. 'No! I want a hoverjet or something, then Tarble can stay with you guys.'

'You don't need it. I would rather spare one man's time than money we don't have at this stage.'

'Bah!'

'Do you have an issue with Tarble? Is there someone else you'd prefer to carry you around?'

 _You_ , she thought, and then rolled her eyes at her patheticness. Well, leaving aside Vegeta, it would be a bit too  _intimate_  for Krillin to be flying her around all day, but she knew no lewd thoughts would occur to Goku. 'What about Goku?'

' _Kakarott_  will be busy.'

'Busy with what?'

'Sparring with me.'

'Really? Why him in particular?'

He let out an involuntary groan, and then his voiced pitched lower as if he was reluctant to say what he did next. 'Kakarott seems to have improved immensely after his visit to the Grand Elder, and maybe his recent injury and healing helped, too. He has overtaken the rest of them.'

'Really?' she squawked, and then laughed. She might have known! Goku was always showing everyone else up. 'Even Brolly?'

'Except Brolly. But Brolly is untrained and unmanageable. Starting tomorrow, Nappa is going to try and whet him into something useful.'

'What will Krillin be doing, then? Maybe he could come with me and Tarble.'

'I was thinking of sending Krillin with Raditz as a spare set of hands. And to keep an eye on him.'

'Seriously? Why would you need to keep an eye on Krillin?'

'I meant Krillin to keep an eye on  _Raditz_.'

'Oh. Okay. Are you still mad at him for getting me drunk, then?'

'He also went AWOL for nearly an entire day, drained a credit chip and came back stinking of a rather good time, so I am still angry with him, yes.'

She hadn't known that.

'What have you come up with to help me in my training?' Vegeta asked out of the blue. Bulma cringed a bit.

'To tell you the truth, I've been concentrating on the radar and the wormhole first.'

' _Wormhole?_ '

'Didn't I tell you? I have some research paper on wormhole propagation that I've been studying. I also looked wormhole technology up on the ship's computer this afternoon, but there's very little about creating or controlling them. Only the broad strokes physics about how they work, and instructions about how to use one.'

'I'm not surprised,' said Vegeta. 'The PTO made it a priority to acquire or eliminate anyone working in the field. Some large merchant companies have their own wormholes that were created before Frieza's power crossed the Galaxy. But no one except Frieza has built one since.'

'Oh.'

'I wouldn't bother seriously with this wormhole idea.' She could hear scepticism in his voice. 'Something to aid our training would be a higher priority. Like you promised.'

'Okay,' she agreed, barely keeping the growl out of her voice. She'd known he would see things that way. She paddled about a bit, going to a cooler part of the pool and back again.

'How much longer are you going to sit in the darkness, watching me?' she asked eventually.

'Until you leave. Unless you want to take the chance that this thing doesn't have a mate? I can go now.'

'So you're going to watch me get out then?'

'Absolutely not!'

She smiled, but it made her feel a little sad, too. She'd known he would respond that way, and she liked to tease him. But she  _hoped_  that he wanted to watch her. He might, he might not. Either way it just reminded her of what hadn't worked out.

'You know, I altered the comms system a little bit today,' she mentioned, pressing down on the upwelling of disappointment with some light conversation.

'Yes? How?'

'I set my laptop to send you warnings when you're getting close to the time the signal goes out. I figure remembering is going to become more and more of a problem, as the days here are a little longer than a galactic day. It'll move earlier and earlier in the day. So you'll get a warning in the morning that it's going to happen, then two hours before, then half an hour, and finally, five minutes before.'

He made a little surprised grunt. 'Good thinking. You barely remembered in time last night.'

'You mean  _you_  forgot entirely! It's  _your_  tracking beacon, you know.'

'I know,' he admitted. There was a suggestion of apology in his tone, but he didn't go as far as to say he was sorry.

'You know, you could just wear the diadem all the time so there's no chance of being caught short. It won't do any damage.'

'And how do I know there's not some residual brain altering effect in that thing? I'm not wearing it any more than I need to.'

'Why not? I think it looks good on you.' She grinned again, thinking of how it looked on him. 'It breaks up that vast expanse of forehead you've got.'

'What! My forehead is not large! It is the noble brow of a thinking Saiyan.'

'Oh. Is that what it is?'

He growled in warning.

'I'm gonna get out now,' she said, still smiling. 'Are you watching or not?'

'I will  _not_  be watching! But I will make sure nothing hunts you on the way back up.'

'Okay, then. Standing up now!'

She clambered out and up the narrow path to the top of the rock, imaging she could feel eyes on her, though it was probably her imagination. Then she wrapped herself in her towel, grabbed her flashlight and began to pick her way back up the ravine.

At the top she saw the merry campfire, but it was suddenly blocked from view by a tall silhouette.

'Brolly!' she said in surprise. 'Where have you  _been_  all evening?'

He shrugged.

'I heard that you left the others during training.'

'Uh. I, I got Vegeta really mad, so I thought I'd wait until he calmed down a bit.'

'Well, I  _think_  he's calm now.' She frowned at him. She couldn't read his expression at all when he had his back to the fire and the moon.

'You're only wearing a drying cloth,' he observed.

'Yeah. I've just been swimming. And I'm about to go to bed.' Still frowning, she walked to the front door of her capsule house and let herself in. Brolly was making her uncomfortable.

The very next moment Vegeta emerged from the shadows of the path. The two Saiyans regarded each other for a long moment.

'You've decided to show your face at last,' said Vegeta.

Brolly remained silent. Vegeta wondered what was going on in the cretin's head.

'Too frightened to even speak?'

'W-were you watching Bulma while she swam?' Brolly stuttered out.

'What? No!'

'I don't think that can be true.' said Brolly quietly. 'I sensed you down at the pool with her, and then you followed her up here, far enough behind so that she wouldn't know you were there.'

'I was watching  _over_  her, not watching  _her!_ ' Vegeta replied. 'There are predators in this canyon.' Then he suddenly ran out of patience. 'I do not need to explain myself to the likes of you! Go to bed! Nappa will begin training your squeamish self how to not disgrace your Saiyan blood tomorrow!'

Brolly gave him a narrow eyed glare, but shuffled off back to the campfire.

Vegeta watching him go, wondering how one so timid managed to project so much defiance. Well, there wouldn't be much of that left by the time he was done with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: And now, a pregnant pause while we await the next chapter...


	64. The Natural Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Ha HA! I'm back, bitches! And this time it's only been 43 days!
> 
> Last time on this excessively lengthy and and long running story, Never Ever Land: the gang found a new home in the desert, nestled in a ravine; Vegeta ranked his potential training partners and found Goku to be the best prospect; and Vegeta and Bulma had a civil conversation whilst Bulma was totally nude.

Bulma and Tarble sat in the courtyard of a lovely café, empty dishes stacked in front of them while Bulma used the tablet she'd just bought to do a more thorough search than Vegeta and Nappa had managed on foot. She wondered sometimes… Even Vegeta, who was the smartest of the Saiyans beyond a doubt, was completely direct and physical in his approach to problem solving. The list of places he and Nappa had compiled was pretty sorry. She'd already checked out a number of them, including the consumer electronics store that she'd bought this tablet from, and now that she was sitting down letting her fingers do the walking, she discovered that they hadn't thought about the scrapyards, brokers or non-physical markets like she was finding online with ease.

'The internet, guys!' she muttered aloud, even though they weren't there to hear her.

'Planetary directory,' Tarble corrected her again.

'It's the same thing. Just about.'

The planetary directory was far more regulated than the internet she was used to, and harder to get around, as search functions seemed to be highly biased towards certain businesses – to whoever paid the most to be near the top she guessed. She had switched channels several times. The channels seemed to be separate online realms, probably owned by different entities, and some of the sites and advertising was common to all of them. But over the course of their lazy lunch she'd gathered quite a lot of leads. She even had high hopes for a fixed signal dish she'd found, and in about ten minutes they would be going to look it over with the owner at the shipyard. She gulped down the last of her cold, fizzy tea. She had to remember what this stuff was and buy a case – it didn't quite fill the soda shaped hole in her life, but it was getting close. She knew she had maybe ten sodas left in her little capsulated fridge, and she was planning on metering them out to herself one at a time in moments when she needed a little pick-me-up, but for an everyday substitution this tea would do.

Tarble set down his empty milkshake glass and burped.

'Sorry,' he said, belatedly covering his mouth.

'Oh, yeah?' she said, and thumped herself on the chest. She waited a moment and then up rose the most sonorous belch. Tarble's eye went wide.

'Bulma!'

A youth sitting at the next table clapped.

Bulma grinned. 'Let's get out of here, Tarbs. I've got a date with a dish.'

* * *

'Should you be drinking while piloting a spaceship?' Krillin asked with some alarm when Raditz returned to the cramped cockpit with an open bottle in hand. They were back on the freighter, having spent the morning taking it easy, flying back to Blue Lagoon for the shuttle and taking that back up into orbit. Raditz had been concerned that they wouldn't be able to find the pirate ship in high orbit, due to its lack of transponder, but Vegeta had pointed out that the pirates must've had some way to locate their own vessel, or else they'd never be able to find their way back. He'd been right. After pottering about the shuttle's primitive on-board computer for a few minutes they'd found a program called 'Homing flight autopilot'. And it had been that easy.

'It's only  _one_ drink,' replied Raditz flippantly, even though the drink in question was a full bottle of spirits. 'What're you going to do? Snitch on me?'

Krillin sat still, considering the pros and cons of doing so. However, apparently this was enough for Raditz to take as an affirmative.

'Oh, thanks! I hope you choke on the ice lizard's cock, you little goody-good!'

'Hey, Vegeta's orders' said Krillin, trying to deflect Raditz's ire. The Saiyan huffed with annoyance and stashed the bottle down the side of his seat.

'Send me with a fucking spy on board, your twerpy, fucking Highness,' Raditz muttered as he fired up the freighter's engines.

* * *

'You're getting it,' Nappa said, nodding in encouragement at Brolly's neck-high side kick. 'That's good.'

Brolly smiled for maybe the first time in days. It was hot out in the desert and Brolly and Nappa where both covered in sweat even though they hadn't even traded blows yet. Nappa was drilling Brolly in individual moves; different kicks, punches and blocks, and Brolly was kind of liking it. He was also realising that some of the kata they did most mornings in space were exactly the same, only faster. Nappa had laughed his head off when Brolly voiced this thought, and asked him what he thought they'd been doing every day, which left Brolly feeling rather stupid, but the connection helped accelerate his learning. Each time Nappa corrected his form he could feel himself getting better, more precise. He was getting somewhere.

'But what you really need it so be able to remember it in the heat of the moment,' Nappa added.

The smile left him again.

Nappa stood by, examining Brolly in a detached manner as he repeated kick after kick.

'Left hand strike!' he ordered suddenly.

Brolly obeyed, the action almost automatic and smooth after a whole morning of drills.

'Right side kick. Feint. Foot sweep.'

Brolly quickly executed each.

Nappa nodded. 'You seem to have no problem learning when you're not facing an opponent. From what I see you only fall apart when someone's in your face. Which isn't good, because when you fight there's always someone in your face. Now why is that? Stop now.'

Nappa came to stand before him.

'Right strike.'

Brolly hesitated. Nappa was close enough that if he shot his fist out it would hit him.

'Right strike!' Nappa repeated.

Brolly held a breath and complied, but pulled his punch, afraid to land it and hurt Nappa. He needn't have bothered though – Nappa moved out of the way with plenty of time. He had ordered the strike after all.

'Left punch. Right spin kick. Left kick. Stop.' Nappa stroked his chin as he considered something. 'Now I'm going to do exactly the same to you.'

'Should I dodge?'

'Don't move a muscle.'

Then Nappa's fist came towards him, slowly. He did the routine almost in slow motion, each motion ending a hair's breadth from Brolly. 'Now I'm going to do it again. Faster.' He did so, and Brolly tensed up, feeling the small concussions of air puff about his face and torso. 'Good,' Nappa said evenly. 'Now I'm going to do it closer to full speed.'

Nappa's motions were a blur, and the sounds of his feet and fists retracting was almost a crack. Feeling a fist close to his cheek, Brolly jumped back, his heart starting to race.

'Gah!' said Nappa. 'Why'd you move?'

'Because…'

'You thought I was going to hit you?'

'Um. Yeah.'

'Well, putting aside your low opinion of my skill, from what I've seen you've got absolutely nothing to fear from one ordinary punch from me, so why'd you move?'

Brolly shrugged, feeling ashamed. He didn't want to voice it, but Nappa did it for him.

'You're afraid, aren't you? Eh? You got the body of a galaxy class warrior and the nerve of that furball Puar.'

A blush spread up from Brolly's training suit collar. He knew what Nappa said was true.

'So. How do we get you to harden the fuck up?' Nappa twisted his lips to one side. 'Raditz said he got the boys to hit you for a while the other day, and that you just had to stand there and without fighting back.'

Brolly nodded.

'How'd that go?'

'It was...alright,' Brolly lied.

'Hurt much?'

'Yes.'

'I don't see you covered in bruises – it can't have hurt  _that_  much. We've gotta get that pain threshold up. Didn't Frieza hit you when you tangled with him outside that Namek village?'

Brolly nodded again, and a tremor ran down him. His knees felt watery at the recollection of those desperate moments being pursued by Frieza.

'He kicked me in the back,' he confirmed.

'And I bet  _that_  fucking hurt.'

'Yes.'

'So I think you can stand to take a little bruising from  _me_. Stand still. And don't you  _dare_  hit back.'

Nappa ran through the same routine, not so fast this time, his fists and feet connecting with fleshy smacks that had Brolly flinching and yelping. He closed his eyes to try and stifle his anticipation, stepping away before it ended, and was trying hard not to cry when Nappa growled at him.

'Gods! You're ridiculous! You can't tell me that hurt! Are you a Saiyan or  _what?_ '

Brolly could feel every spot Nappa had hit aching, but he daren't refute him.

 _I'm useless_ , he told himself.  _I'm never going to be like the others!_

'At least you didn't hit back,' Nappa continued grumbling. 'I'm going to do that again, and this time you're not going to make any of those pathetic noises, understand?'

Brolly nodded, but inside he was already begging for the end of the lesson, hoping he could possibly endure that long.

* * *

Raditz parked the freighter with some hesitancy on the ledge on the opposite side of the ravine. Krillin got out to guide him in, using the comms to call out instructions and still the freighter ended up crushing some trees with its back section and one rear foot partly off the edge of the ledge.

'Should've cleared some trees,' Raditz observed when he got out to look.

Then they headed out into the desert where they could sense the others and found Nappa and Brolly hovering ten feet in the air. Nappa was calling out attacks as he made them and Brolly was fending them with standard forms that it looked like he'd just learned. When he got one wrong, Nappa's blow sailed through, got him in the face, and he fell to the ground with a cry.

'Get up!' Nappa ordered mercilessly. 'You've got more in you than that, you pansy toerag!'

Stoically, Brolly rose again, raising his hands for another round. Raditz nodded.

'I see you've made some progress with the brat.'

Nappa spared him a glance. 'It shouldn't be a surprise when I've been training soldiers longer than you've been alive,  _brat_.'

'Don't call me brat,' Raditz muttered in return.

They kept at it a few more minutes. Brolly made another mistake, using the wrong fend for a kick to the side. Nappa's shin whacked into him, and Brolly withdrew, but for the first time made no sound.

' _Now_  you're getting it,' said Nappa, and then dropped to the sand, wiping his dripping brow with the back of his hand. Brolly dropped down in front of him, but Nappa flicked his wrist to motion him back up. 'Just because the master takes a break doesn't mean the student does. Get back up there! Baldie!'

'Huh?' Krillin was startled out of his daydream.

'Go up and run through some simple attacks against Brolly, just like I was.'

The boy looked thunderstruck. 'Me?'

'Yes, you!'

'But what if he hits me?' Krillin asked, terrified at the thought.

'He won't hit you, he's under orders to block only.'

'But-'

'Get up there!'

Krillin rose up into the air and engaged Brolly timidly, and then slightly more confidently when Brolly didn't seem about to explode in violence.

'Urgh, it's as hot as hell out here,' Nappa complained at Raditz. 'Worse than a day on the Scarlet Sea.'

'Scarlet Sea? Where's that?'

'Don't tell me you've forgotten your home planet already! The Scarlet Sea was the massive desert that separated Saiyan territory from Tuffle!'

'Oh, yeah, I remember,' Raditz replied. 'I just didn't realise you were talking about the geography of a planet that  _doesn't exist_  anymore.'

'Who's going to remember if we don't?'

Raditz rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he disagreed with Nappa, it was just that the degree with which Nappa clung to the memories irritated him for some reason.

An explosion in the distance rocked the ground under them, and they looked over at the plume of dust that rose up. Vegeta and Kakarott were going at it hard. Raditz was momentarily jealous.

Then a happy thought occurred to him.

'Hey, Nappa, we should fight too, while everyone else is. We need to train just as much.'

'Nah,' said Nappa, not taking his eyes off the boys. 'Gotta watch this to see how Brolly does – make sure he doesn't snap again.'

'They don't need to be watched! What do you think you're gonna do if Brolly snaps again? Whatever you do it won't be fast enough to stop it.'

'Well, maybe to pick up the pieces of Baldie when he does.'

Raditz scoffed. 'I didn't know you cared! And we'll know pretty quick if something goes really wrong. Just a little spar! We haven't tussled for ages.'

Nappa grimaced, calculating. 'Alright, then. Only a  _spar_ ,' he emphasised.

'Why? Are you still carrying that…what was it? Shoulder injury?' Raditz grinned and Nappa's expression sickened. 'You're getting old, Old Man.'

'Shut the fuck up, Raditz, and get in position!'

They had fought so often and for so many years that every move was familiar and expected; they hit and kicked solidly, confident in each other's response. But Raditz didn't leave it at that for long. Barely able to stop himself laughing with glee he casually pushed back harder and harder against Nappa until the older man was off-kilter after each attack.

'A spar, I said!' he complained.

'This is sparring,' replied Raditz. 'I'm not even sweating!'

Next, Raditz fended off a punch so violently that Nappa spun like a javelin in flight and almost speared into the ground. With a roar he halted himself and shot back up at Raditz. Raditz could feel Nappa's power rising to its maximum before he ploughed into him from below, grabbing his leg before he could flee and swinging him about by it. When Nappa let go he clearly expected Raditz to be launched into the sunset, but Raditz merely exerted  _his_  own power, and stopped, tumbling to a standstill only metres away. Nappa's red face went slack with horror for a moment before creasing back up into a scowl.

'What're you playing at?' he yelled.

'Sparring!'

'That's not sparring!

Raditz grinned. 'Oh, come on, what's wrong, Nappa? Maybe it's more than sparring, but you never back down from a fight!'

Nappa growled, teeth and fists clenched before he flicked a ball of chi at Raditz. Raditz knocked it aside, but by that time Nappa was on the ground, walking away.

'Hey!'

'I've had enough of your attitude,' Nappa shouted back over his shoulder. 'You can take care of Brolly for the rest of the day.'

'What? That's not fair! And why should I do what you say, anyway? Are you gonna make me?'

Nappa just kept walking.

In the distance there was a flash and then a sound like thunder rumbling through the clear sky of the desert.

* * *

Kakarott climbed out of the crater he was in, dusting himself off, but the kid kept on grinning. It was starting to bug Vegeta.

'You lose. Again. So why are you smiling?'

Kakarott leapt nimbly up from the sand and then grimaced and clutched his sorely bruised backside before smiling again.

'That just means I get to try and beat you again.'

'But you  _never_  will,' Vegeta replied contemptuously.

'Won't I? I'm getting better every time we fight.'

'I am holding back to such a degree that if we kept at this for years you would never catch up.'

'You're holding back  _still?_ ' Kakarott sounded distressed. 'I told you not to!'

'Do you think I went up against Frieza for half an hour using only this amount of power? Idiot!'

'Well, no. I guess not. But I want to fight you at full power.'

'Well, I want a spar, not a one-punch knock out!'

Kakarott pouted.

'Get back on guard!'

* * *

Several kilometres away, near the ravine and on top of the largest mound of rock, Puar sat on a sun lounger under the shade of a sun umbrella, sipping her third soda and watching the boys though a pair of binoculars. Bulma had left most of her capsules in the house that day and Puar had gone through some of them, knowing that Bulma had a capsule full of beach equipment somewhere. The small fridge full of cold sodas had been a serendipitous find along the way. Puar burped and then sighed in contentment before putting the binoculars down and going back to her game of solitaire.

* * *

Tarble and Bulma got back before sunset; Bulma riding Tarble piggy-back style and clutching her purchases tightly in their little capsule housings. The badly parked freighter on the other side of the ravine was unmissable, as was the reek of spirits coming off Nappa when they touched down at the campfire. He was busy preparing a skinned animal for the spit though, and she could see no bottle in sight.

'Good afternoon, Princess,' he said solemnly as she and Tarble approached.

'Afternoon,' she replied, trying not to sound suspicious. 'Where are the others?'

'Training still.'

'I thought you were training Brolly today?'

'Raditz is finishing up. Thought I'd get a jump on dinner.' He put the spitted animal on Raditz's DIY rotisserie. 'Tarble, come here and look after this. I'm going to clean up.' With that he stalked inside the ship, and presumably into the bathroom.

Bulma waited a minute and went inside too, to decapsulate the food and regeneration tank cartridges she'd bought. Then she headed back over to her house to begin working on her uber-radar. She was excited – she had everything she needed for the task.

She set to work. The dining room table was quickly not big enough, and she put a sheet over the living room floor to assemble the larger pieces. By the time Krillin's voice sounded over the comms to announce that dinner was ready she had most of the electrical parts together and was attaching it to its shielded housing.

It was dark already when she got to the campfire for the mismatched meal of meat, delicacies and reheated meal trays.

'You know I got more food today,' she pointed out to the group at large. 'Fresh fruit and vegetables, and frozen ones, too, as well as a bunch of pre-prepared side dishes and full meals.'

'Cool,' said Raditz, already loading his plate with meat.

She looked around. Vegeta and Nappa were eating already, Puar and the boys sat at the ready for their turn at the carcass. Brolly looked bruised and scuffed, but Krillin looked relatively clean.

'Where's Goku?' she asked.

'In the tank,' Krillin said with a sigh.

Bulma shot Vegeta a look. 'What did you do to him?'

'Nothing that he didn't ask for,' Vegeta replied.

'Oh, so he gave you a bit of sass and you put him in the tank?' she snarled.

'No. I mean he literally begged me to come at him with my full power! After hours of nagging I decided to oblige.'

 _Why would Goku do that?_ she asked herself, and was about to accuse him of lying, but the sound of Goku's pestering voice begging for a harder fight came to her imagination too easily. _Oh, wait, never mind_. She wasn't going to let Vegeta off the hook so soon though. 'Well, he just mustn't have realised it would do him that much damage!'

'I told him many times it would.'

'What about showing someone mercy, even if he is acting ignorant and annoying?'

'I  _did_  show mercy,' said Vegeta, narrowing his eyes at her. 'I could have killed him, but I didn't. I don't know why you're complaining.'

'Because I don't like my friends getting beat up!'

'Then you shouldn't have made friends with a Saiyan, especially an ignorant and annoying one! Really, I did exactly what he asked, and I did him no lasting harm. He'll most likely thank me when he wakes up.'

'No he won't,' she muttered, quietly enough that Vegeta could pretend he hadn't heard her.

'Yeah, he probably will,' Krillin replied in his stead, and followed it with another sigh. 'You know what Goku's like.'

Bulma made a face and sat down. She did. Goku was forever rushing towards the biggest source of trouble and biting off more than he could chew. Sulking, she eschewed the dripping animal carcass and snagged a reheated dinner instead, opening it and then watching Vegeta tear into his forequarter while her tray cooled. Well, he hadn't killed Goku, and no one seemed panicked or shaken as they had done after  _Brolly_  put Goku in the tank. She guessed she would have to trust that Vegeta knew what he was doing when it came to the administration of violence, and that Goku was in safe hands.

She shuddered. "Safe hands"? When had the ability to cause contusions, concussions and fractures without killing come to mean safe? What had happened to her perspective? A few weeks ago she'd have been outraged on her friend's behalf. Now she was only miffed, and watching the assailant with an aching sense of frustration that had nothing to do with Goku getting beaten up.

Vegeta looked up, his eyes locking on hers and she looked away, embarrassed. She had been staring.

* * *

Vegeta was about to take his second serving of dinner when his earpiece came alive with Bulma's voice.

'Hey, Vegeta, this is your half-an-hour warning for the signal transmission. Better get that diadem on!'

Vegeta cast Bulma a glance across the campfire, but she was keeping her eyes on her food now. He was half annoyed and half amused by the chirpy messages she had recorded to act as his warning system. He stood and made his way onto the ship and up to the flight deck where he'd stashed the diadem in one of the seat-boxes, then returned with it to the campfire. Tarble was busy describing his experiences of the city to the other brats, but Raditz and Bulma looked over as he took his seat on the dried up tree trunk again.

'Ooh, suits you, your Highness!' Raditz sang in a deliberately camp voice.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, not even bothering to engage with Raditz's sass, but the others looked up. Even Brolly was intrigued.

'You're right, it does suit him,' Tarble said, earnestly. Krillin looked like he might disagree, but Tarble added that it was, 'Quite elegant.'

'I don't care for your opinions on fashion; this is just a tool,' Vegeta said, feeling uncomfortable at having to wear it at all. Nappa watched but said nothing, and Vegeta became aware that as well as helping himself to more of the alcohol off the freighter, the man was stewing in a mood. He had barely said a word all through dinner, except to offer a few words on Brolly's progress when prompted by Vegeta. The others reported on their days cheerfully enough. Bulma had been quite smug in announcing that she had all the things she required for her giant radar and that she would most likely have it finished before morning, and he couldn't help smiling as she praised her own shopping skills and technical expertise. It now appeared she was making good on her word; rushing off back to her little playhouse as soon as her tray was empty.

He was reminded of Nappa's strange mood when he wandered to the edge of the drop-off to take a piss. Nappa followed him to stand a short distance away, forcing out a short decoy-piss before tucking himself back in and asking in a low voice, 'Prince Vegeta, can I have a word?'

'Is it about how you've been drinking the product we're supposed to be selling?'

'That? Oh. That was just a quick drink to wind down. I didn't think you'd mind, as I was done for the day.'

'I do mind! I need credits, not you indulging in your uncontrollable drunken antics!'

'Sorry, Highness, but I didn't drink  _nearly_  that much.' When he saw that Vegeta was unmoved by this he added, 'Of course, now that I know your mind, it won't happen again.'

'Good. It had better not. Now, what did you want?'

Strangely, Nappa didn't answer right away. He fidgeted. Vegeta had finished his business now and turned to give Nappa his full, curious attention.

'Yes?'

'When they others are gone to bed, and Kakarott's out of the tank, would you… Would you come with me out into the desert?'

Vegeta raised his brows in surprise. 'Why?'

'To fight me.'

'But it's not worth my time, fighting against you,' Vegeta pointed out, which was apparently distressing for Nappa to hear because the man hissed and his face turned thunderous. Vegeta watched him, feeling ashamed on Nappa's behalf.

'That's exactly  _why_ , your Highness,' said Nappa. 'That Guru guy, he fucked everything up! He's disturbed the natural order with his fucking filthy magic! Raditz, he…' But apparently whatever Raditz had done was too distressing a thought for Nappa to continue on with. 'I'm an  _Elite_ , gods damn it! Elites don't bow to fucking third class whelps! There is no way the others should be stronger than me!'

'What do you want  _me_  to do about it?'

'I want you to fight me to the point of death, and then put me into the regen tank!'

Vegeta was appalled. It was one thing for a harsh punishment to be given out, or for a fight to naturally progress to the point of being life-endangering, but to  _ask_  for it?

'That's pathetic!'

'I need the Zenkai!' Nappa whispered desperately.

'That you would even ask-'

'I wouldn't have had to ask if the rest of you hadn't let yourself be meddled with on Planet Namek!'

'I'm sure if you'd have had the chance you would have lowered yourself to be meddled with also,' replied Vegeta. 'And have had the insides of your head rummaged with at the same time.'

'But I didn't have the chance! This isn't right. I can't be relegated due to a parlour trick! I won't have Raditz or any of the others usurping me. Please, your Highness! This is  _wrong_.'

Vegeta considered it. It was pathetic for Nappa to ask for this, but it was also unfair and incomprehensible that an elite should be overshadowed by third class warriors.

'Okay. I'll do it.'

'Thank you!'

'We'll do it now.'

'Now? What about Kakarott?'

'Kakarott was not that badly injured. He's probably half way healed by now, and it will do him some good to spend some time in pain. Maybe it will teach him to think twice about what he wishes for.'

'But the others will also know what happened, won't they?'

Vegeta gave him a dismissive look and then strode back to the campfire. 'All of you - go to the waterhole and wash – you stink!' This raised a few eyebrows but no objections. They slowly moved from their places, plucking towels from where they'd been hung to dry over bushes.

Tarble grabbed Vegeta's towel and threw it to him, but Vegeta threw it back.

'Aren't you coming?' he asked as the others began to file towards the path.

'Nappa and I are heading off for another training session.'

Tarble hesitated before asking uncertainly, 'Can I come, then? I didn't get to train today.'

'No.'

'Oh. Okay.'

The boy's shoulders slumped as he followed the others, a little dejected, but Vegeta was surprised that Tarble even had the nerve to ask something like that, let alone want it. He  _should_  want it, being a Saiyan, but he just didn't expect it from Tarble.

'Huh,' he said aloud, and then had his thoughts interrupted by Bulma's voice again.

'Five minutes till the signal goes out. You better have that headgear on, Vegeta!'

He shook his head at the cajoling tone she'd used for the recording. Did she think he would take risks? He turned to his second.

'Come on, Nappa.'

They took to the air, and immediately Vegeta knew there was something wrong. He leapt, but his chi barely got him over the lip of the canyon to land on the desert flat. Vegeta held in a gasp of shock and pretended he meant to land there before taking off a second time, but now his heart was beating hard with fright and effort; he could barely fly! What was wrong with him? He was having to force his chi to flow as hard and fast as it could just to keep up with Nappa's moderate pace. Disturbed, he dropped to the sand again. Was he getting sick? He hadn't been sick for years.

Nappa circled back and landed beside him.

'Is this far enough away from camp?' he asked.

Vegeta clenched his fists, willing himself to be better. He didn't  _feel_  sick, but he must be. 'I'm not going to fight you, so it doesn't matter. I'm just going to blast a hole in you as soon as the others are at the waterhole.'

Nappa looked ill at the thought. 'Somehow the idea of fighting and losing to you sounds way more appealing than standing here and just taking it.'

'I can't be bothered with anything more,' Vegeta replied, and Nappa's face started to flush. Truthfully, he wasn't sure he had enough left in him to fight. A quick, hard chi blast sounded much easier than chasing Nappa all over the plain. He could sense the others getting further away, deeper into the ravine. Tarble, Krillin and Kakarott were harder to sense at this distance as they were obviously supressing their chi, but Raditz and Brolly were both radiating like flood lamps.

'You never had a problem with Brolly being stronger than you,' he pointed out to Nappa.

'Well, Brolly's a freak. Plus he was soft-headed, and still is if you ask me. Power's no good if you don't have the sense to use it. And besides, it turns out Brolly is an Elite.'

'What? How do you know that?'

Nappa lifted half his mouth into a smile. 'He says he can remember his parents' names since the Namekian mucked with his brain. I knew them; he's from top Elite blood on both sides.'

Vegeta stared hard at Nappa for a second, wondering if he just imagined that slight stress on the word  _both_.

'That doesn't make any sense. Why would an Elite child be sent on a purge?'

Nappa shrugged. 'His father was executed by your father for treason. Seems that his mother smuggled him off planet in a pod to escape your father's wrath.'

Misgiving swept Vegeta, the hairs down his back pricking up. 'What kind of treason?'

'Some kind of threat to the throne, I assume.'

Vegeta pursed his lips, staring off across the sand that was pale grey under the stars, wondering if it had occurred to Brolly to seek revenge against him for his father's execution. It might explain Brolly's attitude lately.

'Does Brolly know about that? About his father being executed by mine?'

'I don't think so. He hasn't said so, anyway.'

 _He's no threat to me_ , Vegeta assured himself.  _There can be no way he could best me in strength, and he'll never be battle-ready in a million years_.

'All right, let's do this,' he said to Nappa, backing off twenty steps or so. Nappa took a deep breath and straightened, lifted his chin and closed his eyes.

'I'd appreciate it if you didn't accidentally kill me.'

Vegeta couldn't help answering, 'I will  _try_  not to.'

He raised his hand and pulled on his chi. Some, not too much – he didn't want to explode Nappa after all – and aimed towards his upper right chest. Spiking him through the lung would be fatal, but wouldn't kill him so fast that Vegeta wouldn't be able to get him back to the regen tank in time.

Then he released his chi…

And a puff of pretty sparks tumbled towards Nappa and spluttered out before they reached him.

Vegeta stared at his hand in horror. What was happening?

'Gods, the suspense!' Nappa complained. 'Can you get it over with already?'

Frantically, Vegeta gathered his chi again, powering up as much as he could without making a noise, and sent that wave at Nappa. A small, loosely formed ball of chi rolled merrily though the air and dissipated harmlessly across Nappa's chest.

'Ow!' he said, opening his eyes and rubbing at the spot. 'Very funny, your Highness. Now are you going to blast me for real?'

Vegeta felt panic overcoming him. Feeling weak with it, he fell to his knees. 'Nappa…' Instantly, Nappa was at his side, taking to his own knee to hunker down beside him.

'What is it?'

'There's something wrong!'

'What is? Are you sick?' Nappa grasped his arm to hold him steady, and Vegeta felt like a little kid again, grateful and desperate for Nappa to help him.

Vegeta started to shake. 'My chi, my power! It's gone.' He felt like hurling.

'What? How?' Nappa barked, and Vegeta lifted his hand up, gathering what chi he could muster into a pale ball.

'That's all! That's all I can do! Am I sick? Why is this happening?'

Nappa only stared at him in consternation, and for a few moments the only sound was Vegeta's ragged breathing. He told himself to get a grip, but there was no way he could. Was this the end of him? Suddenly Bulma's voice sounded in his ear, making him jerk in fright.

'Signal goes out in three, two, one!'

And then his head began buzzing and the weakness became much more pronounced for a few seconds. Vegeta raised a hand to his head and felt the diadem there. The buzzing had been the signal being supressed, and like last time he'd felt almost overcome with weakness during, but what had caused the weakness  _before_  the signal?

'Fuck,' he muttered, and reached back to remove the diadem. He dumped it in the sand and formed a chi ball again – it was instant, hot and fat in his palm. With a burst of temper he flung it out into the desert, lighting up the shallow dunes as it past and then exploded one in a spectacular spray of blue and white illuminated sand.

'It was the crown thing?' Nappa asked. He had backed off, and a good thing too. Vegeta felt humiliated by being reduced to fearfulness and having someone witness it. He snatched up the diadem and took to the air, streaking back to the camp in seconds, Nappa on his heels. He landed outside the red front door of Bulma's playhouse and knocked loudly. A few seconds later she answered the door in her nightdress, smiled when she saw who it was, and then revised her expression, glaring back at him just as he was glaring at her.

'What's your problem, buddy? You just about knocked my door off its hinges.'

He shoved the diadem at her chest and made her step backwards before she got her hands up to take hold if it.

'"Wear it all the time", indeed?' he sneered at her.

'Yes! Why not?'

'Because it cripples me, that's why! I suppose you thought it would be funny if I was unable to use my power properly?'

'No! I don't know what you're talking about!'

'I find it hard to believe you don't.' He stepped inside, but this enraged Bulma.

'Hey! Get back outside! I didn't invite you in! That's the rules we agreed to, remember?'

He stopped but didn't step back. He did remember, but that seemed like a long time ago that he had agreed to it. 'You played a trick on me! I won't be bound by your silly rules if you-'

'Vegeta, I didn't play a trick on you, you ass! Get back outside, or this conversation is over!'

Instinctively, he felt she was telling the truth, so by great effort of will he grit his teeth on his anger and took a step back over the threshold again, cringing inwardly; he knew Nappa was behind him somewhere observing all this.

'Now, jerk-face, if you're finished making wild accusations, tell me what happened.'

'That thing hobbles my chi!'

She looked down at it curiously. 'Does it?'

'Yes! I can't wear that thing and use chi effectively at the same time.'

Bulma's gaze on the diadem intensified. 'Hmm. Okay. I designed it to dampen electromagnetic energy. I guess chi must be a form of electromagnetic energy, too, if the diadem had any effect over it.'

'Of course it is,' Vegeta hissed. 'What did you  _think_  it was?'

'Well, excuse me if I'd never heard of chi until a month ago! I hadn't really considered it.'

'That's how those chi amplifiers that the PTO rank and file use work! It's technology, not magic!'

Her outraged blue eyes flashed belligerently under her scowl. 'Well, in that case I'll study it, hack it and master it, and then we'll see who gets to rule the galaxy!'

'Oh, now you want to rule the Galaxy by  _yourself?_ '

'I mean  _you_ , you moron, but keep tempting me with that attitude and I will find a way to make you weak as a kitten and myself as strong as Frieza.' Then she froze. 'I've just had an idea!'

'What?'

She smiled, a rather sadistic grin. 'Training aides.'

She made him put the diadem back on to demonstrate how weak it made him by firing puffballs of chi at the cliff wall. Then he made his most earnest attempt to power up with it on. He strained, dug deep and concentrated with all his might and was able to send a semi-decent burst of chi up into the sky. Vegeta was mollified when she had Nappa wear it too and he couldn't even raise visible chi.

'Hmm. The effects seem to be relative,' she observed. 'And fighting against it seems to yield more power. I think I'll need to study chi more, but I wonder, by training with this thing dampening your power, if you would need to put in more effort, and therefore get greater benefits when you aren't wearing it? What do you think?'

'Perhaps.'

'Well, it would certainly make training a lot less messy and loud. If it seems like it might work, I could make one for all of you.'

'I'm not wearing one of those!' said Nappa.

'You will if I say so,' Vegeta snapped.

Bulma continued. 'I could calibrate them all individually and even out all the differences in power. It could give you a bunch of training partners on equal footing, Vegeta.'

Vegeta was simultaneously delighted and horrified.

'Okay, if I must,' said Nappa.

Vegeta nodded. 'It sounds promising. You should look into it tomorrow. You can have Tarble again to help you.'

Bulma's eyebrow flicked up. 'Oh, should I?'

Vegeta knew she was challenging him, but could think of no better comeback than, 'Yes.'

He turned and walked back to the campfire with Nappa. The others were coming back up from the ravine. He was halfway back when Bulma called out. 'Vegeta, I think you forgot something!'

Sighing, he walked back.

'What did I forget?'

'To say sorry, you  _dick!_ '

Bulma stood with pursed lips and folded arms, emanating ire. He knew he had jumped down her throat before, but he had hoped she was over it already, or that at least wouldn't mention it. He was too irritated himself to be contrite. He looked down at the ground, seeking the patience to apologise.

'As I keep telling you,' she blurted out before he was even close, 'I am only trying to  _help you_. Can you get it through your thick skull already that I am not tricking, duping, joking or betraying you? It would make absolutely no sense!'

'I asked you if it would have some side effects last night and you brushed me off and told me to wear it all the time!'

Now it was her turn to look guilty, and she shrugged. 'Well, I truthfully had no idea about chi being effected. If I'd known, I would never have said that. But I didn't do it on  _purpose,_ which is what you accused me of.'

'I know you didn't  _now_ ,' he muttered. 'The…circumstances led me to the wrong conclusion.'

'Oh,  _circumstances_. I see.'

He raised his eyes to her face and took in the flat line of her lips and her eyes that seemed to hold more pain than was warranted. He had to hold even tighter to his temper - he  _hated_  being made to feel guilt. He stepped closer so that he could drop his voice almost to a whisper, just in case anyone was listening.

'I'm sorry. But you can hardly blame me for it.'

'Vegeta, I betrayed you  _once_ , out of desperation – which  _you_  brought me to! Can you not let it go? How many times do I have to prove myself before you trust me?'

Vegeta had no answer. Why was she even trying? It wasn't like he was going out of his way to prove trustworthy to her.

'You know,' she went on, when he didn't respond. 'Every time you act like I'm the enemy it…' She shook her head. 'It makes me question all the trust I put in  _you_. Like I'm an idiot for putting any in you at all.'

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she was right. The only times he'd ever tried to convince someone of his trustworthiness was when he was trying to deceive them or use them, and right now he wasn't even trying, so didn't that make her a fool? Didn't she know she'd already been used?

'You only want me to trust you to validate your own trust of me,' he pointed out. 'Mutual distrust is more natural, easier and less obligating for both of us.'

She blinked, stunned. 'Is that how you think?'

'Yes.'

'Well, you're wrong. It's not easier; it's awful and  _really_  unhelpful. Sure, if you don't trust someone you don't risk being betrayed, but you waste a lot of time and energy watching your back, don't you think?'

He let that settle in. She had said similar things in the past, but now she was not asking for trust but making a case for it.

'Do we need trust?' he asked, curious what her answer would be.

'Yes! We're in a partnership – it needs trust to make it work! And do you think I let people I don't trust watch over me while I swim about naked?'

It was then that he realised he was in danger of losing something that he hadn't, until that point, fully valued. The memory of the night before came back to him; their honest conversation and the decisions they had made together. And Bulma swimming about, believing he wouldn't look (and he had tried not to, with only moderate success).

'I'm sorry,' he whispered, praying there was no eavesdropper. He'd never said an unqualified sorry to anyone, other than his father and Frieza – those who ruled him. She didn't rule him, but she held an undeniable sway over him, to a degree he was ashamed of. 'I do trust you,' he admitted grudgingly. 'I won't question you again without good reason.'

'Good.'

The anger melted out of her, but she still didn't seem happy. She continued to look at him for a long moment, and he wondered what else she was waiting for, as he realised it was dark and they were alone. A tingling awareness of their closeness ran down his front. He took a step back before it could grow into anything more.

Bulma sighed and turned away, walking back to the open door of her little house.

'See you in the morning, then,' she said, not looking back.

'Of course.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Oh, Vegeta, baby steps, my dear...
> 
> Chapter 65 is done and I could post it soon, but I fear that if I don't post chapter 66 soon after that one that I will have lots of disgruntled readers, and I've not written 66 yet. What do you think? Would you prefer a long wait for gratification, or a short wait followed by a longer period of disappointment and frustration before further gratification?
> 
> Thanks again to Adli who slotted me into her busy life to beta read this!


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